Radeon HD 6990M vs Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U

AMD

Radeon HD 6990M

2011Core: 715 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U

2021Core: 1626 MHzBoost: 2491 MHz

Radeon HD 6990M vs Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

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 6990M vs Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U 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 6990M vs Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U: 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 6990M

2011

Why buy it

  • Draws 100W instead of 132W, a 32W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2011 hardware with 2 GB 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 9.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $350 MSRP).

Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U

2021

Why buy it

  • 52.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 9.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($350 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 7nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 32% higher power demand at 132W vs 100W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 52.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 6990M instead at 3,264 vs 3,206, 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 Ryzen 5 6600U is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 7nm process instead of 40nm, 28 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2021 generation instead of 2011. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

Radeon HD 6990M vs Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon HD 6990M

The Radeon HD 6990M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 12 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 715 MHz. It has 1120 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,264 points.

AMD

Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U

The Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in October 13 2021. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1626 MHz to 2491 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 132W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. It features 28 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,206 points. Launch price was $329.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 6990M scores 3,264 and the Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U reaches 3,206 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 6990M is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U uses RDNA 2.0, both on 40 nm vs 7 nm. Shader units: 1,120 (Radeon HD 6990M) vs 1,792 (Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U). Raw compute: 1.602 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6990M) vs 8.928 TFLOPS (Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U).

FeatureRadeon HD 6990MRadeon Ryzen 5 6600U
G3D Mark Score
3,264+2%
3,206
Architecture
TeraScale 2
RDNA 2.0
Process Node
40 nm
7 nm
Shading Units
1120
1792+60%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.602 TFLOPS
8.928 TFLOPS+457%
ROPs
32
64+100%
TMUs
56
112+100%
L1 Cache
224 KB
512 KB+129%
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
2 MB+300%
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling + RSR

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon HD 6990MRadeon Ryzen 5 6600U
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 Shared. Memory bus width is System on the Radeon HD 6990M and System on the Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 6990M) vs 2 MB (Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U) — the Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon HD 6990MRadeon Ryzen 5 6600U
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
Shared
Shared
Memory Bandwidth
System
System
Bus Width
System
System
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
2 MB+300%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 6990M draws 100W versus the Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U's 132W — a 27.6% difference. The Radeon HD 6990M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 6990M) vs 350W (Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs None.

FeatureRadeon HD 6990MRadeon Ryzen 5 6600U
TDP
100W-24%
132W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
None
Perf/Watt
32.6+34%
24.3
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon Ryzen 5 6600U (2021 vs 2011).

FeatureRadeon HD 6990MRadeon Ryzen 5 6600U
MSRP
$350
Codename
Blackcomb
Navi 23
Release
July 12 2011
October 13 2021
Ranking
#691
#150

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