GeForce9400M vs Radeon HD 6290

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.

GeForce9400M vs Radeon HD 6290 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.

GeForce9400M vs Radeon HD 6290: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce9400M

2015

Why buy it

✅Draws 33W instead of 375W, a 342W reduction.
✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6290 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2015 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 2.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $50 MSRP).

Radeon HD 6290

2011

Why buy it

✅2.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌1036.4% higher power demand at 375W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 6290 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 2.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce9400M instead at 106 vs 105, 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?

GeForce9400M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2015 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 6290 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 6290 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce9400M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce9400M vs Radeon HD 6290 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce9400M

The GeForce9400M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1072 MHz to 1176 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 106 points.

Radeon HD 6290

The Radeon HD 6290 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: 105 points. Launch price was $699.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce9400M scores 106 and the Radeon HD 6290 reaches 105 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce9400M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 6290 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce9400M) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 6290). Raw compute: 0.9032 TFLOPS (GeForce9400M) vs 2.55 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 6290).

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
G3D Mark Score	106	105
Architecture	Maxwell	TeraScale 3
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	384	1536 ×2+300%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.9032 TFLOPS	2.55 TFLOPS ×2+182%
ROPs	8	32 ×2+300%
TMUs	24	96 ×2+300%
L1 Cache	192 KB	384 KB+100%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce9400M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 6290 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce9400M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6290. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce9400M) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 6290) — the GeForce9400M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce9400M) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 6290). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	11.2
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: PureVideo HD VP3 vs UVD 3. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce9400M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 6290).

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
Encoder	No NVENC (Tesla)	—
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP3	UVD 3
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce9400M draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 6290's 375W — a 167.6% difference. The GeForce9400M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce9400M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6290). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 65°C.

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
TDP	33W-91%	375W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Slots	0	—
Temp (Load)	85°C	65°C-24%
Perf/Watt	3.2+967%	0.3

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Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce9400M (2015 vs 2011).

Feature	GeForce9400M	Radeon HD 6290
MSRP	—	$50
Codename	GM108	Antilles
Release	March 13 2015	March 8 2011
Ranking	#847	#583

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