Radeon HD 6990M vs RX 540

Place in the ranking	539	614
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	10.08	3.66
Architecture	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code name	Lexa	Blackcomb
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	11 November 2017 (7 years ago)	12 July 2011 (13 years ago)

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 cores	512	1120
Core clock speed	1124 MHz	715 MHz
Boost clock speed	1219 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	2,200 million	1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	50 Watt	100 Watt
Texture fill rate	39.01	40.04
Floating-point processing power	1.248 TFLOPS	1.602 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	32
TMUs	32	56

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 size	large	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x8	MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors	None	None

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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1500 MHz	900 MHz
Memory bandwidth	96 GB/s	115.2 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 Connectors

No outputs

Supported technologies

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

FreeSync

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_0)	11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model	6.4	5.0
OpenGL	4.6	4.4
OpenCL	2.0	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	N/A

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.

RX 540 7.23
+37.7%

HD 6990M 5.25

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.

RX 540 4646
+44%

HD 6990M 3227

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.

RX 540 13720

HD 6990M 15113
+10.2%

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:

900p	70−75 +29.6%	54 −29.6%
Full HD	23 −161%	60 +161%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

10−12
+22.2%

9−10

−22.2%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 +28.6%	14−16 −28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Battlefield 5	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +36.4%	10−12 −36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Far Cry 5	13 +18.2%	10−12 −18.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	20−22 +33.3%	14−16 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +45.5%	30−35 −45.5%
Hitman 3	14−16 +27.3%	10−12 −27.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +27.3%	30−35 −27.3%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +61.5%	12−14 −61.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 +42.9%	14−16 −42.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40 +111%	18−20 −111%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +14.9%	45−50 −14.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 +28.6%	14−16 −28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Battlefield 5	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +36.4%	10−12 −36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Far Cry 5	10 −10%	10−12 +10%
Far Cry New Dawn	20−22 +33.3%	14−16 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +45.5%	30−35 −45.5%
Hitman 3	14−16 +27.3%	10−12 −27.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +27.3%	30−35 −27.3%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +61.5%	12−14 −61.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 +42.9%	14−16 −42.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +26.3%	18−20 −26.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +22.2%	18−20 −22.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +14.9%	45−50 −14.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 +28.6%	14−16 −28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +36.4%	10−12 −36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Far Cry 5	7 −57.1%	10−12 +57.1%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +45.5%	30−35 −45.5%
Hitman 3	14−16 +27.3%	10−12 −27.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +27.3%	30−35 −27.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +26.3%	18−20 −26.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	7 −157%	18−20 +157%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +14.9%	45−50 −14.9%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

20−22
+42.9%

14−16

−42.9%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4	0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Far Cry 5	8−9 +33.3%	6−7 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	24−27 +100%	12−14 −100%
Hitman 3	10−12 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 +25%	12−14 −25%
Metro Exodus	8−9 +167%	3−4 −167%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
Watch Dogs: Legion	45−50 +39.4%	30−35 −39.4%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

12−14
+33.3%

9−10

−33.3%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
Far Cry New Dawn	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Hitman 3	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Horizon Zero Dawn	21−24 +156%	9−10 −156%
Metro Exodus	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2	0−1
Far Cry 5	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Watch Dogs: Legion	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

7−8
+16.7%

6−7

−16.7%

This is how RX 540 and HD 6990M compete in popular games:

RX 540 is 30% faster in 900p
HD 6990M is 161% faster in 1080p

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

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RX 540 is 300% faster.
in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6990M is 157% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 540 is ahead in 64 tests (94%)
HD 6990M is ahead in 3 tests (4%)
there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	7.23	5.25
Recency	11 November 2017	12 July 2011
Chip lithography	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	50 Watt	100 Watt

RX 540 has a 37.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 185.7% more advanced lithography process, and 100% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 540 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6990M in performance tests.

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