GeForce 9500M 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 9500M 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 9500M 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 9500M

2015

Why buy it

✅Draws 75W instead of 375W, a 300W 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.
❌2015 hardware with 512 MB 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 2.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $50 MSRP).

Radeon HD 6290

2011

Why buy it

✅1.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

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.
❌400% higher power demand at 375W vs 75W.

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 1.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1% in PassMark G3D (105 vs 104), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

GeForce 9500M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2015 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 today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. 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 9500M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 9500M vs Radeon HD 6290 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce 9500M

The GeForce 9500M 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: 104 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.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce 9500M scores 104 and the Radeon HD 6290 reaches 105 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9500M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 6290 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 640 (GeForce 9500M) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 6290). Raw compute: 1.306 TFLOPS (GeForce 9500M) vs 2.55 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 6290).

Feature	GeForce 9500M	Radeon HD 6290
G3D Mark Score	104	105
Architecture	Maxwell	TeraScale 3
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	640	1536 ×2+140%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.306 TFLOPS	2.55 TFLOPS ×2+95%
ROPs	16	32 ×2+100%
TMUs	40	96 ×2+140%
L1 Cache	320 KB	384 KB+20%
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 9500M 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 9500M	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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 9500M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6290. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce 9500M) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 6290) — the GeForce 9500M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 9500M	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	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce 9500M) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 6290). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce 9500M	Radeon HD 6290
DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	11.2
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: PureVideo HD VP3 vs UVD 3. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce 9500M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 6290).

Feature	GeForce 9500M	Radeon HD 6290
Encoder	No NVENC (G84)	—
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP3	UVD 3
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 9500M draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 6290's 375W — a 133.3% difference. The GeForce 9500M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9500M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6290). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 65°C.

Feature	GeForce 9500M	Radeon HD 6290
TDP	75W-80%	375W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Legacy	1x 6-pin
Slots	0	—
Temp (Load)	85°C	65°C-24%
Perf/Watt	1.4+367%	0.3

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce 9500M (2015 vs 2011).

Feature	GeForce 9500M	Radeon HD 6290
MSRP	—	$50
Codename	GM107	Antilles
Release	October 27 2015	March 8 2011
Ranking	#671	#583

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