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 R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅1.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
21.3% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 20.5 vs 24.8 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290 / 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $70 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 20.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.8 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅More future proof: GCN 2.0 (2013−2017) on 28nm 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: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon R9 290

2013

Radeon R9 290 / 390

2015

Why buy it

✅1.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Why buy it

✅Costs $70 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 20.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.8 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅More future proof: GCN 2.0 (2013−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
21.3% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 20.5 vs 24.8 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 290 better than Radeon R9 290 / 390?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. Radeon R9 290 averages 1.9% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,184 vs 8,150 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?

Radeon R9 290 is the safer long-term GPU choice because it gives you the stronger overall hardware and feature outlook for modern games.

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

Radeon R9 290 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon R9 290 is about 21.3% more expensive on MSRP at $399 MSRP versus $329 MSRP, and you are getting 1.9% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 0.4% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 290 / 390 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon R9 290 / 390 make more sense than Radeon R9 290?

Yes. Radeon R9 290 / 390 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 and staying closer to $329 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 290. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 290 currently gives you 0.4% higher G3D Mark and 1.9% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. Radeon R9 290 / 390 still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

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 R9 290 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 / 390 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	83 FPS	80 FPS
medium	71 FPS	69 FPS
high	59 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	39 FPS	37 FPS
1440p
low	72 FPS	70 FPS
medium	64 FPS	61 FPS
high	47 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	30 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	25 FPS
medium	25 FPS	24 FPS
high	17 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	14 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290 Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	185 FPS	182 FPS
medium	156 FPS	154 FPS
high	129 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	99 FPS
1440p
low	132 FPS	130 FPS
medium	103 FPS	102 FPS
high	83 FPS	82 FPS
ultra	64 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	60 FPS	59 FPS
medium	49 FPS	48 FPS
high	44 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	35 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290 Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	368 FPS	367 FPS
medium	295 FPS	293 FPS
high	246 FPS	244 FPS
ultra	184 FPS	183 FPS
1440p
low	276 FPS	275 FPS
medium	221 FPS	220 FPS
high	184 FPS	183 FPS
ultra	138 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	184 FPS	183 FPS
medium	147 FPS	147 FPS
high	123 FPS	122 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	92 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290 Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	152 FPS	151 FPS
medium	123 FPS	124 FPS
high	105 FPS	107 FPS
ultra	87 FPS	91 FPS
1440p
low	110 FPS	109 FPS
medium	90 FPS	90 FPS
high	78 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	62 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	64 FPS	64 FPS
medium	49 FPS	50 FPS
high	39 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	28 FPS	29 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290 Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 290 and Radeon R9 290 / 390

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.

Radeon R9 290 / 390

The Radeon R9 290 / 390 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,150 points. Launch price was $329.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 290 scores 8,184 and the Radeon R9 290 / 390 reaches 8,150 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 290 is built on GCN 2.0 while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,560 (Radeon R9 290) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Raw compute: 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290 / 390).

Feature	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
G3D Mark Score	8,184	8,150
Architecture	GCN 2.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2560	2560
Compute (TFLOPS)	4.849 TFLOPS	5.12 TFLOPS+6%
ROPs	64	64
TMUs	160	160
L1 Cache	640 KB	640 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
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 GDDR5. Bus width: 512-bit vs 512-bit.

Feature	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	320 GB/s	320 GB/s
Bus Width	512-bit	512-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (Radeon R9 290) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	6	6

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Decoder: UVD 4.2 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290 / 390).

Feature	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
Encoder	VCE 2.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	UVD 4.2	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 290 draws 275W versus the Radeon R9 290 / 390's 300W — a 8.7% difference. The Radeon R9 290 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (Radeon R9 290) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 275mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 95°C vs 95°C.

Feature	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 290 / 390
TDP	275W-8%	300W
Recommended PSU	750W	750W
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	275mm	275mm
Height	109mm	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	95°C	95°C
Perf/Watt	29.8+10%	27.2

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 290 launched at $399 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 launched at $329. The Radeon R9 290 / 390 costs 17.5% less ($70 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 20.5 (Radeon R9 290) vs 24.8 (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — the Radeon R9 290 / 390 offers 21% better value. The Radeon R9 290 / 390 is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2013).