Radeon HD 3470 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.

Radeon HD 3470 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.

Radeon HD 3470 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.

Radeon HD 3470

2008

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 1.9 vs 0 G3D/$ ($60 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 7290M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2008 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌50% higher power demand at 150W vs 100W.

Radeon HD 7290M

2012

Why buy it

✅5.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 100W instead of 150W, a 50W 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.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 1.9 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $60 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 7290M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 5.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 5.1% in PassMark G3D (123 vs 117), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 3470 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 3470 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon HD 7290M still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 3470 vs Radeon HD 7290M Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 3470

The Radeon HD 3470 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 25 2008. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 750 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 117 points. Launch price was $299.

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.

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Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the Radeon HD 3470 scores 117 versus the Radeon HD 7290M's 123 — the Radeon HD 7290M leads by 5.1%. The Radeon HD 3470 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon HD 7290M uses GCN 1.0, both on 55 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 800 (Radeon HD 3470) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 7290M). Raw compute: 1.2 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3470) vs 2.176 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7290M).

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
G3D Mark Score	117	123+5%
Architecture	TeraScale	GCN 1.0
Process Node	55 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	800	1280+60%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.2 TFLOPS	2.176 TFLOPS+81%
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	40	80+100%
L1 Cache	160 KB	320 KB+100%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of video memory. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Radeon HD 3470 and System on the Radeon HD 7290M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Radeon HD 3470) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 7290M) — the Radeon HD 7290M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	64-bit	System
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

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Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.1 (Radeon HD 3470) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 7290M). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
DirectX	10.1	11.2 (11_0)+11%
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD (Radeon HD 3470) vs UVD 3 (Radeon HD 7290M). Decoder: UVD vs UVD 3.

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
Encoder	UVD	UVD 3
Decoder	UVD	UVD 3
Codecs	—	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX,Xvid

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 3470 draws 150W versus the Radeon HD 7290M's 100W — a 40% difference. The Radeon HD 7290M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 3470) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7290M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
TDP	150W	100W-33%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	168mm	—
Slots	1	0-100%
Temp (Load)	—	75°C
Perf/Watt	0.8	1.2+50%

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Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 7290M (2012 vs 2008).

Feature	Radeon HD 3470	Radeon HD 7290M
MSRP	$60	—
Codename	RV770	Wimbledon
Release	June 25 2008	April 24 2012
Ranking	#784	#531

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