GeForce RTX 4090 vs Radeon 540
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon 540 and GeForce RTX 4090, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
RTX 4090 outperforms 540 by a whopping 2655% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 728 | 1 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | 8 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.10 | 18.87 |
| Power efficiency | 4.97 | 15.24 |
| Architecture | GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) | Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) |
| GPU code name | Lexa | AD102 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 20 April 2017 (7 years ago) | 20 September 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $79 | $1,599 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.
RTX 4090 has 18770% better value for money than Radeon 540.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 384 | 16384 |
| Core clock speed | 1183 MHz | 2235 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1124 MHz | 2520 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 2,200 million | 76,300 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 14 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 50 Watt | 450 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 28.39 | 1,290 |
| Floating-point processing power | 0.9085 TFLOPS | 82.58 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 16 | 176 |
| TMUs | 24 | 512 |
| Tensor Cores | no data | 512 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 128 |
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).
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Length | 145 mm | 304 mm |
| Width | 1-slot | 3-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | 1x 16-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 type | GDDR5 | GDDR6X |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 24 GB |
| Memory bus width | 32 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1500 MHz | 1313 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 24 GB/s | 1.01 TB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | 2x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDMI | - | + |
API and SDK compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 6.7 | 6.8 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 2.1 | 3.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| CUDA | - | 8.9 |
| DLSS | - | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
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.
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.
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 HD | 9−10
−2778%
| 259
+2778%
|
| 1440p | 7−8
−2729%
| 198
+2729%
|
| 4K | 5−6
−2740%
| 142
+2740%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 8.78
−42.2%
| 6.17
+42.2%
|
| 1440p | 11.29
−39.7%
| 8.08
+39.7%
|
| 4K | 15.80
−40.3%
| 11.26
+40.3%
|
- RTX 4090 has 42% lower cost per frame in 1080p
- RTX 4090 has 40% lower cost per frame in 1440p
- RTX 4090 has 40% lower cost per frame in 4K
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Atomic Heart | 324
+0%
|
324
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 212
+0%
|
212
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 227
+0%
|
227
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Atomic Heart | 265
+0%
|
265
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 190−200
+0%
|
190−200
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 215
+0%
|
215
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 224
+0%
|
224
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 209
+0%
|
209
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 281
+0%
|
281
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 170−180
+0%
|
170−180
+0%
|
| Valorant | 650−700
+0%
|
650−700
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Atomic Heart | 234
+0%
|
234
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 190−200
+0%
|
190−200
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 199
+0%
|
199
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 270−280
+0%
|
270−280
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 215
+0%
|
215
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 253
+0%
|
253
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 201
+0%
|
201
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 275
+0%
|
275
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 174
+0%
|
174
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 229
+0%
|
229
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 170−180
+0%
|
170−180
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 579
+0%
|
579
+0%
|
| Valorant | 650−700
+0%
|
650−700
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 190−200
+0%
|
190−200
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 185
+0%
|
185
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 211
+0%
|
211
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 224
+0%
|
224
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 187
+0%
|
187
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 170−180
+0%
|
170−180
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 305
+0%
|
305
+0%
|
| Valorant | 680
+0%
|
680
+0%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 170−180
+0%
|
170−180
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 500−550
+0%
|
500−550
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 162
+0%
|
162
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 180
+0%
|
180
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 170−180
+0%
|
170−180
+0%
|
| Valorant | 450−500
+0%
|
450−500
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 190−200
+0%
|
190−200
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 159
+0%
|
159
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 187
+0%
|
187
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 259
+0%
|
259
+0%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 150−160
+0%
|
150−160
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Atomic Heart | 102
+0%
|
102
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 130
+0%
|
130
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 187
+0%
|
187
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 137
+0%
|
137
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 280
+0%
|
280
+0%
|
| Valorant | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 38
+0%
|
38
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 81
+0%
|
81
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 227
+0%
|
227
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 170
+0%
|
170
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 300−350
+0%
|
300−350
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 95−100
+0%
|
95−100
+0%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 75−80
+0%
|
75−80
+0%
|
This is how Radeon 540 and RTX 4090 compete in popular games:
- RTX 4090 is 2778% faster in 1080p
- RTX 4090 is 2729% faster in 1440p
- RTX 4090 is 2740% faster in 4K
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 64 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 3.63 | 100.00 |
| Recency | 20 April 2017 | 20 September 2022 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 24 GB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 50 Watt | 450 Watt |
Radeon 540 has 800% lower power consumption.
RTX 4090, on the other hand, has a 2654.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 2300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 180% more advanced lithography process.
The GeForce RTX 4090 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 540 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.
