GeForce GTX 960
Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire
GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire 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 960 vs Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire 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.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire: 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 960
2015Why buy it
- ✅24.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅Costs $601 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $800 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 310.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.8 vs 7.5 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $800 MSRP).
- ✅Draws 100W instead of 200W, a 100W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
- ❌24000% longer card at 241mm vs 1mm.
Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire
2014Why buy it
- ✅Measures 1mm instead of 241mm, a 240mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 960 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
- ❌302% HIGHER MSRP$800 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.5 vs 30.8 G3D/$ ($800 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
- ❌100% higher power demand at 200W vs 100W.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 960
The GeForce GTX 960 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 22 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1127 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,133 points. Launch price was $199.
Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire
The Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 1 2014. It features the GCN architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,000 points.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GTX 960 scores 6,133 and the Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire reaches 6,000 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 960 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire uses GCN, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,024 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 900 MHz.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 6,133+2% | 6,000 |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | GCN |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Shading Units | 1024 | 2560+150% |
| Boost Clock | 1178 MHz+31% | 900 MHz |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GTX 960 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| 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: 112 GB/s (GeForce GTX 960) vs 307.2 GB/s (Dual) (Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire) — a 174.3% advantage for the Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 960 and 512-bit (Dual) on the Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 112 GB/s | 307.2 GB/s (Dual)+174% |
| Bus Width | 128-bit | 512-bit (Dual)+300% |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 960) vs 12 (Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire). Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 |
| Max Displays | 4 | 0 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC (5th Gen) (GeForce GTX 960) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire). Decoder: NVDEC (2nd Gen) vs UVD 3.1.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC (5th Gen) | VCE 1.0 |
| Decoder | NVDEC (2nd Gen) | UVD 3.1 |
| Codecs | HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8 | — |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 960 draws 100W versus the Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire's 200W — a 66.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 960 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 960) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire). Power connectors: 6-pin vs Mobile. Card length: 241mm vs 1mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 100W-50% | 200W |
| Recommended PSU | 400W | 350W-13% |
| Power Connector | 6-pin | Mobile |
| Length | 241mm | 1mm |
| Height | 111mm | — |
| Slots | 2 | 0-100% |
| Temp (Load) | 75 C | — |
| Perf/Watt | 61.3+104% | 30.0 |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce GTX 960 came in at $199, while the Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire launched at $800. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 960 was 75.1% cheaper ($601 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 30.8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 7.5 (Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire) — the GeForce GTX 960 offers 310.7% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTX 960 (2015 vs 2014).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $199-75% | $800 |
| Performance per Dollar | 30.8+311% | 7.5 |
| Codename | GM206 | Neptune CF |
| Release | January 22 2015 | March 1 2014 |
| Ranking | #393 | #348 |
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