GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) vs Radeon R9 290

CPU

GPU

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)

2016Core: 1506 MHzBoost: 1708 MHz

GTX family

·······

Buy on Amazon

Radeon R9 290

2013Core: 947 MHz

Similar parts

·······

Buy on Amazon

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) vs Radeon R9 290 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)

4 GB 80

8,160

0.0%

GeForce MX550

GeForce GTX 670

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

GeForce GTX 1650 (móvel)

GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU

RTX 3000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU

RTX 4000 Ada Generation

Radeon R9 290

4 GB 275

8,184

+0.3%

Radeon HD 7870

Radeon 760M

Radeon R9 380X

Radeon RX 470 (móvel)

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 GTX 1060 (móvel) vs Radeon R9 290 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 GTX 1060 (móvel) vs Radeon R9 290: 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 GTX 1060 (móvel)

2016

Why buy it

✅Draws 80W instead of 275W, a 195W reduction.
✅More future proof: Pascal (2016−2021) on 16nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2016 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 20.5 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅0.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.5 vs 0 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌243.8% higher power demand at 275W vs 80W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 290 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 0.2% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.3% in PassMark G3D (8,184 vs 8,160), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 16nm process instead of 28nm and 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?

Radeon R9 290 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 R9 290 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) vs Radeon R9 290 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 15 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1506 MHz to 1708 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,160 points. Launch price was $237.11.

Radeon R9 290

The Radeon R9 290 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 5 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 947 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,184 points. Launch price was $399.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) scores 8,160 and the Radeon R9 290 reaches 8,184 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is built on Pascal while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on 16 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 4.275 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score	8,160	8,184
Architecture	Pascal	GCN 2.0
Process Node	16 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1280	2560+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	4.275 TFLOPS	4.849 TFLOPS+13%
ROPs	48	64+33%
TMUs	80	160+100%
L1 Cache	480 KB	640 KB+33%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 290 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
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 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 290) — a 66.7% advantage for the Radeon R9 290. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 290. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290) — the GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	192 GB/s	320 GB/s+67%
Bus Width	192-bit	512-bit+167%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
DirectX	12.1	12.0
Vulkan	1.1	1.2+9%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 6.0 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP8 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
Encoder	NVENC 6.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP8	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) draws 80W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 109.9% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 275mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 95°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
TDP	80W-71%	275W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	0mm	275mm
Height	0mm	109mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	85°C-11%	95°C
Perf/Watt	102.0+242%	29.8

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) (2016 vs 2013).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel)	Radeon R9 290
MSRP	—	$399
Codename	GP106	Hawaii
Release	August 15 2016	November 5 2013
Ranking	#343	#316

Search GeForce GTX 1060 (móvel) on Amazon

Search Radeon R9 290 on Amazon

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.