GeForce 930MX vs Radeon HD 8790M

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 930MX vs Radeon HD 8790M 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 930MX vs Radeon HD 8790M: 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 930MX

2016

Why buy it

✅52.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 16.0 vs 0 G3D/$ ($80 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 17W instead of 50W, a 33W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2016 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 8790M

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce 930MX across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 16.0 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $80 MSRP).
❌194.1% higher power demand at 50W vs 17W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce 930MX is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 52.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 8790M instead at 1,306 vs 1,278, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

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

GeForce 930MX is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2016 generation instead of 2013. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce 930MX makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce 930MX vs Radeon HD 8790M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce 930MX

The GeForce 930MX is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 1 2016. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 952 MHz to 1020 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 17W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,278 points.

Radeon HD 8790M

The Radeon HD 8790M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 1 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,306 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 930MX scores 1,278 and the Radeon HD 8790M reaches 1,306 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 930MX is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 8790M uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 930MX) vs 384 (Radeon HD 8790M). Raw compute: 0.7834 TFLOPS (GeForce 930MX) vs 0.6912 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8790M). Boost clocks: 1020 MHz vs 900 MHz.

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
G3D Mark Score	1,278	1,306+2%
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	384	384
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.7834 TFLOPS+13%	0.6912 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1020 MHz+13%	900 MHz
ROPs	8	8
TMUs	24	24
L1 Cache	192 KB+100%	96 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB+300%	0.25 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 930MX gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 8790M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
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 2 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 930MX and System on the Radeon HD 8790M. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 930MX) vs 0.25 MB (Radeon HD 8790M) — the GeForce 930MX has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	1 MB+300%	0.25 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce 930MX) vs 11.1 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8790M). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 0.

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
DirectX	12 (11_0)+8%	11.1 (11_1)
Vulkan	1.1	1.2+9%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	0	0

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce 930MX) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 8790M). Decoder: PureVideo HD (VP6) vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce 930MX) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 8790M).

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
Encoder	None	VCE 1.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD (VP6)	UVD 3.0
Codecs	H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 930MX draws 17W versus the Radeon HD 8790M's 50W — a 98.5% difference. The GeForce 930MX is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 930MX) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8790M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80 vs 75.

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
TDP	17W-66%	50W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	0mm
Height	0mm	0mm
Slots	0	0
Temp (Load)	80	75-6%
Perf/Watt	75.2+188%	26.1

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce 930MX (2016 vs 2013).

Feature	GeForce 930MX	Radeon HD 8790M
MSRP	$80	—
Codename	GM108	Mars
Release	March 1 2016	April 1 2013
Ranking	#805	#797

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