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 295X2

2014

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
355.6% HIGHER MSRP
$1,499 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.8 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($1,499 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
❌66.7% higher power demand at 500W vs 300W.
❌11.6% longer card at 307mm vs 275mm.

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $1,170 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Delivers 361.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Draws 300W instead of 500W, a 200W reduction.
✅Measures 275mm instead of 307mm, a 32mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon R9 295X2

2014

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

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

Why buy it

✅Costs $1,170 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Delivers 361.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Draws 300W instead of 500W, a 200W reduction.
✅Measures 275mm instead of 307mm, a 32mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
355.6% HIGHER MSRP
$1,499 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.8 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($1,499 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
❌66.7% higher power demand at 500W vs 300W.
❌11.6% longer card at 307mm vs 275mm.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 390 better than Radeon R9 295X2?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,734 vs 8,855 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon R9 390 is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, FSR upscaling, plus much lower power draw (300W vs 500W).

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

Radeon R9 295X2 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 390 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $329 MSRP. Radeon R9 390 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon R9 390 is about $1,170 cheaper on MSRP at $329 MSRP versus $1,499 MSRP, and you are getting 1.4% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 295X2 is the more forward-looking alternative, so it still has a real case if you care more about future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does Radeon R9 295X2 make more sense than Radeon R9 390?

Yes. Radeon R9 295X2 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 future-proofing and staying closer to $1,499 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 390. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 390 currently gives you 1.4% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 361.9%.

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 295X2 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 390 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	105 FPS	135 FPS
medium	89 FPS	115 FPS
high	73 FPS	94 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	57 FPS
1440p
low	89 FPS	113 FPS
medium	75 FPS	96 FPS
high	55 FPS	70 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	36 FPS	39 FPS
medium	32 FPS	36 FPS
high	20 FPS	22 FPS
ultra	17 FPS	19 FPS

Open Radeon R9 295X2 Open Radeon R9 390

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	193 FPS	198 FPS
medium	169 FPS	173 FPS
high	141 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	110 FPS	111 FPS
1440p
low	137 FPS	138 FPS
medium	111 FPS	110 FPS
high	88 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	68 FPS	67 FPS
4K
low	63 FPS	61 FPS
medium	53 FPS	50 FPS
high	48 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	39 FPS	36 FPS

Open Radeon R9 295X2 Open Radeon R9 390

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	393 FPS	398 FPS
medium	314 FPS	319 FPS
high	262 FPS	266 FPS
ultra	197 FPS	199 FPS
1440p
low	295 FPS	299 FPS
medium	236 FPS	239 FPS
high	197 FPS	199 FPS
ultra	147 FPS	149 FPS
4K
low	197 FPS	199 FPS
medium	157 FPS	159 FPS
high	131 FPS	133 FPS
ultra	98 FPS	100 FPS

Open Radeon R9 295X2 Open Radeon R9 390

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	240 FPS	224 FPS
medium	207 FPS	193 FPS
high	168 FPS	156 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	132 FPS
1440p
low	179 FPS	170 FPS
medium	155 FPS	146 FPS
high	120 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	98 FPS	92 FPS
4K
low	103 FPS	95 FPS
medium	82 FPS	75 FPS
high	65 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	50 FPS	45 FPS

Open Radeon R9 295X2 Open Radeon R9 390

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 295X2 and Radeon R9 390

Radeon R9 295X2

The Radeon R9 295X2 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 29 2014. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1018 MHz. It has 2816 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 500W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,734 points. Launch price was $1,499.

Radeon R9 390

The Radeon R9 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: 8,855 points. Launch price was $329.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 295X2 scores 8,734 and the Radeon R9 390 reaches 8,855 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 295X2 is built on GCN 2.0 while the Radeon R9 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,816 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 390). Raw compute: 5.733 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390). Boost clocks: 1018 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
G3D Mark Score	8,734	8,855+1%
Architecture	GCN 2.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2816 ×2+10%	2560
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.733 TFLOPS ×2+12%	5.12 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1018 MHz+2%	1000 MHz
ROPs	64 ×2	64
TMUs	176 ×2+10%	160
L1 Cache	704 KB+10%	640 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 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 8 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 320 GB/s x2 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 390) — a 900.6% advantage for the Radeon R9 295X2. Bus width: 512-bit x2 vs 512-bit.

Feature	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	320 GB/s x2	320 GB/s
Bus Width	512-bit x2	512-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 390). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.3 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.1	1.2+9%
OpenGL	4.3	4.6+7%
Max Displays	6	6

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390). Decoder: UVD 4.2 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390).

Feature	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 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 295X2 draws 500W versus the Radeon R9 390's 300W — a 50% difference. The Radeon R9 390 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 1000W (Radeon R9 295X2) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390). Power connectors: 2x 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 307mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 65°C vs 95°C.

Feature	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon R9 390
TDP	500W	300W-40%
Recommended PSU	1000W	750W-25%
Power Connector	2x 8-pin	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	307mm	275mm
Height	114mm	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	65°C-32%	95°C
Perf/Watt	17.5	29.5+69%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 295X2 launched at $1499 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 390 launched at $329. The Radeon R9 390 costs 78.1% less ($1170 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.8 (Radeon R9 295X2) vs 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon R9 390 offers 363.8% better value. The Radeon R9 390 is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2014).