Radeon 890M vs Radeon R9 290 / 390

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.

Radeon 890M vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 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.

Radeon 890M vs Radeon R9 290 / 390: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

Radeon 890M

2024

Why buy it

✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 15W instead of 300W, a 285W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 / 390 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 24.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290 / 390

2015

Why buy it

✅18.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌1900% higher power demand at 300W vs 15W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 290 / 390 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 18.9% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon 890M instead at 8,175 vs 8,150, 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?

Radeon 890M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 4nm process instead of 28nm, 16 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2024 generation instead of 2015. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon R9 290 / 390 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 R9 290 / 390 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon 890M has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon 890M vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon 890M

The Radeon 890M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 15 2024. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 400 MHz to 2900 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,175 points.

Radeon R9 290 / 390

The Radeon R9 290 / 390 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,150 points. Launch price was $329.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon 890M scores 8,175 and the Radeon R9 290 / 390 reaches 8,150 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon 890M is built on RDNA 3.5 while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 4 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (Radeon 890M) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Raw compute: 5.939 TFLOPS (Radeon 890M) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Boost clocks: 2900 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
G3D Mark Score	8,175	8,150
Architecture	RDNA 3.5	GCN 2.0
Process Node	4 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1024	2560+150%
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.939 TFLOPS+16%	5.12 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	2900 MHz+190%	1000 MHz
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	64	160+150%
L1 Cache	256 KB	640 KB+150%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is System on the Radeon 890M and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 290 / 390. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon 890M) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — the Radeon 890M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	320 GB/s
Bus Width	System	512-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon 890M) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
DirectX	12.2+2%	12.0
Vulkan	1.3+8%	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.0 (Radeon 890M) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Decoder: VCN 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (Radeon 890M) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290 / 390).

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
Encoder	VCN 3.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	VCN 3.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon 890M draws 15W versus the Radeon R9 290 / 390's 300W — a 181% difference. The Radeon 890M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon 890M) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 275mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
TDP	15W-95%	300W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	0mm	275mm
Height	0mm	109mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	—	95°C
Perf/Watt	545.0+1904%	27.2

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon 890M (2024 vs 2015).

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
MSRP	—	$329
Codename	Strix Point	Grenada
Release	July 15 2024	June 18 2015
Ranking	#312	#296

Search Radeon 890M on Amazon

Search Radeon R9 290 / 390 on Amazon

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.