Radeon HD 2900 GT vs Radeon R5E

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 HD 2900 GT vs Radeon R5E 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 HD 2900 GT vs Radeon R5E: 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 HD 2900 GT

2013

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 1.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($170 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R5E across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌66.7% higher power demand at 25W vs 15W.

Radeon R5E

2013

Why buy it

✅3.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 15W instead of 25W, a 10W reduction.
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) 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.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 1.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $170 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R5E is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 3.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 7.9% in PassMark G3D (315 vs 292), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 2900 GT 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 2900 GT makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon R5E still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 2900 GT vs Radeon R5E Technical Specifications

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

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.

Radeon R5E

The Radeon R5E is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 20 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 800 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 315 points. Launch price was $109.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the Radeon HD 2900 GT scores 292 versus the Radeon R5E's 315 — the Radeon R5E leads by 7.9%. The Radeon HD 2900 GT is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon R5E uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 480 (Radeon HD 2900 GT) vs 512 (Radeon R5E). Raw compute: 0.696 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 2900 GT) vs 0.8192 TFLOPS (Radeon R5E).

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
G3D Mark Score	292	315+8%
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	480	512+7%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.696 TFLOPS	0.8192 TFLOPS+18%
ROPs	8	16+100%
TMUs	24	32+33%
L1 Cache	48 KB	128 KB+167%
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 2900 GT and 64-bit on the Radeon R5E.

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10 (Radeon HD 2900 GT) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R5E). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
DirectX	10	12 (12_0)+20%
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD (Radeon HD 2900 GT) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R5E). Decoder: UVD vs UVD 4.2.

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
Encoder	UVD	VCE 2.0
Decoder	UVD	UVD 4.2
Codecs	—	H.264,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 2900 GT draws 25W versus the Radeon R5E's 15W — a 50% difference. The Radeon R5E is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 2900 GT) vs 0W (Radeon R5E). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs None. Card length: 241mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots.

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
TDP	25W	15W-40%
Recommended PSU	350W	0W-100%
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	None
Length	241mm	0mm
Height	—	0mm
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	—	75
Perf/Watt	11.7	21.0+79%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 2900 GT came in at $170, while the Radeon R5E launched at $0. On MSRP, Radeon R5E was 100+% cheaper ($170 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.7 (Radeon HD 2900 GT) vs Infinity (Radeon R5E) — the Radeon R5E offers Infinity% better value.

Feature	Radeon HD 2900 GT	Radeon R5E
MSRP	$170	$0-100%
Performance per Dollar	1.7	Infinity
Codename	Thames	Cape Verde
Release	January 7 2013	December 20 2013
Ranking	#883	#738

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