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GeForce GTX Titan vs Radeon R9 290

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX Titan

2013Core: 837 MHzBoost: 876 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon R9 290

2013Core: 947 MHz
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GeForce GTX Titan vs Radeon R9 290 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX Titan
6 GB 250
8,181
0.0%
brand logoGeForce MX550
brand logoGeForce GTX 760 Ti OEM
brand logoGeForce GTX 1050 Ti
brand logoGeForce GTX 1650 (móvel)
brand logoGeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
brand logoRTX 3000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
brand logoGeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU
brand logoRTX 4000 Ada Generation
Radeon R9 290
4 GB 275
8,184
0.0%
brand logoRadeon HD 7870
brand logoRadeon 760M
brand logoRadeon R9 380X
brand logoRadeon RX 470 (móvel)
brand logoRadeon RX 6850M
brand logoRadeon RX 6800S
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 XT
brand logoRadeon RX 7800 XT

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 Titan 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.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low86 FPS
medium75 FPS
high61 FPS
ultra41 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low83 FPS
medium71 FPS
high59 FPS
ultra39 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low172 FPS
medium150 FPS
high118 FPS
ultra86 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low185 FPS
medium156 FPS
high129 FPS
ultra100 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low368 FPS
medium295 FPS
high245 FPS
ultra184 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low368 FPS
medium295 FPS
high246 FPS
ultra184 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low217 FPS
medium181 FPS
high145 FPS
ultra120 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low152 FPS
medium123 FPS
high105 FPS
ultra87 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low62 FPS
medium43 FPS
high26 FPS
ultra16 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low144 FPS
medium126 FPS
high103 FPS
ultra83 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low64 FPS
medium51 FPS
high38 FPS
ultra22 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low78 FPS
medium61 FPS
high50 FPS
ultra34 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low108 FPS
medium90 FPS
high77 FPS
ultra61 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low64 FPS
medium45 FPS
high38 FPS
ultra30 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low86 FPS
medium70 FPS
high55 FPS
ultra44 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low83 FPS
medium66 FPS
high54 FPS
ultra47 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce GTX Titan
low99 FPS
medium80 FPS
high66 FPS
ultra58 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 290
low76 FPS
medium63 FPS
high52 FPS
ultra39 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce GTX Titan 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 Titan

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅6.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
  • ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2013 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • ❌
    150.4% HIGHER MSRP
    $999 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 8.2 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $600 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 150.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.5 vs 8.2 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX Titan across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2013 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX Titan is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 6.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon R9 290 instead at 8,184 vs 8,181, 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 Titan is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 6 GB vs 4 GB of VRAM. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R9 290 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $600 cheaper on MSRP at $399 vs $999, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 150.5% (20.5 vs 8.2), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. 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 Titan has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX Titan vs Radeon R9 290 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX Titan

The GeForce GTX Titan is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 19 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 837 MHz to 876 MHz. It has 2688 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,181 points. Launch price was $999.

AMD

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 Titan scores 8,181 and the Radeon R9 290 reaches 8,184 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX Titan is built on Kepler while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,688 (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 4.709 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score
8,181
8,184
Architecture
Kepler
GCN 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
2688+5%
2560
Compute (TFLOPS)
4.709 TFLOPS
4.849 TFLOPS+3%
ROPs
48
64+33%
TMUs
224+40%
160
L1 Cache
224 KB
640 KB+186%
L2 Cache
1.5 MB+50%
1 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX Titan 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.

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon 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)

The GeForce GTX Titan has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 290 carries 4 GB. GeForce GTX Titan gives you 50% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 288 GB/s (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 290) — a 11.1% advantage for the Radeon R9 290. Memory bus width is 384-bit on the GeForce GTX Titan and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 290. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290) — the GeForce GTX Titan has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity
6 GB+50%
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
288 GB/s
320 GB/s+11%
Bus Width
384-bit
512-bit+33%
L2 Cache
1.5 MB+50%
1 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.0 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon R9 290
DirectX
12
12.0
Vulkan
1.0
1.2+20%
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
6+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX Titan) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290). Decoder: NVDEC 1st gen vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce GTX Titan) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon R9 290
Encoder
NVENC 1st gen
VCE 2.0
Decoder
NVDEC 1st gen
UVD 4.2
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX Titan draws 250W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 9.5% difference. The GeForce GTX Titan is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 95°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon R9 290
TDP
250W-9%
275W
Recommended PSU
600W-20%
750W
Power Connector
6-pin + 8-pin
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
267mm
275mm
Height
111mm
109mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
80°C-16%
95°C
Perf/Watt
32.7+10%
29.8
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX Titan came in at $999, while the Radeon R9 290 launched at $399. On MSRP, Radeon R9 290 was 60.1% cheaper ($600 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 8.2 (GeForce GTX Titan) vs 20.5 (Radeon R9 290) — the Radeon R9 290 offers 150% better value.

FeatureGeForce GTX TitanRadeon R9 290
MSRP
$999
$399-60%
Performance per Dollar
8.2
20.5+150%
Codename
GK110
Hawaii
Release
February 19 2013
November 5 2013
Ranking
#311
#316
Search GeForce GTX Titan on AmazonSearch Radeon R9 290 on Amazon

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