Radeon RX 590 vs R9 280

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Radeon RX 550 Radeon RX 550X Radeon RX 560 Radeon RX 560 XT Radeon RX 560X Radeon RX 570 Radeon RX 570X Radeon RX 580 Radeon RX 580 2048SP Radeon RX 580 OEM Radeon RX 580X Radeon RX 590 Radeon RX 590 GME

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 280 and Radeon RX 590, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 280
2014
3 GB GDDR5, 200 Watt
14.27

RX 590 outperforms R9 280 by an impressive 69% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

R9 280 R9 280
RX 590 RX 590

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking374240
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation5.3724.11
Power efficiency4.959.56
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code nameTahitiPolaris 30
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date4 March 2014 (10 years ago)15 November 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$279 $279

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

RX 590 has 349% better value for money than R9 280.

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 cores17922304
Core clock speedno data1469 MHz
Boost clock speed933 MHz1545 MHz
Number of transistors4,313 million5,700 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)200 Watt175 Watt
Texture fill rate104.5222.5
Floating-point processing power3.344 TFLOPS7.119 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs112144

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 3.0 x16
Length275 mm241 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin1x 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB8 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth240 GB/s256.0 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
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 compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1212 (12_0)
Shader Model5.16.4
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.22.0
Vulkan+1.2.131

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.

R9 280 14.27
RX 590 24.11
+69%

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 5552
RX 590 9379
+68.9%

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 590 16814
+110%

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 HD60−65
−75%
105
+75%
1440p35−40
−82.9%
64
+82.9%
4K21−24
−85.7%
39
+85.7%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.65
−75%
2.66
+75%
1440p7.97
−82.9%
4.36
+82.9%
4K13.29
−85.7%
7.15
+85.7%
  • RX 590 has 75% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RX 590 has 83% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RX 590 has 86% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Battlefield 5 133
+0%
133
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 85
+0%
85
+0%
Fortnite 139
+0%
139
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 120
+0%
120
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 120
+0%
120
+0%
Valorant 301
+0%
301
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Battlefield 5 111
+0%
111
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Dota 2 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry 5 79
+0%
79
+0%
Fortnite 138
+0%
138
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 113
+0%
113
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 79
+0%
79
+0%
Metro Exodus 52
+0%
52
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 108
+0%
108
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 88
+0%
88
+0%
Valorant 287
+0%
287
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 100
+0%
100
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Dota 2 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry 5 74
+0%
74
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 91
+0%
91
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 83
+0%
83
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 51
+0%
51
+0%
Valorant 110
+0%
110
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 96
+0%
96
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Metro Exodus 31
+0%
31
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Valorant 232
+0%
232
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 41
+0%
41
+0%
Metro Exodus 19
+0%
19
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 32
+0%
32
+0%
Valorant 113
+0%
113
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 40
+0%
40
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Dota 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Far Cry 5 24
+0%
24
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 46
+0%
46
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35
+0%
35
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 29
+0%
29
+0%

This is how R9 280 and RX 590 compete in popular games:

  • RX 590 is 75% faster in 1080p
  • RX 590 is 83% faster in 1440p
  • RX 590 is 86% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 67 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 14.27 24.11
Recency 4 March 2014 15 November 2018
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 8 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 12 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 175 Watt

RX 590 has a 69% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 133.3% more advanced lithography process, and 14.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 590 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 280 in performance tests.

Vote for your favorite

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AMD Radeon R9 280
Radeon R9 280
AMD Radeon RX 590
Radeon RX 590
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Other comparisons

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R9 280 Radeon R9 280
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GTX 680 GeForce GTX 680
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Iris Plus Graphics 655 Graphics 655
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Pro 555X 555X
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RTX 2080 Ti 2080 Ti
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RTX 2060 2060
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RTX 2080 2080
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RX 580 2048SP 580 2048SP
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GTX 1050 Mobile 1050 Mobile
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vs
GeForce MX250 MX250
R9 280 AMD R9 280
vs
GTX 1650 1650
R9 280 AMD R9 280
vs
GTX 1650 Max-Q 1650 Max-Q

Community ratings

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

3.6 421 vote

Rate Radeon R9 280 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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4.1 2602 votes

Rate Radeon RX 590 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
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  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can give us your opinion about Radeon R9 280 or Radeon RX 590, agree or disagree with our ratings, or report errors or inaccuracies on the site.