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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce RTX 4060

2023

Why buy it

✅92.7% more average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($299 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 218.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 65.4 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 4060 across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
33.4% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$299 MSRP

GeForce RTX 4060

2023

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅92.7% more average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($299 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 218.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 65.4 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 4060 across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
33.4% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$299 MSRP

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce RTX 4060 better than Radeon R9 290?

Yes. GeForce RTX 4060 is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce RTX 4060 averages 92.7% more FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 19,548 vs 8,184 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce RTX 4060 is a 2023 card with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation, while Radeon R9 290 is a 2013 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce RTX 4060 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2023 generation instead of 2013, 138.9% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 8 GB instead of 4 GB, and better frame-generation support with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023) instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce RTX 4060 is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. GeForce RTX 4060 is about $100 cheaper on MSRP at $299 MSRP versus $399 MSRP, and you are getting 92.7% more estimated average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data and 138.9% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 218.7%. That is why the better overall card still comes out as the smarter buy today, not just the faster one.

Is Radeon R9 290 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon R9 290 is still a strong modern gaming GPU: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It remains a good buy when you can get it meaningfully cheaper than the alternative around $399 MSRP, even if GeForce RTX 4060 is still the cleaner recommendation on overall value today.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce RTX 4060 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	167 FPS	83 FPS
medium	152 FPS	71 FPS
high	134 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	115 FPS	39 FPS
1440p
low	137 FPS	72 FPS
medium	114 FPS	64 FPS
high	99 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	90 FPS	30 FPS
4K
low	86 FPS	26 FPS
medium	74 FPS	25 FPS
high	62 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	55 FPS	14 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 4060 Open Radeon R9 290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	392 FPS	185 FPS
medium	334 FPS	156 FPS
high	268 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	211 FPS	100 FPS
1440p
low	240 FPS	132 FPS
medium	209 FPS	103 FPS
high	169 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	137 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	119 FPS	60 FPS
medium	98 FPS	49 FPS
high	82 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	36 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 4060 Open Radeon R9 290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	812 FPS	368 FPS
medium	642 FPS	295 FPS
high	551 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	440 FPS	184 FPS
1440p
low	535 FPS	276 FPS
medium	443 FPS	221 FPS
high	379 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	329 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	365 FPS	184 FPS
medium	297 FPS	147 FPS
high	234 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	186 FPS	92 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 4060 Open Radeon R9 290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	746 FPS	152 FPS
medium	613 FPS	123 FPS
high	536 FPS	105 FPS
ultra	440 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	594 FPS	110 FPS
medium	486 FPS	90 FPS
high	421 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	330 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	358 FPS	64 FPS
medium	308 FPS	49 FPS
high	285 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	220 FPS	28 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 4060 Open Radeon R9 290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 4060 and Radeon R9 290

GeForce RTX 4060

The GeForce RTX 4060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 18 2023. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 1830 MHz to 2460 MHz. It has 3072 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 115W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 24 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 19,548 points. Launch price was $299.

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

In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 4060 scores 19,548 versus the Radeon R9 290's 8,184 — the GeForce RTX 4060 leads by 138.9%. The GeForce RTX 4060 is built on Ada Lovelace while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on 5 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 3,072 (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 15.11 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score	19,548+139%	8,184
Architecture	Ada Lovelace	GCN 2.0
Process Node	5 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	3072+20%	2560
Compute (TFLOPS)	15.11 TFLOPS+212%	4.849 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	64+33%
TMUs	96	160+67%
L1 Cache	3 MB+376%	0.63 MB
L2 Cache	24 MB+2300%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

A critical advantage for the GeForce RTX 4060 is support for DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation. This allows it to generate entire frames using AI/Algorithms, essentially doubling the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios or heavy ray-tracing titles. The Radeon R9 290 lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.The GeForce RTX 4060 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 290 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
Upscaling Tech	DLSS 3.5 Super Resolution	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	Yes (DLSS 3.5)	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce RTX 4060 comes with 8 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 290 has 4 GB. The GeForce RTX 4060 offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 272 GB/s (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 290) — a 17.6% advantage for the Radeon R9 290. Bus width: 128-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 24 MB (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290) — the GeForce RTX 4060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity	8 GB+100%	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	272 GB/s	320 GB/s+18%
Bus Width	128-bit	512-bit+300%
L2 Cache	24 MB+2300%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
DirectX	12 Ultimate	12.0
Vulkan	1.3+8%	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 8th gen (GeForce RTX 4060) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290). Decoder: NVDEC 5th gen vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1 (GeForce RTX 4060) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
Encoder	NVENC 8th gen	VCE 2.0
Decoder	NVDEC 5th gen	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 4060 draws 115W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 82.1% difference. The GeForce RTX 4060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 240mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 73°C vs 95°C.

Feature	GeForce RTX 4060	Radeon R9 290
TDP	115W-58%	275W
Recommended PSU	550W-27%	750W
Power Connector	8-pin	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	240mm	275mm
Height	111mm	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	73°C-23%	95°C
Perf/Watt	170.0+470%	29.8

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce RTX 4060 launched at $299 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 290 launched at $399. The GeForce RTX 4060 costs 25.1% less ($100 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 65.4 (GeForce RTX 4060) vs 20.5 (Radeon R9 290) — the GeForce RTX 4060 offers 219% better value. The GeForce RTX 4060 is the newer GPU (2023 vs 2013).