Radeon HD 8790M vs GeForce GTX 280

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.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (G3D Mark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Radeon HD 8790M is positioned at rank 207 and the GeForce GTX 280 is on rank 314, so the Radeon HD 8790M offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Radeon HD 8790M

#197

Radeon RX 550X (móvel)

MSRP: $35|Avg: $35

416%

#199

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $150

377%

#200

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $100

376%

#204

GeForce GTX 1050 (Mobile)

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $50

342%

#205

Radeon RX 6300

MSRP: $60|Avg: $40

339%

#207

Radeon HD 8790M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#208

Radeon RX Vega M GL

MSRP: $150|Avg: $150

100%

#212

GeForce GTX 780M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $60

98%

#216

Radeon 8040S

MSRP: $400|Avg: $400

93%

#217

Radeon R7 +8G

MSRP: $49|Avg: $20

93%

#221

Radeon HD 6550A

MSRP: $30|Avg: $30

90%

#222

Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5)

MSRP: $150|Avg: $75

89%

Based on actual market prices and performance benchmarks.

Performance Per Dollar GeForce GTX 280

#1

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

MSRP: $399|Avg: $280

3664%

#2

GeForce RTX 5060

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

3520%

#3

Radeon RX 5600 XT

MSRP: $279|Avg: $180

3479%

#4

Radeon RX 9060

MSRP: $249|Avg: $249

3473%

#5

GeForce RTX 5050

MSRP: $249|Avg: $249

3466%

#6

GeForce RTX 3050 OEM

MSRP: $249|Avg: $150

3446%

#7

Arc A580

MSRP: $179|Avg: $179

3403%

#8

Radeon RX 9060 XT

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

3390%

#9

Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

3359%

#10

Radeon RX 7600

MSRP: $269|Avg: $250

3349%

#11

Radeon RX 6600

MSRP: $329|Avg: $180

3309%

#12

GeForce RTX 4060

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

3302%

#13

Arc B570

MSRP: $219|Avg: $219

3242%

#14

Arc B580

MSRP: $249|Avg: $249

3240%

#299

Radeon R5 430 OEM

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $13

4040%

#314

GeForce GTX 280

MSRP: $649|Avg: $649

100%

#315

Radeon HD 3470

MSRP: $60|Avg: $15

98%

#316

Radeon HD 3000

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

97%

#317

GeForce GT 120

MSRP: $100|Avg: $40

95%

#318

Radeon HD 6250

MSRP: $50|Avg: $50

95%

#319

GeForce 6600 LE

MSRP: $30|Avg: $30

86%

#320

Radeon HD 3670

MSRP: $100|Avg: $15

85%

#321

Radeon HD 3200

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

83%

#322

Radeon HD 2350

MSRP: $50|Avg: $48

78%

#323

Radeon HD 2400

MSRP: $79|Avg: $10

77%

#324

Radeon HD 2400 XT

MSRP: $79|Avg: $10

76%

#326

GeForce 7300 GT

MSRP: $89|Avg: $20

70%

#327

Radeon HD 3870 X2

MSRP: $449|Avg: $40

66%

#329

GeForce 7950 GT

MSRP: $299|Avg: $50

59%

Based on actual market prices and performance benchmarks.

Performance Comparison

About G3D Mark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

The Radeon HD 8790M is the superior choice for raw performance. It leads with a 1.6% higher G3D Mark score and 100% more VRAM (2 GB vs 1 GB). This advantage makes it significantly better for higher resolutions (1440p/4K) and graphic-intensive titles compared to the GeForce GTX 280.

Insight	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
Performance	✅Leading raw performance (+1.6%)	❌Lower raw frame rates (-1.6%)
Longevity	🛑Obsolete Architecture (2013 / GCN 1.0 (2012−2020))	🛑Obsolete Architecture (2008 / Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013))
Ecosystem	Supports FSR Upscaling	Supports FSR Upscaling
VRAM	✅ More VRAM (+100%)	❌ Less VRAM capacity
Efficiency	💡 Excellent Perf/Watt	⚡ Higher Power Consumption
Case Fit	—	Standard Size (267mm)

💎 Value Proposition

While current pricing data is unavailable, the Radeon HD 8790M remains the clear technical winner. Check real-time availability to determine if the performance gap justifies the market price.

Performance Check

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 7800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

Radeon HD 8790M Benchmark Check

GeForce GTX 280 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon HD 8790M and GeForce GTX 280

Radeon HD 8790M

The Radeon HD 8790M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 1 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,306 points.

GeForce GTX 280

The GeForce GTX 280 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 16 2008. It features the Tesla 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 602 MHz. It has 240 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 236W. Manufactured using 65 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,285 points. Launch price was $649.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 8790M scores 1,306 and the GeForce GTX 280 reaches 1,285 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 8790M is built on GCN 1.0 while the GeForce GTX 280 uses Tesla 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 65 nm. Shader units: 384 (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 240 (GeForce GTX 280). Raw compute: 0.6912 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 0.6221 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 280).

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
G3D Mark Score	1,306+2%	1,285
Architecture	GCN 1.0	Tesla 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	65 nm
Shading Units	384+60%	240
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6912 TFLOPS+11%	0.6221 TFLOPS
ROPs	8	32+300%
TMUs	24	80+233%
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
Upscaling Tech	FSR 1.0 (Software)	FSR 2.1 (Compatible)
Frame Generation	Not Supported	FSR 3 (Compatible)
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	Standard

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon HD 8790M comes with 2 GB of VRAM, while the GeForce GTX 280 has 1 GB. The Radeon HD 8790M offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: System vs 128-bit.

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
VRAM Capacity	2 GB+100%	1 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	Unknown
Bus Width	System	128-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce GTX 280). Vulkan: 1.2 vs N/A. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
DirectX	11.1 (11_1)	11.1 (10_0)
Vulkan	1.2	N/A
OpenGL	4.6+39%	3.3
Max Displays	0	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 8790M) vs None (GeForce GTX 280). Decoder: UVD 3.0 vs PureVideo HD (VP2). Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 8790M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTX 280).

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
Encoder	VCE 1.0	None
Decoder	UVD 3.0	PureVideo HD (VP2)
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 8790M draws 50W versus the GeForce GTX 280's 236W — a 130.1% difference. The Radeon HD 8790M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 550W (GeForce GTX 280). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 267mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 85.

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	GeForce GTX 280
TDP	50W-79%	236W
Recommended PSU	350W-36%	550W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Length	0mm	267mm
Height	0mm	111mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	75-12%	85
Perf/Watt	26.1+383%	5.4