Radeon R9 290 vs R9 Nano

Place in performance ranking	233	243
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	5.28	12.45
Architecture	GCN 1.2 (2015−2016)	GCN 2.0 (2013−2017)
GPU code name	Fiji	Hawaii
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	10 September 2015 (8 years old)	5 November 2013 (10 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$649	$399
Current price	$27 (0x MSRP)	$20 (0.1x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

R9 290 has 136% better value for money than R9 Nano.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	4096	2560
Compute units	64	no data
Core clock speed	no data	947 MHz
Boost clock speed	1000 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	8,900 million	6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	275 Watt
Texture fill rate	256.0	151.5
Floating-point performance	8,192 gflops	4,849 gflops

Size and 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 3.0 x16
Length	152 mm	275 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Bridgeless CrossFire	1	no data

Memory

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	High Bandwidth Memory (HBM)	GDDR5
High bandwidth memory (HBM)	+	no data
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	4096 Bit	512 Bit
Memory clock speed	500 MHz	5000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	512 GB/s	320.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	no data

Video outputs and ports

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	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity	+	no data
Number of Eyefinity displays	6	no data
HDMI	+	+
DisplayPort support	+	no data

Technologies

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

AppAcceleration	+	no data
CrossFire	1	no data
Enduro	-	no data
FRTC	1	no data
FreeSync	1	no data
HD3D	+	no data
LiquidVR	1	no data
PowerTune	+	no data
TressFX	1	no data
TrueAudio	+	no data
ZeroCore	+	no data
VCE	+	no data
DDMA audio	+	no data

API support

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

DirectX	DirectX® 12	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	6.3	6.3
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	2.0	2.0
Vulkan	+	1.2.131
Mantle	+	no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance 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 Nano 21.91
+4.9%

R9 290 20.89

R9 Nano outperforms R9 290 by 5% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

R9 Nano 8486
+4.9%

R9 290 8093

R9 Nano outperforms R9 290 by 5% in Passmark.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

R9 Nano 14362
+21.1%

R9 290 11860

R9 Nano outperforms R9 290 by 21% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

Unigine Heaven 4.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark, a newer version of Unigine 3.0 with relatively small differences. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. The benchmark is still sometimes used, despite its significant age, as it was released back in 2013.

Benchmark coverage: 1%

R9 Nano 1732
+20.3%

R9 290 1440

R9 Nano outperforms R9 290 by 20% in Unigine Heaven 4.0.

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	91 +7.1%	85−90 −7.1%
4K	45 +12.5%	40−45 −12.5%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

35−40
+16.7%

30−33

−16.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +10%	40−45 −10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +8.6%	35−40 −8.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +10.8%	65−70 −10.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	55−60 +14%	50−55 −14%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +16.7%	30−33 −16.7%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +5.5%	55−60 −5.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +7.3%	55−60 −7.3%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +5.7%	70−75 −5.7%
Hitman 3	60−65 +6.7%	60−65 −6.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +17.5%	40−45 −17.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +20%	30−33 −20%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +17.5%	40−45 −17.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +5%	40−45 −5%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +10%	40−45 −10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +8.6%	35−40 −8.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +10.8%	65−70 −10.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	55−60 +14%	50−55 −14%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +16.7%	30−33 −16.7%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +5.5%	55−60 −5.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +7.3%	55−60 −7.3%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +5.7%	70−75 −5.7%
Hitman 3	60−65 +6.7%	60−65 −6.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +17.5%	40−45 −17.5%
Metro Exodus	35−40 +20%	30−33 −20%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +20%	30−33 −20%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +17.5%	40−45 −17.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 +6.7%	45−50 −6.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +5%	40−45 −5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +10%	40−45 −10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +8.6%	35−40 −8.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +10.8%	65−70 −10.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +16.7%	30−33 −16.7%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +5.5%	55−60 −5.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +7.3%	55−60 −7.3%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +5.7%	70−75 −5.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	47 +17.5%	40−45 −17.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +5%	40−45 −5%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35 +10%	30−33 −10%
Hitman 3	35−40 +20%	30−33 −20%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 +7.4%	27−30 −7.4%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +16.7%	18−20 −16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	16−18 +14.3%	14−16 −14.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +7.4%	27−30 −7.4%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +14.3%	21−24 −14.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 +16.7%	18−20 −16.7%
Battlefield 5	45−50 +8.9%	45−50 −8.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +8.3%	12−14 −8.3%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +5.7%	35−40 −5.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45 +5%	40−45 −5%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +12.5%	40−45 −12.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +19%	21−24 −19%
Watch Dogs: Legion	16−18 +14.3%	14−16 −14.3%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +14.3%	14−16 −14.3%
Hitman 3	20−22 +11.1%	18−20 −11.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 +16.7%	12−14 −16.7%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +8.3%	12−14 −8.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +20%	10−11 −20%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +7.1%	14−16 −7.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35 +16.7%	30−33 −16.7%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +16.7%	12−14 −16.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +20%	10−11 −20%
Battlefield 5	24−27 +8.3%	24−27 −8.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 +25%	4−5 −25%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +12.5%	16−18 −12.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 +16.7%	18−20 −16.7%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +14.8%	27−30 −14.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−11 +11.1%	9−10 −11.1%