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GRID K120Q vs Radeon HD 2900 GT

CPUCPUGPUGPU

GRID K120Q

2013Core: 745 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 2900 GT

2013Core: 725 MHz
Similar parts
·······
Buy on Amazon

GRID K120Q vs Radeon HD 2900 GT Performance Spectrum

GRID K120Q
0.5 GB 225
293
+0.3%
brand logoGeForce 8600M GT
brand logoGeForce 315
brand logoGeForce GT 220
brand logoGeForce 7900 GT
brand logoGeForce GTX 1630
brand logoGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design
brand logoGeForce GTX 1070 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU
Radeon HD 2900 GT
0.5 GB 25
292
0.0%
brand logoRadeon HD 8350
brand logoRadeon HD 8210
brand logoRadeon HD 6470M
brand logoRadeon HD 8280E
brand logoRadeon HD 7970M Crossfire
brand logoRadeon RX 6550M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 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.

GRID K120Q vs Radeon HD 2900 GT: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

GRID K120Q

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $45 less on MSRP ($125 MSRP vs $170 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 36.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.3 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($125 MSRP vs $170 MSRP).
  • ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌800% higher power demand at 225W vs 25W.

Radeon HD 2900 GT

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅Draws 25W instead of 225W, a 200W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    36% HIGHER MSRP
    $170 MSRPvs$125 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.7 vs 2.3 G3D/$ ($170 MSRP vs $125 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GRID K120Q is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.3% in PassMark G3D (293 vs 292), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GRID K120Q is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm. That still leaves it as the safer long-term option on hardware alone.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GRID K120Q makes the most sense to buy today. It is $45 cheaper on MSRP at $125 vs $170, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 36.5% (2.3 vs 1.7), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GRID K120Q vs Radeon HD 2900 GT Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GRID K120Q

The GRID K120Q is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 28 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 745 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 293 points. Launch price was $937.

AMD

Radeon HD 2900 GT

The Radeon HD 2900 GT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2013. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 480 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 25W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 292 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GRID K120Q scores 293 and the Radeon HD 2900 GT reaches 292 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GRID K120Q is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 2900 GT uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GRID K120Q) vs 480 (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Raw compute: 2.289 TFLOPS (GRID K120Q) vs 0.696 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 2900 GT).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
G3D Mark Score
293
292
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
1536+220%
480
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.289 TFLOPS+229%
0.696 TFLOPS
ROPs
32+300%
8
TMUs
128+433%
24
L1 Cache
128 KB+167%
48 KB
L2 Cache
512 KB+100%
256 KB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GRID K120Q and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 2900 GT. L2 Cache: 512 KB (GRID K120Q) vs 256 KB (Radeon HD 2900 GT) — the GRID K120Q has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
512 KB+100%
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GRID K120Q) vs 10 (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
DirectX
12 (11_0)+20%
10
Max Displays
0
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1 (GRID K120Q) vs UVD (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Decoder: NVDEC 1 vs UVD.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
Encoder
NVENC 1
UVD
Decoder
NVDEC 1
UVD
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
—
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GRID K120Q draws 225W versus the Radeon HD 2900 GT's 25W — a 160% difference. The Radeon HD 2900 GT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GRID K120Q) vs 350W (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
TDP
225W
25W-89%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
—
241mm
Slots
0-100%
2
Perf/Watt
1.3
11.7+800%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GRID K120Q came in at $125, while the Radeon HD 2900 GT launched at $170. On MSRP, GRID K120Q was 26.5% cheaper ($45 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.3 (GRID K120Q) vs 1.7 (Radeon HD 2900 GT) — the GRID K120Q offers 35.3% better value.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon HD 2900 GT
MSRP
$125-26%
$170
Performance per Dollar
2.3+35%
1.7
Codename
GK104
Thames
Release
June 28 2013
January 7 2013
Ranking
#589
#883
Search GRID K120Q on AmazonSearch Radeon HD 2900 GT on Amazon

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