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 6990 vs Radeon HD 7790 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 6990 vs Radeon HD 7790: 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 6990

2011

Why buy it

✅46.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2011 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
369.1% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$149 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.3 vs 20.7 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
❌341.2% higher power demand at 375W vs 85W.
❌69.4% longer card at 310mm vs 183mm.

Radeon HD 7790

2013

Why buy it

✅Costs $550 less on MSRP ($149 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 381% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.7 vs 4.3 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Draws 85W instead of 375W, a 290W reduction.
✅Measures 183mm instead of 310mm, a 127mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6990 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 2 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 6990 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 46.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 7790 instead at 3,090 vs 3,014, 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 6990 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 7790 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $550 cheaper on MSRP at $149 vs $699, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 381% (20.7 vs 4.3), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 7790 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 6990 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 6990 vs Radeon HD 7790 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 6990

The Radeon HD 6990 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 8 2011. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The core clock speed is 830 MHz. It has 1536 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 375W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,014 points. Launch price was $699.

Radeon HD 7790

The Radeon HD 7790 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 22 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 896 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 85W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,090 points. Launch price was $149.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 6990 scores 3,014 and the Radeon HD 7790 reaches 3,090 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 6990 is built on TeraScale 3 while the Radeon HD 7790 uses GCN 2.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (Radeon HD 6990) vs 896 (Radeon HD 7790). Raw compute: 2.55 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 6990) vs 1.792 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7790).

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
G3D Mark Score	3,014	3,090+3%
Architecture	TeraScale 3	GCN 2.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1536 ×2+71%	896
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.55 TFLOPS ×2+42%	1.792 TFLOPS
ROPs	32 ×2+100%	16
TMUs	96 ×2+71%	56
L1 Cache	384 KB+71%	224 KB
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
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 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6990 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 7790. L2 Cache: 512 KB (Radeon HD 6990) vs 256 KB (Radeon HD 7790) — the Radeon HD 6990 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	96 GB/s
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.2 (Radeon HD 6990) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon HD 7790). Vulkan: None vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 5 vs 5.

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
DirectX	11.2	12 (12_0)+7%
Vulkan	None	1.3
OpenGL	4.4	4.6+5%
Max Displays	5	5

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (Radeon HD 6990) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon HD 7790). Decoder: UVD 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 6990) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 7790).

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
Encoder	None	VCE 2.0
Decoder	UVD 3.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 6990 draws 375W versus the Radeon HD 7790's 85W — a 126.1% difference. The Radeon HD 7790 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (Radeon HD 6990) vs 400W (Radeon HD 7790). Power connectors: 2x 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 310mm vs 183mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85 vs 70.

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
TDP	375W	85W-77%
Recommended PSU	750W	400W-47%
Power Connector	2x 8-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	310mm	183mm
Height	115mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	85	70-18%
Perf/Watt	8.0	36.4+355%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 6990 came in at $699, while the Radeon HD 7790 launched at $149. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7790 was 78.7% cheaper ($550 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.3 (Radeon HD 6990) vs 20.7 (Radeon HD 7790) — the Radeon HD 7790 offers 381.4% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 7790 (2013 vs 2011).

Feature	Radeon HD 6990	Radeon HD 7790
MSRP	$699	$149-79%
Performance per Dollar	4.3	20.7+381%
Codename	Antilles	Bonaire
Release	March 8 2011	March 22 2013
Ranking	#583	#579

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