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 290X / 390X

2015

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
139.7% HIGHER MSRP
$549 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 15.3 vs 37.3 G3D/$ ($549 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
❌83.3% higher power demand at 275W vs 150W.

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅Costs $320 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
✅Delivers 144.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.3 vs 15.3 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Draws 150W instead of 275W, a 125W reduction.
✅Measures 240mm instead of 275mm, a 35mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon R9 290X / 390X

2015

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

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

Why buy it

✅Costs $320 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
✅Delivers 144.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.3 vs 15.3 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Draws 150W instead of 275W, a 125W reduction.
✅Measures 240mm instead of 275mm, a 35mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
139.7% HIGHER MSRP
$549 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 15.3 vs 37.3 G3D/$ ($549 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
❌83.3% higher power demand at 275W vs 150W.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon RX 480 better than Radeon R9 290X / 390X?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,380 vs 8,546 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon RX 480 is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, FSR upscaling, plus much lower power draw (150W vs 275W).

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

Radeon R9 290X / 390X 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 RX 480 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $229 MSRP. Radeon RX 480 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon RX 480 is about $320 cheaper on MSRP at $229 MSRP versus $549 MSRP, and you are getting 2.0% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 290X / 390X 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 290X / 390X make more sense than Radeon RX 480?

Yes. Radeon R9 290X / 390X 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 $549 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon RX 480. The trade-off is that Radeon RX 480 currently gives you 2.0% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 144.5%.

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 290X / 390X Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 480 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	80 FPS	134 FPS
medium	69 FPS	113 FPS
high	56 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	58 FPS
1440p
low	70 FPS	114 FPS
medium	61 FPS	96 FPS
high	45 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	28 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	25 FPS	39 FPS
medium	24 FPS	36 FPS
high	16 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	19 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290X / 390X Open Radeon RX 480

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	185 FPS	156 FPS
medium	157 FPS	135 FPS
high	130 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	89 FPS
1440p
low	130 FPS	91 FPS
medium	102 FPS	71 FPS
high	82 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	44 FPS
4K
low	59 FPS	37 FPS
medium	48 FPS	29 FPS
high	43 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	35 FPS	18 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290X / 390X Open Radeon RX 480

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	377 FPS	385 FPS
medium	302 FPS	308 FPS
high	251 FPS	256 FPS
ultra	189 FPS	192 FPS
1440p
low	283 FPS	288 FPS
medium	226 FPS	231 FPS
high	189 FPS	192 FPS
ultra	141 FPS	144 FPS
4K
low	189 FPS	192 FPS
medium	151 FPS	154 FPS
high	126 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	94 FPS	96 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290X / 390X Open Radeon RX 480

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	155 FPS	290 FPS
medium	128 FPS	252 FPS
high	110 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	94 FPS	166 FPS
1440p
low	110 FPS	213 FPS
medium	91 FPS	190 FPS
high	79 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	65 FPS	118 FPS
4K
low	66 FPS	120 FPS
medium	52 FPS	98 FPS
high	41 FPS	80 FPS
ultra	31 FPS	62 FPS

Open Radeon R9 290X / 390X Open Radeon RX 480

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 290X / 390X and Radeon RX 480

Radeon R9 290X / 390X

The Radeon R9 290X / 390X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1050 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,380 points. Launch price was $429.

Radeon RX 480

The Radeon RX 480 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 29 2016. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1120 MHz to 1266 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,546 points. Launch price was $229.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 290X / 390X scores 8,380 and the Radeon RX 480 reaches 8,546 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 290X / 390X is built on GCN 2.0 while the Radeon RX 480 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 2,816 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 2,304 (Radeon RX 480). Raw compute: 5.914 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 5.834 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 480). Boost clocks: 1050 MHz vs 1266 MHz.

Feature	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
G3D Mark Score	8,380	8,546+2%
Architecture	GCN 2.0	GCN 4.0
Process Node	28 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	2816+22%	2304
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.914 TFLOPS+1%	5.834 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1050 MHz	1266 MHz+21%
ROPs	64+100%	32
TMUs	176+22%	144
L1 Cache	704 KB+22%	576 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB	2 MB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
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)

The Radeon R9 290X / 390X comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon RX 480 has 8 GB. The Radeon RX 480 offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 256 GB/s (Radeon RX 480) — a 25% advantage for the Radeon R9 290X / 390X. Bus width: 512-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 1 MB (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 2 MB (Radeon RX 480) — the Radeon RX 480 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	8 GB+100%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	320 GB/s+25%	256 GB/s
Bus Width	512-bit+100%	256-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB	2 MB+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 12.0 (Radeon RX 480). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	6+50%	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs VCE 3.4 (Radeon RX 480). Decoder: UVD 4.2 vs UVD 6.3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon RX 480).

Feature	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
Encoder	VCE 2.0	VCE 3.4
Decoder	UVD 4.2	UVD 6.3
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 290X / 390X draws 275W versus the Radeon RX 480's 150W — a 58.8% difference. The Radeon RX 480 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 500W (Radeon RX 480). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 275mm vs 240mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 95°C vs 85°C.

Feature	Radeon R9 290X / 390X	Radeon RX 480
TDP	275W	150W-45%
Recommended PSU	750W	500W-33%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	8-pin
Length	275mm	240mm
Height	109mm	95mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	95°C	85°C-11%
Perf/Watt	30.5	57.0+87%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 290X / 390X launched at $549 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 480 launched at $229. The Radeon RX 480 costs 58.3% less ($320 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 15.3 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) vs 37.3 (Radeon RX 480) — the Radeon RX 480 offers 143.8% better value. The Radeon RX 480 is the newer GPU (2016 vs 2015).