Radeon RX 6800M vs R9 290

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 290 with Radeon RX 6800M, including specs and performance data.

R9 290
2013
4 GB GDDR5, 275 Watt
21.06

RX 6800M outperforms R9 290 by an impressive 65% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking266147
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation8.07no data
Power efficiency5.2816.50
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)
GPU code nameHawaiiNavi 22
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date5 November 2013 (11 years ago)31 May 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$399 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores25602560
Core clock speed947 MHz2116 MHz
Boost clock speedno data2390 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million17,200 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)275 Watt145 Watt
Texture fill rate151.5382.4
Floating-point processing power4.849 TFLOPS12.24 TFLOPS
ROPs6464
TMUs160160
Ray Tracing Coresno data40

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 sizeno datalarge
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Length275 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinNone

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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount4 GB12 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth320.0 GB/s384.0 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, 1x DisplayPortNo outputs
HDMI+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model6.36.5
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.02.1
Vulkan1.2.1311.3

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 290 21.06
RX 6800M 34.70
+64.8%

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 290 8093
RX 6800M 13335
+64.8%

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 290 11860
RX 6800M 34199
+188%

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 HD65−70
−66.2%
108
+66.2%
1440p40−45
−75%
70
+75%
4K27−30
−70.4%
46
+70.4%

Cost per frame, $

1080p6.14no data
1440p9.98no data
4K14.78no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 123
+0%
123
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 104
+0%
104
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 232
+0%
232
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 86
+0%
86
+0%
Metro Exodus 96
+0%
96
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 98
+0%
98
+0%
Valorant 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 92
+0%
92
+0%
Dota 2 117
+0%
117
+0%
Far Cry 5 48
+0%
48
+0%
Fortnite 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 211
+0%
211
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 120
+0%
120
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 112
+0%
112
+0%
Metro Exodus 87
+0%
87
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 86
+0%
86
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Valorant 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
World of Tanks 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 85
+0%
85
+0%
Dota 2 115
+0%
115
+0%
Far Cry 5 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 180
+0%
180
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 81
+0%
81
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Valorant 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 84
+0%
84
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 84
+0%
84
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 53
+0%
53
+0%
World of Tanks 220−230
+0%
220−230
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 49
+0%
49
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 145
+0%
145
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Metro Exodus 83
+0%
83
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Dota 2 85
+0%
85
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 85
+0%
85
+0%
Metro Exodus 38
+0%
38
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 33
+0%
33
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 85
+0%
85
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 22
+0%
22
+0%
Dota 2 95
+0%
95
+0%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Fortnite 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 77
+0%
77
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Valorant 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%

This is how R9 290 and RX 6800M compete in popular games:

  • RX 6800M is 66% faster in 1080p
  • RX 6800M is 75% faster in 1440p
  • RX 6800M is 70% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 64 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 21.06 34.70
Recency 5 November 2013 31 May 2021
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 12 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 275 Watt 145 Watt

RX 6800M has a 64.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 200% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 300% more advanced lithography process, and 89.7% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 6800M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 290 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 290 is a desktop card while Radeon RX 6800M is a notebook one.


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 290
Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon RX 6800M
Radeon RX 6800M

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

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


4.1 576 votes

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4.4 317 votes

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Questions & comments

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