G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)

2016

Why buy it

✅Draws 80W instead of 275W, a 195W reduction.
✅More future proof: Pascal (2016−2021) on 16nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 20.5 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅0.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.5 vs 0 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌243.8% higher power demand at 275W vs 80W.

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)

2016

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅Draws 80W instead of 275W, a 195W reduction.
✅More future proof: Pascal (2016−2021) on 16nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅0.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.5 vs 0 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 20.5 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌243.8% higher power demand at 275W vs 80W.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 290 better than GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. Radeon R9 290 averages 0.2% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,160 vs 8,184 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon R9 290 is the overall package: you are getting FSR upscaling.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2016 generation instead of 2013, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 16nm process instead of 28nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

Radeon R9 290 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $399 MSRP. Radeon R9 290 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon R9 290 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $399 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 0.2% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 0.3% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is the newer 2016 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (80W vs 275W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) make more sense than Radeon R9 290?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (80W vs 275W), future-proofing, and staying closer to an unclear MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 290. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 290 currently gives you 0.3% higher G3D Mark and 0.2% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 100+%.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	96 FPS	83 FPS
medium	85 FPS	71 FPS
high	72 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	39 FPS
1440p
low	89 FPS	72 FPS
medium	75 FPS	64 FPS
high	63 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	52 FPS	30 FPS
4K
low	43 FPS	26 FPS
medium	40 FPS	25 FPS
high	29 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	25 FPS	14 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)Open Radeon R9 290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	188 FPS	185 FPS
medium	158 FPS	156 FPS
high	130 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	100 FPS
1440p
low	125 FPS	132 FPS
medium	99 FPS	103 FPS
high	79 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	54 FPS	60 FPS
medium	44 FPS	49 FPS
high	42 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	34 FPS	36 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)Open Radeon R9 290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	364 FPS	368 FPS
medium	294 FPS	295 FPS
high	235 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	184 FPS	184 FPS
1440p
low	269 FPS	276 FPS
medium	220 FPS	221 FPS
high	184 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	138 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	172 FPS	184 FPS
medium	147 FPS	147 FPS
high	103 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	69 FPS	92 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)Open Radeon R9 290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	252 FPS	152 FPS
medium	201 FPS	123 FPS
high	182 FPS	105 FPS
ultra	159 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	195 FPS	110 FPS
medium	152 FPS	90 FPS
high	134 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	114 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	97 FPS	64 FPS
medium	73 FPS	49 FPS
high	65 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	52 FPS	28 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)Open Radeon R9 290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) and Radeon R9 290

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 15 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1506 MHz to 1708 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,160 points. Launch price was $237.11.

Radeon R9 290

The Radeon R9 290 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 5 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 947 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,184 points. Launch price was $399.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) scores 8,160 and the Radeon R9 290 reaches 8,184 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is built on Pascal while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on 16 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 4.275 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score	8,160	8,184
Architecture	Pascal	GCN 2.0
Process Node	16 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1280	2560+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	4.275 TFLOPS	4.849 TFLOPS+13%
ROPs	48	64+33%
TMUs	80	160+100%
L1 Cache	480 KB	640 KB+33%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 290 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 290) — a 66.7% advantage for the Radeon R9 290. Bus width: 192-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290) — the GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	192 GB/s	320 GB/s+67%
Bus Width	192-bit	512-bit+167%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
DirectX	12.1	12.0
Vulkan	1.1	1.2+9%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 6.0 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP8 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
Encoder	NVENC 6.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP8	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) draws 80W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 109.9% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 275mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 95°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
TDP	80W-71%	275W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	0mm	275mm
Height	0mm	109mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	85°C-11%	95°C
Perf/Watt	102.0+242%	29.8