Radeon HD 8690A vs Radeon R5 M420

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 8690A vs Radeon R5 M420 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 8690A vs Radeon R5 M420: 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 8690A

2013

Why buy it

✅Costs $150 less on MSRP ($150 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
✅Delivers 104% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 3.4 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
✅Draws 50W instead of 75W, a 25W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R5 M420 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon R5 M420

2016

Why buy it

✅24.1% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: GCN 2.0 (2013−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2016 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
100% HIGHER MSRP
$300 MSRPvs$150 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.7 vs 3.4 G3D/$ ($300 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
❌50% higher power demand at 75W vs 50W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R5 M420 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 24.1% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 8690A instead at 514 vs 504, 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 8690A 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 8690A makes the most sense to buy today. It is $150 cheaper on MSRP at $150 vs $300, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 104% (3.4 vs 1.7), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R5 M420 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 8690A vs Radeon R5 M420 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 8690A

The Radeon HD 8690A is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 1 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 775 MHz to 825 MHz. It has 320 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 514 points.

Radeon R5 M420

The Radeon R5 M420 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 15 2016. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 900 MHz to 1000 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 504 points.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 8690A scores 514 and the Radeon R5 M420 reaches 504 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 8690A is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R5 M420 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 320 (Radeon HD 8690A) vs 768 (Radeon R5 M420). Raw compute: 0.528 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8690A) vs 1.536 TFLOPS (Radeon R5 M420). Boost clocks: 825 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
G3D Mark Score	514+2%	504
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	320	768+140%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.528 TFLOPS	1.536 TFLOPS+191%
Boost Clock	825 MHz	1000 MHz+21%
ROPs	8	16+100%
TMUs	20	48+140%
L1 Cache	80 KB	192 KB+140%
L2 Cache	128 KB	256 KB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8690A and 128-bit on the Radeon R5 M420. L2 Cache: 128 KB (Radeon HD 8690A) vs 256 KB (Radeon R5 M420) — the Radeon R5 M420 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	128 KB	256 KB+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11_1 (Radeon HD 8690A) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon R5 M420). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
DirectX	11_1	12 (11_1)+9%
Max Displays	0	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD 3 (Radeon HD 8690A) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R5 M420). Decoder: UVD 3 vs UVD 4.0.

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
Encoder	UVD 3	VCE 1.0
Decoder	UVD 3	UVD 4.0
Codecs	—	H.264,MPEG-4,VC-1,MPEG-2

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 8690A draws 50W versus the Radeon R5 M420's 75W — a 40% difference. The Radeon HD 8690A is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 8690A) vs 350W (Radeon R5 M420). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs Mobile. Card length: 1mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots.

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
TDP	50W-33%	75W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	Mobile
Length	1mm	0mm
Height	—	0mm
Slots	0	0
Temp (Load)	—	80
Perf/Watt	10.3+54%	6.7

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 8690A came in at $150, while the Radeon R5 M420 launched at $300. On MSRP, Radeon HD 8690A was 50% cheaper ($150 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 3.4 (Radeon HD 8690A) vs 1.7 (Radeon R5 M420) — the Radeon HD 8690A offers 100% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R5 M420 (2016 vs 2013).

Feature	Radeon HD 8690A	Radeon R5 M420
MSRP	$150-50%	$300
Performance per Dollar	3.4+100%	1.7
Codename	Sun	Emerald
Release	March 1 2013	May 15 2016
Ranking	#891	#649

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