Radeon 890M vs Radeon R9 290

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.

Radeon 890M

2024

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 15W instead of 275W, a 260W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 20.5 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅21.2% 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.
❌1733.3% higher power demand at 275W vs 15W.

Radeon 890M

2024

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 15W instead of 275W, a 260W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅21.2% 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.
❌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.
❌1733.3% higher power demand at 275W vs 15W.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 290 better than Radeon 890M?

Yes. Radeon R9 290 is clearly the better overall GPU here. Radeon R9 290 averages 21.2% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 8,184 vs 8,175 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon R9 290 is a 2013 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon 890M is a 2024 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

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

Radeon 890M is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2024 generation instead of 2013, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 4nm process instead of 28nm. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

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

Radeon R9 290 is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. Radeon R9 290 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $399 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 21.2% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 0.1% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 100+%. Radeon 890M is the newer 2024 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (15W vs 275W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does Radeon 890M make more sense than Radeon R9 290?

Yes. Radeon 890M 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 (15W 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 0.1% higher G3D Mark and 21.2% 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.

Radeon 890M Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	93 FPS	83 FPS
medium	78 FPS	71 FPS
high	65 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	39 FPS
1440p
low	80 FPS	72 FPS
medium	68 FPS	64 FPS
high	51 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	30 FPS
4K
low	30 FPS	26 FPS
medium	28 FPS	25 FPS
high	19 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	17 FPS	14 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	126 FPS	185 FPS
medium	88 FPS	156 FPS
high	63 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	100 FPS
1440p
low	90 FPS	132 FPS
medium	60 FPS	103 FPS
high	44 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	38 FPS	60 FPS
medium	28 FPS	49 FPS
high	22 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	36 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	314 FPS	368 FPS
medium	276 FPS	295 FPS
high	207 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	184 FPS
1440p
low	237 FPS	276 FPS
medium	214 FPS	221 FPS
high	166 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	132 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	147 FPS	184 FPS
medium	128 FPS	147 FPS
high	87 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	92 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	173 FPS	152 FPS
medium	136 FPS	123 FPS
high	112 FPS	105 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	119 FPS	110 FPS
medium	96 FPS	90 FPS
high	81 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	65 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	71 FPS	64 FPS
medium	57 FPS	49 FPS
high	45 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	33 FPS	28 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon 890M and Radeon R9 290

Radeon 890M

The Radeon 890M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 15 2024. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 400 MHz to 2900 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,175 points.

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.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon 890M scores 8,175 and the Radeon R9 290 reaches 8,184 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon 890M is built on RDNA 3.5 while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on 4 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (Radeon 890M) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 5.939 TFLOPS (Radeon 890M) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score	8,175	8,184
Architecture	RDNA 3.5	GCN 2.0
Process Node	4 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1024	2560+150%
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.939 TFLOPS+22%	4.849 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	64	160+150%
L1 Cache	256 KB	640 KB+150%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: System vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon 890M) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290) — the Radeon 890M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	320 GB/s
Bus Width	System	512-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon 890M) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
DirectX	12.2+2%	12.0
Vulkan	1.3+8%	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.0 (Radeon 890M) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290). Decoder: VCN 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (Radeon 890M) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
Encoder	VCN 3.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	VCN 3.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon 890M draws 15W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 179.3% difference. The Radeon 890M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon 890M) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 275mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290
TDP	15W-95%	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)	—	95°C
Perf/Watt	545.0+1729%	29.8