Radeon 540X vs HD 6790
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon HD 6790 with Radeon 540X, including specs and performance data.
540X outperforms HD 6790 by a minimal 2% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 766 | 756 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.71 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 1.93 | 5.91 |
| Architecture | TeraScale 2 (2009−2015) | GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) |
| GPU code name | Barts | Lexa |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 4 April 2011 (15 years ago) | 5 September 2018 (7 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $149 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 | 800 | 512 |
| Core clock speed | 840 MHz | 980 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 1046 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 1,700 million | 2,200 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 40 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 50 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 33.60 | 33.47 |
| Floating-point processing power | 1.344 TFLOPS | 1.071 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 16 | 16 |
| TMUs | 40 | 32 |
| L1 Cache | 160 KB | 128 KB |
| L2 Cache | 512 KB | 512 KB |
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 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |
| Length | 198 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |
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 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 64 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1050 MHz | 1500 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 134.4 GB/s | 48 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
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 Connectors | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | No outputs |
| HDMI | + | - |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.2 (11_0) | 12 (12_0) |
| Shader Model | 5.0 | 6.4 |
| OpenGL | 4.4 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 2.0 |
| Vulkan | N/A | 1.2.131 |
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.
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.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
3DMark Vantage Performance
3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.
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.
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:
| 900p | 52
+4%
| 50−55
−4%
|
| Full HD | 61
+221%
| 19
−221%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 2.44 | no data |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Counter-Strike 2 | 14−16
−13.3%
|
17
+13.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 8−9
−12.5%
|
9
+12.5%
|
| Resident Evil 4 Remake | 5−6
−80%
|
9
+80%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Battlefield 5 | 14−16
−73.3%
|
26
+73.3%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 14−16
−13.3%
|
17
+13.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 21−24
−182%
|
62
+182%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 18−20
−5.6%
|
18−20
+5.6%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 10−11
−70%
|
17
+70%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Valorant | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
Full HD
High
| Battlefield 5 | 14−16
−33.3%
|
20
+33.3%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 14−16
+200%
|
5
−200%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 65−70
+23.6%
|
55
−23.6%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 30−35
−38.2%
|
47
+38.2%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 21−24
+0%
|
22
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 18−20
−5.6%
|
18−20
+5.6%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 10−12
−36.4%
|
15
+36.4%
|
| Metro Exodus | 7−8
+16.7%
|
6
−16.7%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−12
−45.5%
|
16
+45.5%
|
| Valorant | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 14−16
−20%
|
18
+20%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 30−35
−29.4%
|
44
+29.4%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 18−20
−5.6%
|
18−20
+5.6%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−12
+10%
|
10
−10%
|
| Valorant | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
Full HD
Epic
| Fortnite | 21−24
+29.4%
|
17
−29.4%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Metro Exodus | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 30−35
−3.2%
|
30−35
+3.2%
|
| Valorant | 35−40
−2.6%
|
40−45
+2.6%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
−50%
|
3−4
+50%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 5−6
−20%
|
6−7
+20%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
4K
High
| Grand Theft Auto V | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Valorant | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
4K
Ultra
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 4−5
−25%
|
5−6
+25%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
This is how HD 6790 and Radeon 540X compete in popular games:
- HD 6790 is 4% faster in 900p
- HD 6790 is 221% faster in 1080p
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Counter-Strike 2, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the HD 6790 is 200% faster.
- in Fortnite, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the Radeon 540X is 182% faster.
All in all, in popular games:
- HD 6790 performs better in 5 tests (9%)
- Radeon 540X performs better in 22 tests (41%)
- there's a draw in 27 tests (50%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 3.75 | 3.84 |
| Recency | 4 April 2011 | 5 September 2018 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Chip lithography | 40 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 50 Watt |
Radeon 540X has a 2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 186% more advanced lithography process, and 200% lower power consumption.
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 6790 and Radeon 540X.
Be aware that Radeon HD 6790 is a desktop graphics card while Radeon 540X is a notebook one.
Other comparisons
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