Radeon RX 9070 GRE vs R9 280

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 280 and Radeon RX 9070 GRE, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 280
2014, $279
3 GB GDDR5, 200 Watt
13.23
RX 9070 GRE
2025, $549
12 GB GDDR6, 220 Watt
56.01
+323%

9070 GRE outperforms R9 280 by a whopping 323% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking43150
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation4.7660.84
Power efficiency5.1519.83
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2012−2020)RDNA 4.0 (2025−2026)
GPU code nameTahitiNavi 48
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date4 March 2014 (12 years ago)8 May 2025 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$279 $549

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

RX 9070 GRE has 1178% better value for money than R9 280.

Performance to price scatter graph

Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores17923072
Core clock speedno data1420 MHz
Boost clock speed933 MHz2790 MHz
Number of transistors4,313 million53,900 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm4 nm
Power consumption (TDP)200 Watt220 Watt
Texture fill rate104.5535.7
Floating-point processing power3.344 TFLOPS34.28 TFLOPS
ROPs3296
TMUs112192
Tensor Coresno data96
Ray Tracing Coresno data48
L0 Cacheno data768 KB
L1 Cache448 KBno data
L2 Cache768 KB8 MB
L3 Cacheno data48 MB

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus supportPCIe 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 5.0 x16
Length275 mmno data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin2x 8-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount3 GB12 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz2250 MHz
Memory bandwidth240 GB/s432.0 GB/s
Resizable BAR-+

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a
Eyefinity+-
HDMI++

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
LiquidVR+-
TressFX+-
TrueAudio+-
UVD+-
DDMA audio+no data

API and SDK support

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectXDirectX® 1212 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model5.16.8
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.22.2
Vulkan+1.4
DLSS-+

Synthetic benchmarks

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

R9 280 13.23
RX 9070 GRE 56.01
+323%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

R9 280 5533
Samples: 3847
RX 9070 GRE 23433
+324%
Samples: 212

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

R9 280 8020
RX 9070 GRE 50845
+534%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD35−40
−78.1%
160
1440p18−2185
+372%
4K12−1457
+375%

Cost per frame, $

1080p7.973.43
+57%
1440p15.506.46
+58.3%
4K23.259.63
+58.6%
  • RX 9070 GRE has 57% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RX 9070 GRE has 58% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RX 9070 GRE has 59% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 280−290 280−290
Cyberpunk 2077 130−140 130−140
Resident Evil 4 Remake 160−170 160−170

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 160−170 160−170
Counter-Strike 2 280−290 280−290
Cyberpunk 2077 130−140 130−140
Far Cry 5 170−180 170−180
Fortnite 250−260 250−260
Forza Horizon 4 210−220 210−220
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180 170−180
Valorant 300−350 300−350

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 160−170 160−170
Counter-Strike 2 280−290 280−290
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 270−280 270−280
Cyberpunk 2077 130−140 130−140
Far Cry 5 170−180 170−180
Far Cry 6 160−170 160−170
Fortnite 250−260 250−260
Forza Horizon 4 210−220 210−220
Grand Theft Auto V 160−170 160−170
Metro Exodus 140−150 140−150
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180 170−180
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 364 364
Valorant 300−350 300−350

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 160−170 160−170
Cyberpunk 2077 130−140 130−140
Far Cry 5 170−180 170−180
Forza Horizon 4 210−220 210−220
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180 170−180
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 197 197

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 250−260 250−260

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 160−170 160−170
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 400−450 400−450
Far Cry 6 110−120 110−120
Grand Theft Auto V 120−130 120−130
Metro Exodus 90−95 90−95
Valorant 350−400 350−400

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 130−140 130−140
Cyberpunk 2077 75−80 75−80
Far Cry 5 140−150 140−150
Forza Horizon 4 180−190 180−190
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 142 142

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 150−160 150−160

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 70−75 70−75
Far Cry 6 60−65 60−65
Grand Theft Auto V 130−140 130−140
Metro Exodus 55−60 55−60
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 113 113
Valorant 300−350 300−350

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 95−100 95−100
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40 35−40
Far Cry 5 85−90 85−90
Forza Horizon 4 130−140 130−140
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 95−100 95−100

4K
Epic

Fortnite 75−80 75−80

This is how R9 280 and RX 9070 GRE compete in popular games:

  • RX 9070 GRE is 357% faster in 1080p
  • RX 9070 GRE is 372% faster in 1440p
  • RX 9070 GRE is 375% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 55 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 13.23 56.01
Recency 4 March 2014 8 May 2025
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 12 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 4 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 220 Watt

R9 280 has 9% lower power consumption.

RX 9070 GRE, on the other hand, has a 323% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 86% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 9070 GRE is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 280 in performance tests.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


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