GeForce GTX 280M SLI vs Radeon HD 5600/5700

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 280M SLI vs Radeon HD 5600/5700 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 280M SLI vs Radeon HD 5600/5700: 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 280M SLI

2009

Why buy it

✅Draws 150W instead of 250W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 5600/5700 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2009 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 6.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $99 MSRP).

Radeon HD 5600/5700

2010

Why buy it

✅6.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅More future proof: TeraScale 3 (2010−2013) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2010 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌66.7% higher power demand at 250W vs 150W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 5600/5700 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 6.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 280M SLI instead at 621 vs 615, 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 GTX 280M SLI 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?

Radeon HD 5600/5700 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 5600/5700 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 280M SLI has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 280M SLI vs Radeon HD 5600/5700 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 280M SLI

The GeForce GTX 280M SLI is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 2 2009. It features the G9x architecture. The core clock speed is 585 MHz. It has 256 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 621 points.

Radeon HD 5600/5700

The Radeon HD 5600/5700 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 14 2010. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The boost clock speed is 880 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 615 points. Launch price was $369.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 280M SLI scores 621 and the Radeon HD 5600/5700 reaches 615 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 280M SLI is built on G9x while the Radeon HD 5600/5700 uses TeraScale 3, both on 55 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 256 (GeForce GTX 280M SLI) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 5600/5700).

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
G3D Mark Score	621	615
Architecture	G9x	TeraScale 3
Process Node	55 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	256	1536+500%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 280M SLI gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 5600/5700 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce GTX 280M SLI and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5600/5700.

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce GTX 280M SLI) vs 11 (11_0) (Radeon HD 5600/5700). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	11 (11_0)
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: PureVideo HD VP2 (GeForce GTX 280M SLI) vs No (Radeon HD 5600/5700). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD 2.3. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTX 280M SLI) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX (Radeon HD 5600/5700).

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
Encoder	PureVideo HD VP2	No
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP2	UVD 2.3
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 280M SLI draws 150W versus the Radeon HD 5600/5700's 250W — a 50% difference. The GeForce GTX 280M SLI is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 280M SLI) vs 350W (Radeon HD 5600/5700). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs None. Typical load temperature: 95°C vs 70°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
TDP	150W-40%	250W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	None
Length	—	168mm
Height	—	111mm
Slots	0-100%	1
Temp (Load)	95°C	70°C-26%
Perf/Watt	4.1+64%	2.5

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 5600/5700 (2010 vs 2009).

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M SLI	Radeon HD 5600/5700
MSRP	—	$99
Codename	N10E-GTX	Cayman
Release	March 2 2009	December 14 2010
Ranking	#793	#596

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