Radeon HD 4890 vs Radeon HD 6790

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 4890 vs Radeon HD 6790 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 4890 vs Radeon HD 6790: 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 4890

2009

Why buy it

✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 1 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6790 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
67.1% HIGHER MSRP
$249 MSRPvs$149 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 6.2 vs 10.5 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
❌26.7% higher power demand at 190W vs 150W.

Radeon HD 6790

2011

Why buy it

✅30.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($149 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
✅Delivers 69.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 10.5 vs 6.2 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
✅Draws 150W instead of 190W, a 40W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2011 hardware with 1 GB 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 6790 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 30.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.4% in PassMark G3D (1,567 vs 1,546), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 4890 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 2 GB vs 1 GB of VRAM. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 6790 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $100 cheaper on MSRP at $149 vs $249, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 69.4% (10.5 vs 6.2), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 6790 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 4890 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 4890 vs Radeon HD 6790 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 4890

The Radeon HD 4890 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: 1,546 points. Launch price was $249.

Radeon HD 6790

The Radeon HD 6790 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 4 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 840 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,567 points. Launch price was $149.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 4890 scores 1,546 and the Radeon HD 6790 reaches 1,567 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 4890 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon HD 6790 uses TeraScale 2, both on 55 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 800 (Radeon HD 4890) vs 800 (Radeon HD 6790). Raw compute: 1.36 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 4890) vs 1.344 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6790).

Feature	Radeon HD 4890	Radeon HD 6790
G3D Mark Score	1,546	1,567+1%
Architecture	TeraScale	TeraScale 2
Process Node	55 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	800	800
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.36 TFLOPS+1%	1.344 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	40	40
L1 Cache	160 KB	160 KB
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 4890	Radeon HD 6790
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)

The Radeon HD 4890 has 2 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 6790 carries 1 GB. Radeon HD 4890 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Radeon HD 4890 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6790. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Radeon HD 4890) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 6790) — the Radeon HD 6790 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 4890	Radeon HD 6790
VRAM Capacity	2 GB+100%	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264 (Radeon HD 4890) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 6790).

Feature	Radeon HD 4890	Radeon HD 6790
Encoder	—	None
Decoder	—	UVD 3.0
Codecs	H.264	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 4890 draws 190W versus the Radeon HD 6790's 150W — a 23.5% difference. The Radeon HD 6790 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon HD 4890) vs 450W (Radeon HD 6790). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 4890	Radeon HD 6790
TDP	190W	150W-21%
Recommended PSU	500W	450W-10%
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	2x 6-pin
Length	—	240mm
Height	—	111mm
Slots	—	2
Temp (Load)	—	80
Perf/Watt	8.1	10.4+28%

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Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 4890 came in at $249, while the Radeon HD 6790 launched at $149. On MSRP, Radeon HD 6790 was 40.2% cheaper ($100 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 6.2 (Radeon HD 4890) vs 10.5 (Radeon HD 6790) — the Radeon HD 6790 offers 69.4% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 6790 (2011 vs 2009).

Feature	Radeon HD 4890	Radeon HD 6790
MSRP	$249	$149-40%
Performance per Dollar	6.2	10.5+69%
Codename	RV790	Barts
Release	April 2 2009	April 4 2011
Ranking	#762	#759

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