Radeon R9 280X vs RX Vega M GL
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon RX Vega M GL with Radeon R9 280X, including specs and performance data.
R9 280X outperforms RX Vega M GL by an impressive 50% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 447 | 353 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 5.60 |
| Power efficiency | 10.74 | 4.19 |
| Architecture | GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) | GCN 1.0 (2011−2020) |
| GPU code name | Polaris 22 | Tahiti |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Design | no data | reference |
| Release date | 1 February 2018 (6 years ago) | 8 October 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $299 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
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 | 1280 | 2048 |
| Core clock speed | 931 MHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 1011 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 5,000 million | 4,313 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 14 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 250 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 80.88 | 128.0 |
| Floating-point processing power | 2.588 TFLOPS | 4.096 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 |
| TMUs | 80 | 128 |
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).
| Bus support | no data | PCIe 3.0 |
| Interface | IGP | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 275 mm |
| Width | no data | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin |
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 | 4 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory bus width | 1024 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 700 MHz | no data |
| Memory bandwidth | 179.2 GB/s | 288 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 | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort |
| Eyefinity | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
| DisplayPort support | - | + |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| AppAcceleration | - | + |
| CrossFire | - | + |
| FreeSync | - | + |
| HD3D | - | + |
| LiquidVR | - | + |
| TressFX | - | + |
| TrueAudio | - | + |
| UVD | - | + |
| DDMA audio | no data | + |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | DirectX® 12 |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | + |
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.
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.
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 | 40−45
−60%
| 64
+60%
|
| 4K | 21−24
−57.1%
| 33
+57.1%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | no data | 4.67 |
| 4K | no data | 9.06 |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Fortnite | 55−60
−44.1%
|
85−90
+44.1%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 75−80
−41%
|
110−120
+41%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Dota 2 | 35−40
+0%
|
36
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 55−60
−42.4%
|
80−85
+42.4%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 35−40
−50%
|
54
+50%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 75−80
−39.7%
|
100−110
+39.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−33
−73.3%
|
52
+73.3%
|
| World of Tanks | 140−150
−34.5%
|
190−200
+34.5%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Dota 2 | 35−40
−281%
|
137
+281%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 75−80
−39.7%
|
100−110
+39.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−33
−50%
|
45−50
+50%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 55−60
−44.1%
|
85−90
+44.1%
|
4K
High Preset
| Grand Theft Auto V | 20−22
−30%
|
24−27
+30%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 20−22
−30%
|
24−27
+30%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Dota 2 | 20−22
−240%
|
68
+240%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 27−30
−37.9%
|
40−45
+37.9%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 10−12
−45.5%
|
16−18
+45.5%
|
Full HD
Low Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 30−33
+0%
|
30−33
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 30−33
+0%
|
30−33
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Valorant | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 30−33
+0%
|
30−33
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Valorant | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 30−33
+0%
|
30−33
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Valorant | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Dota 2 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| World of Tanks | 100−110
+0%
|
100−110
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Valorant | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Valorant | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
This is how RX Vega M GL and R9 280X compete in popular games:
- R9 280X is 60% faster in 1080p
- R9 280X is 57% faster in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Dota 2, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 280X is 281% faster.
All in all, in popular games:
- R9 280X is ahead in 10 tests (16%)
- there's a draw in 54 tests (84%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 10.12 | 15.19 |
| Recency | 1 February 2018 | 8 October 2013 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 3 GB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 250 Watt |
RX Vega M GL has an age advantage of 4 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 284.6% lower power consumption.
R9 280X, on the other hand, has a 50.1% higher aggregate performance score.
The Radeon R9 280X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX Vega M GL in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon RX Vega M GL is a notebook card while Radeon R9 280X is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Other comparisons
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