Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire vs RX Vega 56

Place in the ranking	154	298
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	23.02	no data
Power efficiency	11.23	6.57
Architecture	GCN 5.0 (2017−2020)	GCN (2012−2015)
GPU code name	Vega 10	Neptune CF
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	14 August 2017 (7 years ago)	1 March 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$399	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

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 cores	3584	2560
Core clock speed	1156 MHz	850 MHz
Boost clock speed	1471 MHz	900 MHz
Number of transistors	12,500 million	2x 2800 Million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	210 Watt	200 Watt
Texture fill rate	329.5	no data
Floating-point processing power	10.54 TFLOPS	no data
ROPs	64	no data
TMUs	224	no data

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	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	no data
Length	267 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	2x 8-pin	no data

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	HBM2	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	2x 4 GB
Memory bus width	2048 Bit	2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed	800 MHz	4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	409.6 GB/s	no data
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	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	no data
HDMI	+	-

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (FL 11_1)
Shader Model	6.4	no data
OpenGL	4.6	no data
OpenCL	2.0	no data
Vulkan	1.1.125	-

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 Vega 56 32.71
+79.4%

R9 M290X Crossfire 18.23

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 Vega 56 29086
+106%

R9 M290X Crossfire 14147

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 Vega 56 54586
+66.5%

R9 M290X Crossfire 32792

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.

RX Vega 56 20759
+96.7%

R9 M290X Crossfire 10551

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.

RX Vega 56 125359
+74.2%

R9 M290X Crossfire 71977

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	115 +85.5%	62 −85.5%
1440p	74 +85%	40−45 −85%
4K	48 +100%	24−27 −100%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	3.47	no data
1440p	5.39	no data
4K	8.31	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	65−70 +109%	30−35 −109%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 +89.5%	35−40 −89.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	88 +44.3%	60−65 −44.3%
Counter-Strike 2	65−70 +109%	30−35 −109%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 +89.5%	35−40 −89.5%
Forza Horizon 4	160−170 +101%	80−85 −101%
Forza Horizon 5	85−90 +74.5%	50−55 −74.5%
Metro Exodus	96 +84.6%	50−55 −84.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2	65−70 +56.8%	40−45 −56.8%
Valorant	130−140 +76.6%	75−80 −76.6%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	156 +156%	60−65 −156%
Counter-Strike 2	65−70 +109%	30−35 −109%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 +89.5%	35−40 −89.5%
Dota 2	63 −7.9%	65−70 +7.9%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +42.2%	60−65 −42.2%
Fortnite	140 +37.3%	100−110 −37.3%
Forza Horizon 4	160−170 +101%	80−85 −101%
Forza Horizon 5	85−90 +74.5%	50−55 −74.5%
Grand Theft Auto V	94 +40.3%	65−70 −40.3%
Metro Exodus	73 +40.4%	50−55 −40.4%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	180−190 +45.4%	130−140 −45.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	65−70 +56.8%	40−45 −56.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	110−120 +96.7%	60−65 −96.7%
Valorant	130−140 +76.6%	75−80 −76.6%
World of Tanks	270−280 +23%	220−230 −23%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	80 +31.1%	60−65 −31.1%
Counter-Strike 2	65−70 +109%	30−35 −109%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 +89.5%	35−40 −89.5%
Dota 2	110−120 +63.2%	65−70 −63.2%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +42.2%	60−65 −42.2%
Forza Horizon 4	160−170 +101%	80−85 −101%
Forza Horizon 5	85−90 +74.5%	50−55 −74.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	112 −16.1%	130−140 +16.1%
Valorant	130−140 +76.6%	75−80 −76.6%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	60−65 +107%	30−33 −107%
Grand Theft Auto V	60−65 +107%	30−33 −107%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	160−170 +38.5%	110−120 −38.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +94.1%	16−18 −94.1%
World of Tanks	210−220 +68.5%	130−140 −68.5%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	67 +71.8%	35−40 −71.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +120%	14−16 −120%
Far Cry 5	100−110 +114%	50−55 −114%
Forza Horizon 4	95−100 +95.9%	45−50 −95.9%
Forza Horizon 5	55−60 +86.7%	30−33 −86.7%
Metro Exodus	74 +72.1%	40−45 −72.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	55−60 +111%	27−30 −111%
Valorant	100−110 +108%	45−50 −108%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Dota 2	50 +56.3%	30−35 −56.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	50 +56.3%	30−35 −56.3%
Metro Exodus	27 +92.9%	14−16 −92.9%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	100−110 +91.2%	55−60 −91.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	50 +56.3%	30−35 −56.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	35 +84.2%	18−20 −84.2%
Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +133%	6−7 −133%
Dota 2	65−70 +103%	30−35 −103%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +96%	24−27 −96%
Fortnite	45−50 +100%	21−24 −100%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 +96.4%	27−30 −96.4%
Forza Horizon 5	30−35 +107%	14−16 −107%
Valorant	50−55 +136%	21−24 −136%

This is how RX Vega 56 and R9 M290X Crossfire compete in popular games:

RX Vega 56 is 85% faster in 1080p
RX Vega 56 is 85% faster in 1440p
RX Vega 56 is 100% faster in 4K

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

in Battlefield 5, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the RX Vega 56 is 156% faster.
in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 M290X Crossfire is 16% faster.

All in all, in popular games: