Radeon R9 M390 vs R9 280
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon R9 280 with Radeon R9 M390, including specs and performance data.
R9 280 outperforms R9 M390 by a considerable 46% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 365 | 459 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 5.35 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 4.99 | no data |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 (2011−2020) | GCN (2012−2015) |
| GPU code name | Tahiti | Pitcairn |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Design | reference | no data |
| Release date | 4 March 2014 (10 years ago) | 9 June 2015 (9 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $279 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
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 | 1792 | 1024 |
| Boost clock speed | 933 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 4,313 million | 5000 Million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 200 Watt | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 104.5 | no data |
| Floating-point processing power | 3.344 TFLOPS | no data |
| ROPs | 32 | no data |
| TMUs | 112 | no data |
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).
| Laptop size | no data | large |
| Bus support | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | no data |
| Length | 275 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin | no data |
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 | 3 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory bus width | 384 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1250 MHz | no data |
| Memory bandwidth | 240 GB/s | no data |
| 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, 2x mini-DisplayPort | no data |
| 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 | + | - |
| PowerTune | - | + |
| DualGraphics | - | + |
| TressFX | + | - |
| TrueAudio | + | - |
| ZeroCore | - | + |
| Switchable graphics | - | + |
| UVD | + | - |
| DDMA audio | + | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | DirectX® 12 | DirectX® 12 |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | no data |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | Not Listed |
| Vulkan | + | - |
| Mantle | - | + |
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 | 60−65
+36.4%
| 44
−36.4%
|
| 4K | 30−35
+42.9%
| 21
−42.9%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 4.65 | no data |
| 4K | 9.30 | no data |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Valorant | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 22
+0%
|
22
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 34
+0%
|
34
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 75−80
+0%
|
75−80
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 33
+0%
|
33
+0%
|
| Valorant | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| World of Tanks | 140−150
+0%
|
140−150
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 75−80
+0%
|
75−80
+0%
|
| Valorant | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Dota 2 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| World of Tanks | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Valorant | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Valorant | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
This is how R9 280 and R9 M390 compete in popular games:
- R9 280 is 36% faster in 1080p
- R9 280 is 43% faster in 4K
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 14.45 | 9.91 |
| Recency | 4 March 2014 | 9 June 2015 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 3 GB | 2 GB |
R9 280 has a 45.8% higher aggregate performance score, and a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount.
R9 M390, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year.
The Radeon R9 280 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 M390 in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon R9 280 is a desktop card while Radeon R9 M390 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
