GeForce 940MX vs Radeon HD 4890

NVIDIA

GeForce 940MX

2016Core: 795 MHzBoost: 861 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 4890

2009Core: 850 MHz
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GeForce 940MX vs Radeon HD 4890 Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

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 940MX vs Radeon HD 4890 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 940MX vs Radeon HD 4890: 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 940MX

2016

Why buy it

  • 22.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Costs $149 less on MSRP ($100 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
  • Delivers 143% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 15.1 vs 6.2 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
  • Draws 23W instead of 190W, a 167W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2016 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 4890

2009

Why buy it

  • 300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 512 MB).

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce 940MX across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 149% HIGHER MSRP
    $249 MSRPvs$100 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 6.2 vs 15.1 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • 726.1% higher power demand at 190W vs 23W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce 940MX is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 22.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 4890 instead at 1,546 vs 1,509, 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 940MX is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 55nm and a newer 2016 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce 940MX makes the most sense to buy today. It is $149 cheaper on MSRP at $100 vs $249, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 143% (15.1 vs 6.2), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce 940MX vs Radeon HD 4890 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 940MX

The GeForce 940MX is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 28 2016. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 795 MHz to 861 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 23W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,509 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 4890

The Radeon HD 4890 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 2 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 190W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,546 points. Launch price was $249.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 940MX scores 1,509 and the Radeon HD 4890 reaches 1,546 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 940MX is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 4890 uses TeraScale, both on 28 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 512 (GeForce 940MX) vs 800 (Radeon HD 4890). Raw compute: 0.8817 TFLOPS (GeForce 940MX) vs 1.36 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 4890).

FeatureGeForce 940MXRadeon HD 4890
G3D Mark Score
1,509
1,546+2%
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale
Process Node
28 nm
55 nm
Shading Units
512
800+56%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.8817 TFLOPS
1.36 TFLOPS+54%
ROPs
8
16+100%
TMUs
32
40+25%
L1 Cache
256 KB+60%
160 KB
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 940MX gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 4890 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 940MXRadeon HD 4890
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
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Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce 940MX has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 4890 carries 2 GB. Radeon HD 4890 gives you 300% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 940MX and 64-bit on the Radeon HD 4890. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 940MX) vs 0.25 MB (Radeon HD 4890) — the GeForce 940MX has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 940MXRadeon HD 4890
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
2 GB+300%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB
🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP,H.265 (GeForce 940MX) vs H.264 (Radeon HD 4890).

FeatureGeForce 940MXRadeon HD 4890
Encoder
NVENC 2.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP6
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP,H.265
H.264
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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 940MX draws 23W versus the Radeon HD 4890's 190W — a 156.8% difference. The GeForce 940MX is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 940MX) vs 500W (Radeon HD 4890). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 2x 6-pin.

FeatureGeForce 940MXRadeon HD 4890
TDP
23W-88%
190W
Recommended PSU
350W-30%
500W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
2x 6-pin
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
Temp (Load)
75°C
Perf/Watt
65.6+710%
8.1
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 940MX came in at $100, while the Radeon HD 4890 launched at $249. On MSRP, GeForce 940MX was 59.8% cheaper ($149 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 15.1 (GeForce 940MX) vs 6.2 (Radeon HD 4890) — the GeForce 940MX offers 143.5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 940MX (2016 vs 2009).

FeatureGeForce 940MXRadeon HD 4890
MSRP
$100-60%
$249
Performance per Dollar
15.1+144%
6.2
Codename
GM107
RV790
Release
June 28 2016
April 2 2009
Ranking
#764
#762

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