R9 M280X vs RX 540

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Combined performance score

RX 540
7.19
+242%

RX 540 outperforms R9 M280X by 242% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking507824
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money9.72no data
ArchitecturePolaris (2016−2019)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code namePolaris 12Saturn XT
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date21 March 2017 (7 years old)1 February 2015 (9 years old)
Current price$166 no data
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores512896
Core clock speedno data900 MHz
Boost clock speed1219 MHzno data
Number of transistors1,500 million2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology14 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)75 Wattno data
Texture fill rate39.0161.60
Floating-point performance1,248 gflops1,792 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon RX 540 and Radeon R9 M280X compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizelargelarge
Bus supportno dataNot Listed
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pinno 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 typeGDDR5Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount4 GB0 MB
Memory bus width128 BitNot Listed
Memory clock speed6000 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth96 GB/s96 GB/s
Shared memory--

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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs

Technologies

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

AppAccelerationno data-
Endurono data-
FreeSync+1
HD3Dno data+
PowerTuneno data+
DualGraphicsno data1
TrueAudiono data-
ZeroCoreno data+
Switchable graphicsno data1

API support

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

DirectX12.0DirectX® 11
Shader Model5.06.3
OpenGL4.64.4
OpenCL1.2Not Listed
Mantleno 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.

RX 540 7.19
+242%
R9 M280X 2.10

RX 540 outperforms R9 M280X by 242% in our combined 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%

RX 540 2788
+243%
R9 M280X 813

RX 540 outperforms R9 M280X by 243% in Passmark.

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

RX 540 13720
+48.8%
R9 M280X 9222

RX 540 outperforms R9 M280X by 49% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

RX 540 4646
R9 M280X 4698
+1.1%

R9 M280X outperforms RX 540 by 1% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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%

RX 540 3686
+5.4%
R9 M280X 3498

RX 540 outperforms R9 M280X by 5% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 540 24170
+4.2%
R9 M280X 23201

RX 540 outperforms R9 M280X by 4% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

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 HD24
−12.5%
27
+12.5%
4K60−65
+233%
18
−233%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+120%
5−6
−120%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+650%
2−3
−650%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
+350%
2−3
−350%
Battlefield 5 31
+933%
3−4
−933%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+90.9%
10−12
−90.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+120%
5−6
−120%
Far Cry 5 19
+58.3%
12
−58.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 18
+1700%
1−2
−1700%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+525%
4−5
−525%
Hitman 3 16−18
+467%
3−4
−467%
Horizon Zero Dawn 14−16
+367%
3−4
−367%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 26
+225%
8−9
−225%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−12
+267%
3−4
−267%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+650%
2−3
−650%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
+350%
2−3
−350%
Battlefield 5 29
+867%
3−4
−867%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+90.9%
10−12
−90.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+120%
5−6
−120%
Far Cry 5 21
+950%
2−3
−950%
Far Cry New Dawn 17
+1600%
1−2
−1600%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+525%
4−5
−525%
Hitman 3 16−18
+467%
3−4
−467%
Horizon Zero Dawn 14−16
+367%
3−4
−367%
Metro Exodus 10−11
+233%
3−4
−233%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 19
+138%
8−9
−138%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 11
−45.5%
16
+45.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−12
+267%
3−4
−267%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+650%
2−3
−650%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
+350%
2−3
−350%
Battlefield 5 21
+600%
3−4
−600%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+120%
5−6
−120%
Far Cry 5 17
+750%
2−3
−750%
Far Cry New Dawn 16
+1500%
1−2
−1500%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+525%
4−5
−525%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 7
−28.6%
9
+28.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−12
+267%
3−4
−267%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+175%
4−5
−175%
Hitman 3 10−12
+120%
5−6
−120%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+44.4%
9−10
−44.4%
Metro Exodus 5−6 0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+400%
1−2
−400%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
+100%
5−6
−100%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+500%
1−2
−500%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3 0−1
Battlefield 5 8−9
+300%
2−3
−300%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
+200%
1−2
−200%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+267%
3−4
−267%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
+400%
2−3
−400%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+300%
3−4
−300%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 6−7
+200%
2−3
−200%
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3 0−1

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Hitman 3 7−8
+250%
2−3
−250%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Metro Exodus 1−2 0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 3−4 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+200%
1−2
−200%
Battlefield 5 3−4 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2 0−1
Far Cry 5 6−7
+100%
3−4
−100%
Far Cry New Dawn 9−10
+80%
5−6
−80%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
+250%
2−3
−250%
Watch Dogs: Legion 1−2 0−1

This is how RX 540 and R9 M280X compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • R9 M280X is 12.5% faster than RX 540

4K resolution:

  • RX 540 is 233% faster than R9 M280X

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Far Cry New Dawn, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the RX 540 is 1700% faster than the R9 M280X.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the R9 M280X is 45.5% faster than the RX 540.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RX 540 is ahead in 45 tests (94%)
  • R9 M280X is ahead in 2 tests (4%)
  • there's a draw in 1 test (2%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 7.19 2.10
Recency 21 March 2017 1 February 2015
Chip lithography 14 nm 28 nm

The Radeon RX 540 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 M280X in performance tests.


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

User ratings

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AMD Radeon RX 540
Radeon RX 540
AMD Radeon R9 M280X
Radeon R9 M280X

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Questions and comments

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