GeForce 9500M G vs Radeon HD 7290M

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.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (G3D Mark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The GeForce 9500M G is positioned at rank 519 and the Radeon HD 7290M is on rank 619, so the GeForce 9500M G offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar GeForce 9500M G

#509

Radeon RX 550X (móvel)

MSRP: $35|Avg: $35

2668%

#511

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $150

2418%

#512

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $100

2412%

#516

GeForce GTX 1050 (Mobile)

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $50

2193%

#517

Radeon RX 6300

MSRP: $60|Avg: $40

2178%

#519

GeForce 9500M G

MSRP: $30|Avg: $30

100%

#520

Radeon HD 7640G + HD 8500M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $50

100%

#521

Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8600M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $35

99%

#522

Radeon HD 8550G + 8500M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $150

99%

#523

Radeon HD 8610G + 8670M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $150

98%

#524

Radeon HD 7640G + HD 8750M Dual

MSRP: $250|Avg: $40

98%

#525

Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8600M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $40

97%

#526

Mobility Radeon HD 4830

MSRP: $130|Avg: $20

97%

#527

Radeon HD 7640G + HD 7700M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $40

97%

#528

Radeon HD 8610G + 8600M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $150

97%

#529

Radeon HD 7660G + 8670M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $40

96%

#530

Mobility Radeon HD 4550

MSRP: $49|Avg: $15

96%

#531

Radeon HD 7660G + HD 7700M Dual

MSRP: $200|Avg: $50

96%

#532

Radeon HD 7620G + 8670M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $30

95%

#533

Radeon HD 8610G + HD 8670M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $150

95%

#534

Radeon HD 7640G + HD 7400M Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $30

95%

Based on actual market prices and performance benchmarks.

Performance Per Dollar Radeon HD 7290M

#609

Radeon RX 550X (móvel)

MSRP: $35|Avg: $35

4413%

#611

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $150

4001%

#612

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $100

3990%

#616

GeForce GTX 1050 (Mobile)

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $50

3628%

#617

Radeon RX 6300

MSRP: $60|Avg: $40

3604%

#619

Radeon HD 7290M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#620

Mobility Radeon HD 3850

MSRP: $150|Avg: $15

99%

#621

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

MSRP: $299|Avg: $20

98%

#622

GeForce 9800M GT

MSRP: $160|Avg: $5

97%

#623

Radeon HD 7600G + HD 7400M Dual

MSRP: $140|Avg: $35

96%

#624

Radeon HD 8550G + 8670M Dual

MSRP: $250|Avg: $40

94%

#625

GeForce 8300 GS

MSRP: $50|Avg: $50

93%

#626

Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Serisi

MSRP: $49|Avg: $10

92%

#627

Radeon HD 8570D + HD 8470 Dual

MSRP: $150|Avg: $50

91%

#628

GeForce 9500M GS

MSRP: $60|Avg: $15

90%

#629

GeForce 8800 GS

MSRP: $150|Avg: $40

89%

#631

GeForce 9800 GTX+

MSRP: $229|Avg: $50

87%

#632

Mobility Radeon X1700

MSRP: $49|Avg: $15

87%

#633

Mobility Radeon HD 560v

MSRP: $150|Avg: $30

86%

#634

GeForce 9300

MSRP: $60|Avg: $20

86%

Based on actual market prices and performance benchmarks.

Performance Comparison

About G3D Mark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

The Radeon HD 7290M is the superior choice for raw performance. It leads with a 0.8% higher G3D Mark score. This advantage makes it significantly better for higher resolutions (1440p/4K) and graphic-intensive titles compared to the GeForce 9500M G.

Insight	GeForce 9500M G	Radeon HD 7290M
Performance	❌Lower raw frame rates (-0.8%)	✅Leading raw performance (+0.8%)
Longevity	🛑Obsolete Architecture (2015 / Maxwell (2014−2017))	🛑Obsolete Architecture (2012 / GCN 1.0 (2012−2020))
Ecosystem	Supports FSR Upscaling	Supports FSR Upscaling
VRAM	❌ Less VRAM capacity	✅ More VRAM (+0%)
Efficiency	💡 Excellent Perf/Watt	⚡ Higher Power Consumption
Case Fit	—	—

💎 Value Proposition

While current pricing data is unavailable, the Radeon HD 7290M remains the clear technical winner. Check real-time availability to determine if the performance gap justifies the market price.

Performance Check

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 7800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce 9500M G Benchmark Check

Radeon HD 7290M Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce 9500M G and Radeon HD 7290M

GeForce 9500M G

The GeForce 9500M G is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 27 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 928 MHz to 1020 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 122 points.

Radeon HD 7290M

The Radeon HD 7290M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 24 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 123 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 9500M G scores 122 and the Radeon HD 7290M reaches 123 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9500M G is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 7290M uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 640 (GeForce 9500M G) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 7290M). Raw compute: 1.306 TFLOPS (GeForce 9500M G) vs 2.176 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7290M).

Feature	GeForce 9500M G	Radeon HD 7290M
G3D Mark Score	122	123
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	640	1280+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.306 TFLOPS	2.176 TFLOPS+67%
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	40	80+100%
L1 Cache	320 KB	320 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce 9500M G	Radeon HD 7290M
Upscaling Tech	FSR 1.0 (Software)	FSR 1.0 (Software)
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	Standard	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 512 MB of video memory. Bus width: 128-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce 9500M G) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 7290M) — the GeForce 9500M G has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 9500M G	Radeon HD 7290M
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce 9500M G) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 7290M). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce 9500M G	Radeon HD 7290M
DirectX	10.0	11.2 (11_0)+12%
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	1	2+100%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 9500M G) vs UVD 3 (Radeon HD 7290M). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP3 vs UVD 3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (GeForce 9500M G) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX,Xvid (Radeon HD 7290M).

Feature	GeForce 9500M G	Radeon HD 7290M
Encoder	No	UVD 3
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP3	UVD 3
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX,Xvid

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 9500M G draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 7290M's 100W — a 28.6% difference. The GeForce 9500M G is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9500M G) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7290M). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 75°C.