Radeon R9 M290X vs Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

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 M290X

2014

Why buy it

✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($400 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅Delivers 11.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 8.0 vs 7.2 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌132.6% higher power demand at 100W vs 43W.

Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

2025

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.0 (2022−2026) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 43W instead of 100W, a 57W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.0 (2022−2026) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌
12.5% HIGHER MSRP
$450 MSRPvs$400 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.2 vs 8.0 G3D/$ ($450 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).

Radeon R9 M290X

2014

Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

2025

Why buy it

✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($400 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅Delivers 11.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 8.0 vs 7.2 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.0 (2022−2026) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 43W instead of 100W, a 57W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.0 (2022−2026) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌132.6% higher power demand at 100W vs 43W.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌
12.5% HIGHER MSRP
$450 MSRPvs$400 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.2 vs 8.0 G3D/$ ($450 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H better than Radeon R9 M290X?

Yes. Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 3,245 vs 3,218 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H is a 2025 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon R9 M290X is a 2014 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 Ryzen 7 4800H is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2025 generation instead of 2014, 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 Ryzen 7 4800H is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H is about 12.5% more expensive on MSRP at $450 MSRP versus $400 MSRP, and you are getting 0.8% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 M290X really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Radeon R9 M290X still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 M290X is 2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 3,218 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

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 M290X Benchmark Check

Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
1080p
low	78 FPS	146 FPS
medium	67 FPS	117 FPS
high	53 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	35 FPS	73 FPS
1440p
low	69 FPS	110 FPS
medium	59 FPS	88 FPS
high	42 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	55 FPS
4K
low	24 FPS	60 FPS
medium	23 FPS	53 FPS
high	15 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	13 FPS	37 FPS

Open Radeon R9 M290X Open Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
1080p
low	112 FPS	146 FPS
medium	84 FPS	117 FPS
high	64 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	40 FPS	73 FPS
1440p
low	64 FPS	110 FPS
medium	43 FPS	88 FPS
high	32 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	22 FPS	55 FPS
4K
low	24 FPS	73 FPS
medium	16 FPS	58 FPS
high	13 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	9 FPS	37 FPS

Open Radeon R9 M290X Open Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
1080p
low	145 FPS	146 FPS
medium	116 FPS	117 FPS
high	97 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	72 FPS	73 FPS
1440p
low	109 FPS	110 FPS
medium	87 FPS	88 FPS
high	72 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	54 FPS	55 FPS
4K
low	72 FPS	73 FPS
medium	58 FPS	58 FPS
high	48 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	37 FPS

Open Radeon R9 M290X Open Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
1080p
low	142 FPS	146 FPS
medium	113 FPS	117 FPS
high	97 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	72 FPS	73 FPS
1440p
low	103 FPS	110 FPS
medium	84 FPS	88 FPS
high	72 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	54 FPS	55 FPS
4K
low	60 FPS	73 FPS
medium	46 FPS	58 FPS
high	36 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	25 FPS	37 FPS

Open Radeon R9 M290X Open Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 M290X and Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

Radeon R9 M290X

The Radeon R9 M290X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,218 points.

Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

The Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 8 2025. It features the RDNA 3.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1452 MHz to 2300 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 43W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 28 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,245 points.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 M290X scores 3,218 and the Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H reaches 3,245 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 M290X is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H uses RDNA 3.0, both on 28 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon R9 M290X) vs 1,792 (Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H). Raw compute: 2.304 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M290X) vs 16.49 TFLOPS (Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H). Boost clocks: 900 MHz vs 2300 MHz.

Feature	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
G3D Mark Score	3,218	3,245
Architecture	GCN 1.0	RDNA 3.0
Process Node	28 nm	6 nm
Shading Units	1280	1792+40%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.304 TFLOPS	16.49 TFLOPS+616%
Boost Clock	900 MHz	2300 MHz+156%
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	80	112+40%
L1 Cache	320 KB	512 KB+60%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	2 MB+300%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling + RSR

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon R9 M290X comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H has 2 GB. The Radeon R9 M290X offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 M290X) vs 2 MB (Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H) — the Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
VRAM Capacity	4 GB+100%	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	2 MB+300%

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 M290X draws 100W versus the Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H's 43W — a 79.7% difference. The Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon R9 M290X) vs 350W (Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H). Power connectors: Mobile vs None.

Feature	Radeon R9 M290X	Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H
TDP	100W	43W-57%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Mobile	None
Perf/Watt	32.2	75.5+134%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 M290X launched at $400 MSRP, while the Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H launched at $450. The Radeon R9 M290X costs 11.1% less ($50 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 8.0 (Radeon R9 M290X) vs 7.2 (Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H) — the Radeon R9 M290X offers 11.1% better value. The Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H is the newer GPU (2025 vs 2014).