Quadro FX 380M vs Radeon HD 7290M

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.

Quadro FX 380M vs Radeon HD 7290M 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.

Quadro FX 380M vs Radeon HD 7290M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

Quadro FX 380M

2008

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌2008 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌89% higher power demand at 189W vs 100W.

Radeon HD 7290M

2012

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 189W, a 89W reduction.
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2012 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 7290M is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.7% in PassMark G3D (123 vs 121), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

Quadro FX 380M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 7290M 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 7290M is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Quadro FX 380M has the stronger long-term case.

Quadro FX 380M vs Radeon HD 7290M Technical Specifications

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

Quadro FX 380M

The Quadro FX 380M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in November 11 2008. It features the Tesla 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 610 MHz. It has 240 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 189W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 121 points. Launch price was $3,499.

Radeon HD 7290M

The Radeon HD 7290M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 24 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 123 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Quadro FX 380M scores 121 and the Radeon HD 7290M reaches 123 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Quadro FX 380M is built on Tesla 2.0 while the Radeon HD 7290M uses GCN 1.0, both on 55 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 240 (Quadro FX 380M) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 7290M). Raw compute: 0.6221 TFLOPS (Quadro FX 380M) vs 2.176 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7290M).

Feature	Quadro FX 380M	Radeon HD 7290M
G3D Mark Score	121	123+2%
Architecture	Tesla 2.0	GCN 1.0
Process Node	55 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	240	1280+433%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6221 TFLOPS	2.176 TFLOPS+250%
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	80	80
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Quadro FX 380M	Radeon HD 7290M
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 video memory. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Quadro FX 380M and System on the Radeon HD 7290M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Quadro FX 380M) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 7290M) — the Radeon HD 7290M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Quadro FX 380M	Radeon HD 7290M
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Bus Width	64-bit	System
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (FL10_1) (Quadro FX 380M) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 7290M). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	Quadro FX 380M	Radeon HD 7290M
DirectX	11.1 (FL10_1)	11.2 (11_0)
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VP4 (Quadro FX 380M) vs UVD 3 (Radeon HD 7290M). Decoder: VP4 vs UVD 3. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Quadro FX 380M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX,Xvid (Radeon HD 7290M).

Feature	Quadro FX 380M	Radeon HD 7290M
Encoder	VP4	UVD 3
Decoder	VP4	UVD 3
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX,Xvid

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Quadro FX 380M draws 189W versus the Radeon HD 7290M's 100W — a 61.6% difference. The Radeon HD 7290M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Quadro FX 380M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7290M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 75°C.