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 390

2015

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation (2023).
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
17.9% HIGHER MSRP
$329 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.9 vs 33.4 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $279 MSRP).
❌71.4% higher power demand at 300W vs 175W.

Radeon RX 590

2018

Why buy it

✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Delivers 24% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 33.4 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation (2023).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 390: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 390 is already legacy-tier future-proofing.
✅Draws 175W instead of 300W, a 125W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 8 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Radeon R9 390

2015

Radeon RX 590

2018

Why buy it

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

Why buy it

✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Delivers 24% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 33.4 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation (2023).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 390: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 390 is already legacy-tier future-proofing.
✅Draws 175W instead of 300W, a 125W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation (2023).
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
17.9% HIGHER MSRP
$329 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.9 vs 33.4 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $279 MSRP).
❌71.4% higher power demand at 300W vs 175W.

Trade-offs

❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 8 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon RX 590 better than Radeon R9 390?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,855 vs 9,315 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon RX 590 is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, FSR upscaling + limited Frame Generation, plus much lower power draw (175W vs 300W).

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

Radeon RX 590 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2018 generation instead of 2015, better frame-generation support with FSR Frame Generation (2023) 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 RX 590 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $279 MSRP. Radeon RX 590 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon RX 590 is about $50 cheaper on MSRP at $279 MSRP versus $329 MSRP, and you are getting 5.2% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $279 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (175W vs 300W), and FSR upscaling + limited Frame Generation.

Is Radeon R9 390 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon R9 390 is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $329 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. Radeon RX 590 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and FSR upscaling + limited Frame Generation.

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 390 Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 590 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
1080p
low	135 FPS	175 FPS
medium	115 FPS	159 FPS
high	94 FPS	138 FPS
ultra	57 FPS	107 FPS
1440p
low	113 FPS	153 FPS
medium	96 FPS	126 FPS
high	70 FPS	104 FPS
ultra	42 FPS	85 FPS
4K
low	39 FPS	76 FPS
medium	36 FPS	64 FPS
high	22 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	19 FPS	43 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 590

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
1080p
low	198 FPS	170 FPS
medium	173 FPS	145 FPS
high	143 FPS	126 FPS
ultra	111 FPS	98 FPS
1440p
low	138 FPS	96 FPS
medium	110 FPS	75 FPS
high	88 FPS	60 FPS
ultra	67 FPS	49 FPS
4K
low	61 FPS	46 FPS
medium	50 FPS	36 FPS
high	45 FPS	31 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	26 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 590

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
1080p
low	398 FPS	419 FPS
medium	319 FPS	335 FPS
high	266 FPS	279 FPS
ultra	199 FPS	210 FPS
1440p
low	299 FPS	314 FPS
medium	239 FPS	252 FPS
high	199 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	149 FPS	157 FPS
4K
low	199 FPS	210 FPS
medium	159 FPS	168 FPS
high	133 FPS	140 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	105 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 590

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
1080p
low	224 FPS	419 FPS
medium	193 FPS	335 FPS
high	156 FPS	279 FPS
ultra	132 FPS	210 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	314 FPS
medium	146 FPS	252 FPS
high	113 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	157 FPS
4K
low	95 FPS	190 FPS
medium	75 FPS	149 FPS
high	59 FPS	131 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	105 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 590

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 390 and Radeon RX 590

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.

Radeon RX 590

The Radeon RX 590 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 15 2018. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1469 MHz to 1545 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 175W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,315 points. Launch price was $279.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the Radeon R9 390 scores 8,855 versus the Radeon RX 590's 9,315 — the Radeon RX 590 leads by 5.2%. The Radeon R9 390 is built on GCN 2.0 while the Radeon RX 590 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 12 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (Radeon R9 390) vs 2,304 (Radeon RX 590). Raw compute: 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390) vs 7.119 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 590). Boost clocks: 1000 MHz vs 1545 MHz.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
G3D Mark Score	8,855	9,315+5%
Architecture	GCN 2.0	GCN 4.0
Process Node	28 nm	12 nm
Shading Units	2560+11%	2304
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.12 TFLOPS	7.119 TFLOPS+39%
Boost Clock	1000 MHz	1545 MHz+55%
ROPs	64+100%	32
TMUs	160+11%	144
L1 Cache	640 KB+11%	576 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB	2 MB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling + limited Frame Generation

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

A critical advantage for the Radeon RX 590 is support for FSR Frame Generation. This allows it to generate entire frames using AI/Algorithms, essentially doubling the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios or heavy ray-tracing titles. The Radeon R9 390 lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	FSR Frame Generation
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 (Radeon R9 390) vs 256 GB/s (Radeon RX 590) — a 25% advantage for the Radeon R9 390. Bus width: 512-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 1 MB (Radeon R9 390) vs 2 MB (Radeon RX 590) — the Radeon RX 590 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
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 390) vs 12.0 (Radeon RX 590). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	6+50%	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390) vs VCE 3.4 (Radeon RX 590). Decoder: UVD 4.2 vs UVD 6.3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon RX 590).

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
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 390 draws 300W versus the Radeon RX 590's 175W — a 52.6% difference. The Radeon RX 590 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (Radeon R9 390) vs 500W (Radeon RX 590). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 275mm vs 241mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 95°C vs 80°C.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 590
TDP	300W	175W-42%
Recommended PSU	750W	500W-33%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	8-pin
Length	275mm	241mm
Height	109mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	95°C	80°C-16%
Perf/Watt	29.5	53.2+80%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 390 launched at $329 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 590 launched at $279. The Radeon RX 590 costs 15.2% less ($50 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) vs 33.4 (Radeon RX 590) — the Radeon RX 590 offers 24.2% better value. The Radeon RX 590 is the newer GPU (2018 vs 2015).