Radeon HD 4290 vs Radeon HD 6290M

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 4290 vs Radeon HD 6290M 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 4290 vs Radeon HD 6290M: 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 4290

2009

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($60 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6290M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2009 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌153.3% higher power demand at 190W vs 75W.

Radeon HD 6290M

2011

Why buy it

✅3.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 75W instead of 190W, a 115W reduction.
✅More future proof: TeraScale 2 (2009−2015) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2011 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 2.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $60 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 6290M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 3.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 4290 instead at 141 vs 140, 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 HD 4290 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 4290 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon HD 6290M still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 4290 vs Radeon HD 6290M Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 4290

The Radeon HD 4290 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 2 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 190W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 141 points. Launch price was $249.

Radeon HD 6290M

The Radeon HD 6290M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 680 MHz. It has 960 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 140 points.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 4290 scores 141 and the Radeon HD 6290M reaches 140 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 4290 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon HD 6290M uses TeraScale 2, both on 55 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 800 (Radeon HD 4290) vs 960 (Radeon HD 6290M). Raw compute: 1.36 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 4290) vs 1.306 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6290M).

Feature	Radeon HD 4290	Radeon HD 6290M
G3D Mark Score	141	140
Architecture	TeraScale	TeraScale 2
Process Node	55 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	800	960+20%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.36 TFLOPS+4%	1.306 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	40	48+20%
L1 Cache	160 KB	192 KB+20%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 4290	Radeon HD 6290M
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 4290 and System on the Radeon HD 6290M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Radeon HD 4290) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 6290M) — the Radeon HD 6290M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 4290	Radeon HD 6290M
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%

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 4290 draws 190W versus the Radeon HD 6290M's 75W — a 86.8% difference. The Radeon HD 6290M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 4290) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6290M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 4290	Radeon HD 6290M
TDP	190W	75W-61%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	1mm	—
Slots	0	—
Perf/Watt	0.7	1.9+171%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 6290M (2011 vs 2009).

Feature	Radeon HD 4290	Radeon HD 6290M
MSRP	$60	—
Codename	RV790	Blackcomb
Release	April 2 2009	January 4 2011
Ranking	#762	#654

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