R9 M390 vs R9 M290X

#ad
Buy
VS

General info

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

Place in performance ranking464416
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money1.64no data
ArchitectureGCN (2011−2017)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code nameNeptunePitcairn
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date7 January 2014 (10 years old)9 June 2015 (8 years old)
Current price$613 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 cores12801024
Compute units20no data
Core clock speed850 MHzno data
Boost clock speed900 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,800 million5000 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Wattno data
Texture fill rate72.00no data
Floating-point performance2,304 gflopsno data

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon R9 M290X and Radeon R9 M390 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 supportPCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1200 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth153.6 GB/sno data
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 data
Eyefinity11

Technologies

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

AppAcceleration--
Enduro--
FreeSync11
HD3D++
PowerTune++
DualGraphics11
TrueAudio--
ZeroCore++
Switchable graphics11

API support

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

DirectXDirectX® 11DirectX® 12
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.44.4
OpenCLNot ListedNot Listed
Mantle++

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 M290X
8.32

R9 M390 outperforms R9 M290X by 18% in our combined benchmark results.


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%

R9 M290X 6817
R9 M390 6819
+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 HD46
+7%
43
−7%
4K16−18
−25%
20
+25%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−15.4%
14−16
+15.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
−17.6%
20−22
+17.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Battlefield 5 27−30
−17.9%
30−35
+17.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
−13%
24−27
+13%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−15.4%
14−16
+15.4%
Far Cry 5 20−22
−25%
24−27
+25%
Far Cry New Dawn 21−24
−23.8%
24−27
+23.8%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
−17.2%
30−35
+17.2%
Hitman 3 21−24
−19%
24−27
+19%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
−25%
20−22
+25%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
−13.3%
16−18
+13.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 14−16
−21.4%
16−18
+21.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
−17.6%
20−22
+17.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Battlefield 5 27−30
−17.9%
30−35
+17.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
−13%
24−27
+13%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−15.4%
14−16
+15.4%
Far Cry 5 20−22
−25%
24−27
+25%
Far Cry New Dawn 21−24
−23.8%
24−27
+23.8%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
−17.2%
30−35
+17.2%
Hitman 3 21−24
−19%
24−27
+19%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
−25%
20−22
+25%
Metro Exodus 12−14
−16.7%
14−16
+16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
−13.3%
16−18
+13.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
−82.4%
31
+82.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 14−16
−21.4%
16−18
+21.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
−17.6%
20−22
+17.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Battlefield 5 27−30
−17.9%
30−35
+17.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−15.4%
14−16
+15.4%
Far Cry 5 20−22
−25%
24−27
+25%
Far Cry New Dawn 21−24
−23.8%
24−27
+23.8%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
−17.2%
30−35
+17.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
−5.9%
18
+5.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion 14−16
−21.4%
16−18
+21.4%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
−16.7%
14−16
+16.7%
Hitman 3 12−14
−15.4%
14−16
+15.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 14−16
−7.1%
14−16
+7.1%
Metro Exodus 6−7
−33.3%
8−9
+33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12
−18.2%
12−14
+18.2%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
−28.6%
9−10
+28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
−150%
5−6
+150%
Battlefield 5 12−14
−33.3%
16−18
+33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Far Cry 5 12−14
−15.4%
14−16
+15.4%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
−33.3%
16−18
+33.3%
Forza Horizon 4 14−16
−21.4%
16−18
+21.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
−25%
10−11
+25%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
−66.7%
5−6
+66.7%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
Hitman 3 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Metro Exodus 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
−140%
12
+140%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
−33.3%
4−5
+33.3%
Battlefield 5 5−6
−60%
8−9
+60%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 9−10
−11.1%
10−11
+11.1%
Forza Horizon 4 10−11
−20%
12−14
+20%
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%

This is how R9 M290X and R9 M390 compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • R9 M290X is 7% faster than R9 M390

4K resolution:

  • R9 M390 is 25% faster than R9 M290X

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

  • in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 M390 is 150% faster than the R9 M290X.

All in all, in popular games:

  • R9 M390 is ahead in 67 tests (99%)
  • there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 8.32 9.80
Recency 7 January 2014 9 June 2015
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 2 GB
Pipelines / CUDA cores 1280 1024

The Radeon R9 M390 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 M290X in performance tests.


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

Cast your own vote

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


AMD Radeon R9 M290X
Radeon R9 M290X
AMD Radeon R9 M390
Radeon R9 M390

Similar GPU comparisons

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

User ratings: view and submit

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


3.2 10 votes

Rate AMD Radeon R9 M290X on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.4 12 votes

Rate AMD Radeon R9 M390 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.