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.

CMP 40HX

2021

Why buy it

✅More future proof: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 185W instead of 300W, a 115W reduction.
✅Measures 229mm instead of 275mm, a 46mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌
112.5% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 12.5 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $370 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 115% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 12.5 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌62.2% higher power demand at 300W vs 185W.
❌20.1% longer card at 275mm vs 229mm.

CMP 40HX

2021

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅More future proof: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 185W instead of 300W, a 115W reduction.
✅Measures 229mm instead of 275mm, a 46mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅Costs $370 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 115% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 12.5 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌
112.5% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 12.5 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌62.2% higher power demand at 300W vs 185W.
❌20.1% longer card at 275mm vs 229mm.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 390 better than CMP 40HX?

Yes. Radeon R9 390 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 8,855 vs 8,749 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon R9 390 is a 2015 card with FSR upscaling, while CMP 40HX is a 2021 model from an older generation with no meaningful modern upscaling stack. 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?

CMP 40HX is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2021 generation instead of 2015, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 12nm 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 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 $370 cheaper on MSRP at $329 MSRP versus $699 MSRP, and you are getting 1.2% higher G3D Mark. CMP 40HX is the newer 2021 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (185W vs 300W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does CMP 40HX make more sense than Radeon R9 390?

Yes. CMP 40HX 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 (185W vs 300W), future-proofing, and staying closer to $699 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 390. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 390 currently gives you 1.2% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 115%.

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.

CMP 40HX Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 390 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	146 FPS	105 FPS
medium	135 FPS	89 FPS
high	114 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	129 FPS	89 FPS
medium	111 FPS	75 FPS
high	92 FPS	55 FPS
ultra	72 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	58 FPS	36 FPS
medium	51 FPS	32 FPS
high	41 FPS	20 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	17 FPS

Open CMP 40HX Open Radeon R9 390

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	313 FPS	198 FPS
medium	255 FPS	173 FPS
high	208 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	176 FPS	111 FPS
1440p
low	212 FPS	138 FPS
medium	170 FPS	110 FPS
high	141 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	115 FPS	67 FPS
4K
low	116 FPS	61 FPS
medium	95 FPS	50 FPS
high	78 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	59 FPS	36 FPS

Open CMP 40HX Open Radeon R9 390

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	394 FPS	398 FPS
medium	315 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	148 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 CMP 40HX Open Radeon R9 390

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	341 FPS	224 FPS
medium	273 FPS	193 FPS
high	241 FPS	156 FPS
ultra	197 FPS	132 FPS
1440p
low	263 FPS	170 FPS
medium	213 FPS	146 FPS
high	183 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	148 FPS	92 FPS
4K
low	139 FPS	95 FPS
medium	111 FPS	75 FPS
high	102 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	81 FPS	45 FPS

Open CMP 40HX Open Radeon R9 390

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of CMP 40HX and Radeon R9 390

CMP 40HX

The CMP 40HX is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 25 2021. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1470 MHz to 1650 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 185W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 36 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,749 points. Launch price was $699.

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 CMP 40HX scores 8,749 and the Radeon R9 390 reaches 8,855 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The CMP 40HX is built on Turing while the Radeon R9 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 12 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 2,304 (CMP 40HX) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 390). Raw compute: 7.603 TFLOPS (CMP 40HX) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390). Boost clocks: 1650 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
G3D Mark Score	8,749	8,855+1%
Architecture	Turing	GCN 2.0
Process Node	12 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2304	2560+11%
Compute (TFLOPS)	7.603 TFLOPS+48%	5.12 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1650 MHz+65%	1000 MHz
ROPs	64	64
TMUs	144	160+11%
L1 Cache	2.3 MB+265%	0.63 MB
L2 Cache	4 MB+300%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	Standard	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The CMP 40HX comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 390 has 8 GB. The Radeon R9 390 offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 4 MB (CMP 40HX) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390) — the CMP 40HX has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	8 GB+100%
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit	512-bit+300%
L2 Cache	4 MB+300%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (CMP 40HX) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 390). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 6.

Feature	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
DirectX	12 Ultimate	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	0	6

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (CMP 40HX) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390). Decoder: No vs UVD 4.2.

Feature	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
Encoder	No	VCE 2.0
Decoder	No	UVD 4.2
Codecs		MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The CMP 40HX draws 185W versus the Radeon R9 390's 300W — a 47.4% difference. The CMP 40HX is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (CMP 40HX) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 229mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 95°C.

Feature	CMP 40HX	Radeon R9 390
TDP	185W-38%	300W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	229mm	275mm
Height	111mm	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	80°C-16%	95°C
Perf/Watt	47.3+60%	29.5

💰

Value Analysis

The CMP 40HX launched at $699 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 390 launched at $329. The Radeon R9 390 costs 52.9% less ($370 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 12.5 (CMP 40HX) vs 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon R9 390 offers 115.2% better value. The CMP 40HX is the newer GPU (2021 vs 2015).