Radeon PRO W6400 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 PRO W6400

2022

Why buy it

✅Costs $170 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 79.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 36.8 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 50W instead of 275W, a 225W reduction.
✅Measures 168mm instead of 275mm, a 107mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
74.2% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 20.5 vs 36.8 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
❌450% higher power demand at 275W vs 50W.
❌63.7% longer card at 275mm vs 168mm.

Radeon PRO W6400

2022

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅Costs $170 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 79.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 36.8 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 50W instead of 275W, a 225W reduction.
✅Measures 168mm instead of 275mm, a 107mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
74.2% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 20.5 vs 36.8 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
❌450% higher power demand at 275W vs 50W.
❌63.7% longer card at 275mm vs 168mm.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon PRO W6400 better than Radeon R9 290?

Yes. Radeon PRO W6400 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 8,428 vs 8,184 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon PRO W6400 is a 2022 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon R9 290 is a 2013 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 PRO W6400 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2022 generation instead of 2013, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 6nm 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 PRO W6400 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $229 MSRP. Radeon PRO W6400 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon PRO W6400 is about $170 cheaper on MSRP at $229 MSRP versus $399 MSRP, and you are getting 3.0% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $229 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (50W vs 275W), and FSR upscaling.

Is Radeon R9 290 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon R9 290 is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $399 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. Radeon PRO W6400 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and FSR upscaling.

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 PRO W6400 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	132 FPS	83 FPS
medium	118 FPS	71 FPS
high	101 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	39 FPS
1440p
low	118 FPS	72 FPS
medium	100 FPS	64 FPS
high	83 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	62 FPS	30 FPS
4K
low	49 FPS	26 FPS
medium	46 FPS	25 FPS
high	34 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	30 FPS	14 FPS

Open Radeon PRO W6400 Open Radeon R9 290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	169 FPS	185 FPS
medium	134 FPS	156 FPS
high	99 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	66 FPS	100 FPS
1440p
low	110 FPS	132 FPS
medium	86 FPS	103 FPS
high	64 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	57 FPS	60 FPS
medium	44 FPS	49 FPS
high	35 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	22 FPS	36 FPS

Open Radeon PRO W6400 Open Radeon R9 290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	377 FPS	368 FPS
medium	303 FPS	295 FPS
high	249 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	190 FPS	184 FPS
1440p
low	265 FPS	276 FPS
medium	228 FPS	221 FPS
high	186 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	142 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	155 FPS	184 FPS
medium	143 FPS	147 FPS
high	102 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	70 FPS	92 FPS

Open Radeon PRO W6400 Open Radeon R9 290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	285 FPS	152 FPS
medium	206 FPS	123 FPS
high	180 FPS	105 FPS
ultra	146 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	210 FPS	110 FPS
medium	149 FPS	90 FPS
high	132 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	104 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	105 FPS	64 FPS
medium	76 FPS	49 FPS
high	67 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	51 FPS	28 FPS

Open Radeon PRO W6400 Open Radeon R9 290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon PRO W6400 and Radeon R9 290

Radeon PRO W6400

The Radeon PRO W6400 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 19 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2331 MHz to 2331 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 12 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,428 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.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon PRO W6400 scores 8,428 and the Radeon R9 290 reaches 8,184 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon PRO W6400 is built on RDNA 2.0 while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on 6 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 3.58 TFLOPS (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score	8,428+3%	8,184
Architecture	RDNA 2.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	6 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	768	2560+233%
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.58 TFLOPS	4.849 TFLOPS+35%
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	48	160+233%
L1 Cache	256 KB	640 KB+150%
L2 Cache	1 MB	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon PRO W6400	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: 256-bit vs 512-bit.

Feature	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Bus Width	256-bit	512-bit+100%
L2 Cache	1 MB	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
DirectX	12.2+2%	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	2	6+200%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.0 (Radeon PRO W6400) 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 PRO W6400) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	Radeon PRO W6400	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 PRO W6400 draws 50W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 138.5% difference. The Radeon PRO W6400 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 168mm vs 275mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 95°C.

Feature	Radeon PRO W6400	Radeon R9 290
TDP	50W-82%	275W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	168mm	275mm
Height	69mm	109mm
Slots	1-50%	2
Temp (Load)	70°C-26%	95°C
Perf/Watt	168.6+466%	29.8

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon PRO W6400 launched at $229 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 290 launched at $399. The Radeon PRO W6400 costs 42.6% less ($170 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 36.8 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 20.5 (Radeon R9 290) — the Radeon PRO W6400 offers 79.5% better value. The Radeon PRO W6400 is the newer GPU (2022 vs 2013).