Radeon R7 250X vs R9 280X

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 280X and Radeon R7 250X, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 280X
2013
3 GB GDDR5, 250 Watt
15.18
+157%

R9 280X outperforms R7 250X by a whopping 157% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking351593
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation5.590.63
Power efficiency4.195.09
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameTahitiCape Verde
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferencereference
Release date8 October 2013 (11 years ago)13 February 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$299 $99

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

R9 280X has 787% better value for money than R7 250X.

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 cores2048640
Boost clock speed1000 MHz1000 MHz
Number of transistors4,313 million1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)250 Watt80 Watt
Texture fill rate128.038.00
Floating-point processing power4.096 TFLOPS1.216 TFLOPS
ROPs3216
TMUs12840

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 3.0PCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length275 mm210 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin1 x 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB2 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speedno data1625 MHz
Memory bandwidth288 GB/s96 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, 1x DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-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++

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 12DirectX® 12
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan+-

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 280X 15.18
+157%
R7 250X 5.90

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 280X 5837
+157%
R7 250X 2268

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 280X 8343
+192%
R7 250X 2860

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 HD64
+167%
24−27
−167%
4K33
+175%
12−14
−175%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.67
−13.3%
4.13
+13.3%
4K9.06
−9.8%
8.25
+9.8%
  • R7 250X has 13% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • R7 250X has 10% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+170%
10−11
−170%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+200%
10−11
−200%
Elden Ring 45−50
+188%
16−18
−188%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+172%
18−20
−172%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+170%
10−11
−170%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+200%
10−11
−200%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+158%
24−27
−158%
Metro Exodus 40−45
+193%
14−16
−193%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+164%
14−16
−164%
Valorant 60−65
+190%
21−24
−190%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+172%
18−20
−172%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+170%
10−11
−170%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+200%
10−11
−200%
Dota 2 36
+200%
12−14
−200%
Elden Ring 45−50
+188%
16−18
−188%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+162%
21−24
−162%
Fortnite 80−85
+180%
30−33
−180%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+158%
24−27
−158%
Grand Theft Auto V 54
+200%
18−20
−200%
Metro Exodus 40−45
+193%
14−16
−193%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−110
+173%
40−45
−173%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+164%
14−16
−164%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 52
+189%
18−20
−189%
Valorant 60−65
+190%
21−24
−190%
World of Tanks 190−200
+160%
75−80
−160%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+172%
18−20
−172%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+170%
10−11
−170%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+200%
10−11
−200%
Dota 2 137
+174%
50−55
−174%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+162%
21−24
−162%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+158%
24−27
−158%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−110
+173%
40−45
−173%
Valorant 60−65
+190%
21−24
−190%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 21−24
+175%
8−9
−175%
Elden Ring 24−27
+167%
9−10
−167%
Grand Theft Auto V 21−24
+188%
8−9
−188%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 130−140
+174%
50−55
−174%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%
World of Tanks 100−110
+165%
40−45
−165%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
+158%
12−14
−158%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+175%
4−5
−175%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+164%
14−16
−164%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+164%
14−16
−164%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+175%
12−14
−175%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+171%
7−8
−171%
Valorant 35−40
+171%
14−16
−171%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 10−12
+175%
4−5
−175%
Dota 2 24−27
+160%
10−11
−160%
Elden Ring 10−11
+233%
3−4
−233%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
+160%
10−11
−160%
Metro Exodus 10−11
+233%
3−4
−233%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
+181%
16−18
−181%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+233%
3−4
−233%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
+160%
10−11
−160%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 14−16
+180%
5−6
−180%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
+175%
4−5
−175%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Dota 2 68
+183%
24−27
−183%
Far Cry 5 18−20
+171%
7−8
−171%
Fortnite 16−18
+183%
6−7
−183%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+163%
8−9
−163%
Valorant 16−18
+183%
6−7
−183%

This is how R9 280X and R7 250X compete in popular games:

  • R9 280X is 167% faster in 1080p
  • R9 280X is 175% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 15.18 5.90
Recency 8 October 2013 13 February 2014
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 2 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 80 Watt

R9 280X has a 157.3% higher aggregate performance score, and a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount.

R7 250X, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 months, and 212.5% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 280X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R7 250X in performance tests.


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

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AMD Radeon R9 280X
Radeon R9 280X
AMD Radeon R7 250X
Radeon R7 250X

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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


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Questions & comments

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