GeForce 8300 vs Radeon HD 6290

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon HD 6290 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon HD 6290: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 8300

2014

Why buy it

✅Draws 33W instead of 375W, a 342W reduction.
✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2014 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 6290

2011

Why buy it

✅2.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌1036.4% higher power demand at 375W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 6290 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 2.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.9% in PassMark G3D (105 vs 102), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce 8300 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2014 generation instead of 2011. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 6290 makes the most sense to buy today. It is priced the same on MSRP at $50 vs $50, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 2.9% (2.1 vs 2.0), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 6290 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 8300 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon HD 6290 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce 8300

The GeForce 8300 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 22 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1150 MHz. It has 256 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 102 points.

Radeon HD 6290

The Radeon HD 6290 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 8 2011. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The core clock speed is 830 MHz. It has 1536 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 375W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 105 points. Launch price was $699.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 8300 scores 102 and the Radeon HD 6290 reaches 105 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 8300 is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 6290 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 256 (GeForce 8300) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 6290). Raw compute: 0.5888 TFLOPS (GeForce 8300) vs 2.55 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 6290).

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
G3D Mark Score	102	105+3%
Architecture	Maxwell	TeraScale 3
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	256	1536 ×2+500%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.5888 TFLOPS	2.55 TFLOPS ×2+333%
ROPs	8	32 ×2+300%
TMUs	16	96 ×2+500%
L1 Cache	128 KB	384 KB+200%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 8300 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 6290 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 8300 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6290. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 8300) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 6290) — the GeForce 8300 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce 8300) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 6290). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
DirectX	10.0	11.2+12%
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	1	2+100%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: PureVideo HD VP3 vs UVD 3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (GeForce 8300) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 6290).

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
Encoder	No	—
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP3	UVD 3
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 8300 draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 6290's 375W — a 167.6% difference. The GeForce 8300 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 8300) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6290). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 65°C.

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
TDP	33W-91%	375W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Legacy	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	—
Height	0mm	—
Slots	0	—
Temp (Load)	70°C	65°C-7%
Perf/Watt	3.1+933%	0.3

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 8300 came in at $50, while the Radeon HD 6290 launched at $50. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.0 (GeForce 8300) vs 2.1 (Radeon HD 6290) — the Radeon HD 6290 offers 5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 8300 (2014 vs 2011).

Feature	GeForce 8300	Radeon HD 6290
MSRP	$50	$50
Performance per Dollar	2.0	2.1+5%
Codename	GM108	Antilles
Release	July 22 2014	March 8 2011
Ranking	#832	#583

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