Radeon HD 6790 vs R9 270X

Place in the ranking	396	691
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.86	0.83
Power efficiency	4.86	1.90
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code name	Curacao	Barts
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	8 October 2013 (11 years ago)	4 April 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	$149

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

R9 270X has 606% better value for money than HD 6790.

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	1280	800
Core clock speed	no data	840 MHz
Boost clock speed	1050 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	2,800 million	1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	180 Watt	150 Watt
Texture fill rate	84.00	33.60
Floating-point processing power	2.688 TFLOPS	1.344 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	16
TMUs	80	40

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 support	PCIe 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	198 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2 x 6-pin	2x 6-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	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	no data	1050 MHz
Memory bandwidth	179.2 GB/s	134.4 GB/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 DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	+	+
DisplayPort support	+	-

Supported technologies

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

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

API compatibility

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

DirectX	DirectX® 12	11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model	5.1	5.0
OpenGL	4.6	4.4
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	+	N/A

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. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

R9 270X 12.68
+207%

HD 6790 4.13

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 270X 4876
+207%

HD 6790 1589

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 270X 6560
+205%

HD 6790 2150

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	150−160 +188%	52 −188%
Full HD	180−190 +205%	59 −205%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

1.11
+128%

2.53

−128%

R9 270X has 128% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 +178%	9−10 −178%
Elden Ring	35−40 +322%	9−10 −322%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	40−45 +242%	12−14 −242%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 +178%	9−10 −178%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 +183%	18−20 −183%
Metro Exodus	35−40 +289%	9−10 −289%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +146%	12−14 −146%
Valorant	50−55 +614%	7−8 −614%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	40−45 +242%	12−14 −242%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 +178%	9−10 −178%
Dota 2	45−50 +254%	12−14 −254%
Elden Ring	35−40 +322%	9−10 −322%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +133%	21−24 −133%
Fortnite	70−75 +200%	24−27 −200%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 +183%	18−20 −183%
Grand Theft Auto V	45−50 +246%	12−14 −246%
Metro Exodus	35−40 +289%	9−10 −289%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +161%	35−40 −161%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +146%	12−14 −146%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35−40 +171%	14−16 −171%
Valorant	50−55 +614%	7−8 −614%
World of Tanks	170−180 +146%	70−75 −146%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	40−45 +242%	12−14 −242%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 +178%	9−10 −178%
Dota 2	45−50 +254%	12−14 −254%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +133%	21−24 −133%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 +183%	18−20 −183%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +161%	35−40 −161%
Valorant	50−55 +614%	7−8 −614%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +750%	2−3 −750%
Elden Ring	18−20 +375%	4−5 −375%
Grand Theft Auto V	18−20 +500%	3−4 −500%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	85−90 +193%	27−30 −193%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−12 +267%	3−4 −267%
World of Tanks	90−95 +210%	27−30 −210%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +400%	5−6 −400%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +125%	4−5 −125%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +222%	9−10 −222%
Forza Horizon 4	30−33 +650%	4−5 −650%
Metro Exodus	27−30 +2600%	1−2 −2600%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +220%	5−6 −220%
Valorant	30−35 +158%	12−14 −158%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
Dota 2	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Elden Ring	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Metro Exodus	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +208%	12−14 −208%
Red Dead Redemption 2	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 +300%	3−4 −300%
Counter-Strike 2	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Dota 2	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Far Cry 5	16−18 +300%	4−5 −300%
Fortnite	14−16 +367%	3−4 −367%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +750%	2−3 −750%
Valorant	12−14 +225%	4−5 −225%

This is how R9 270X and HD 6790 compete in popular games:

R9 270X is 188% faster in 900p
R9 270X is 205% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Metro Exodus, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 270X is 2600% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, R9 270X surpassed HD 6790 in all 60 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	12.68	4.13
Recency	8 October 2013	4 April 2011
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	180 Watt	150 Watt

R9 270X has a 207% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

HD 6790, on the other hand, has 20% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 270X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6790 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.