GeForce GTX 860M vs Radeon HD 6990

CPU

GPU

GeForce GTX 860M

2014Core: 797 MHzBoost: 1085 MHz

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Radeon HD 6990

2011Core: 830 MHz

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GeForce GTX 860M vs Radeon HD 6990 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 860M

2 GB 75

3,095

+2.7%

GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU

RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation

Radeon HD 6990

2 GB 375

3,014

0.0%

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 860M vs Radeon HD 6990 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 860M vs Radeon HD 6990: 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 860M

2014

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 6990 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2014 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 4.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $699 MSRP).

Radeon HD 6990

2011

Why buy it

✅42.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2011 hardware with 2 GB 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 6990 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 42.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 860M instead at 3,095 vs 3,014, 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 860M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2014 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 6990 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 6990 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 860M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 860M vs Radeon HD 6990 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 860M

The GeForce GTX 860M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 13 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 797 MHz to 1085 MHz. It has 1152 or 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,095 points.

Radeon HD 6990

The Radeon HD 6990 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: 3,014 points. Launch price was $699.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 860M scores 3,095 and the Radeon HD 6990 reaches 3,014 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 860M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 6990 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,152 (GeForce GTX 860M) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 6990). Raw compute: 1.389 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 860M) vs 2.55 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 6990).

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
G3D Mark Score	3,095+3%	3,014
Architecture	Maxwell	TeraScale 3
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	1152 or 640	1536 ×2+33%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.389 TFLOPS	2.55 TFLOPS ×2+84%
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 GTX 860M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 6990 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
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 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 860M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6990. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 860M) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 6990) — the GeForce GTX 860M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 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: 11.0 (GeForce GTX 860M) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 6990). Vulkan: 1.2 vs None. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 5.

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
DirectX	11.0	11.2+2%
Vulkan	1.2	None
OpenGL	4.5+2%	4.4
Max Displays	1	5+400%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 2.0 (GeForce GTX 860M) vs None (Radeon HD 6990). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP,H.265 (GeForce GTX 860M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 6990).

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
Encoder	NVENC 2.0	None
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	UVD 3.0
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP,H.265	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 860M draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 6990's 375W — a 133.3% difference. The GeForce GTX 860M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 860M) vs 750W (Radeon HD 6990). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 2x 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 310mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 85.

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
TDP	75W-80%	375W
Recommended PSU	350W-53%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	2x 8-pin
Length	0mm	310mm
Height	0mm	115mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	80°C-6%	85
Perf/Watt	41.3+416%	8.0

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce GTX 860M (2014 vs 2011).

Feature	GeForce GTX 860M	Radeon HD 6990
MSRP	—	$699
Codename	GM107	Antilles
Release	January 13 2014	March 8 2011
Ranking	#578	#583

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