GeForce GTX 275 vs Radeon HD 8790M

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 275

2009Core: 633 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon HD 8790M

2013Core: 850 MHzBoost: 900 MHz

GeForce GTX 275 vs Radeon HD 8790M 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 GTX 275 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 GTX 275 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 GTX 275

2009

Why buy it

  • 76.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 896 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2009 hardware with 896 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 338% higher power demand at 219W vs 50W.

Radeon HD 8790M

2013

Why buy it

  • 128.6% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 896 MB).
  • Draws 50W instead of 219W, a 169W reduction.
  • More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 275 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 5.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX 275 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 76.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 3.3% in PassMark G3D (1,349 vs 1,306), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 275 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GTX 275 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce GTX 275 vs Radeon HD 8790M Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 275

The GeForce GTX 275 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 15 2009. It features the Tesla 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 633 MHz. It has 240 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 219W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,349 points. Launch price was $249.

AMD

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 GTX 275 scores 1,349 and the Radeon HD 8790M reaches 1,306 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 275 is built on Tesla 2.0 while the Radeon HD 8790M uses GCN 1.0, both on 55 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 240 (GeForce GTX 275) vs 384 (Radeon HD 8790M). Raw compute: 0.6739 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 275) vs 0.6912 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8790M).

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon HD 8790M
G3D Mark Score
1,349+3%
1,306
Architecture
Tesla 2.0
GCN 1.0
Process Node
55 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
240
384+60%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.6739 TFLOPS
0.6912 TFLOPS+3%
ROPs
28+250%
8
TMUs
80+233%
24
L2 Cache
224 KB
256 KB+14%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 275 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.

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon 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)

The GeForce GTX 275 has 896 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 8790M carries 2 GB. Radeon HD 8790M gives you 128.6% 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 GTX 275 and System on the Radeon HD 8790M. L2 Cache: 224 KB (GeForce GTX 275) vs 256 KB (Radeon HD 8790M) — the Radeon HD 8790M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon HD 8790M
VRAM Capacity
0.875 GB
2 GB+129%
Memory Type
GDDR5
Shared
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
System
Bus Width
128-bit
System
L2 Cache
224 KB
256 KB+14%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11 (10_0) (GeForce GTX 275) vs 11.1 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8790M). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 0.

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon HD 8790M
DirectX
11 (10_0)
11.1 (11_1)
OpenGL
3.3
4.6+39%
Max Displays
2
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GTX 275) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 8790M). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,VC-1,H.264 (GeForce GTX 275) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 8790M).

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon HD 8790M
Encoder
No
VCE 1.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP2
UVD 3.0
Codecs
MPEG-2,VC-1,H.264
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 275 draws 219W versus the Radeon HD 8790M's 50W — a 125.7% difference. The Radeon HD 8790M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce GTX 275) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8790M). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 75.

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon HD 8790M
TDP
219W
50W-77%
Recommended PSU
550W
350W-36%
Power Connector
2x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
Length
267mm
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
2
0-100%
Temp (Load)
80°C
75-6%
Perf/Watt
6.2
26.1+321%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 8790M (2013 vs 2009).

FeatureGeForce GTX 275Radeon HD 8790M
MSRP
$249
Codename
GT200B
Mars
Release
January 15 2009
April 1 2013
Ranking
#789
#797

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