Radeon HD 8790M vs Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)

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 Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) is on rank 164, so the Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) 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 Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)

#1

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

MSRP: $399|Avg: $280

966%

#2

GeForce RTX 5060

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

928%

#3

Radeon RX 5600 XT

MSRP: $279|Avg: $180

917%

#4

Radeon RX 9060

MSRP: $249|Avg: $249

916%

#5

GeForce RTX 5050

MSRP: $249|Avg: $249

914%

#6

GeForce RTX 3050 OEM

MSRP: $249|Avg: $150

909%

#7

Arc A580

MSRP: $179|Avg: $179

897%

#8

Radeon RX 9060 XT

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

894%

#9

Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

885%

#10

Radeon RX 7600

MSRP: $269|Avg: $250

883%

#11

Radeon RX 6600

MSRP: $329|Avg: $180

872%

#12

GeForce RTX 4060

MSRP: $299|Avg: $299

871%

#13

Arc B570

MSRP: $219|Avg: $219

855%

#14

Arc B580

MSRP: $249|Avg: $249

854%

#90

GeForce RTX 5090 D v2

MSRP: $1999|Avg: $4086.44

99%

#91

Radeon Ryzen 5 150

MSRP: $350|Avg: $350

99%

#92

Radeon Ryzen 7 4800H

MSRP: $450|Avg: $450

96%

#149

Radeon R5 430 OEM

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $13

1065%

#164

Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)

MSRP: $173|Avg: $35

100%

#165

Radeon HD 6520G

MSRP: $40|Avg: $5

100%

#166

GeForce GT 545

MSRP: $149|Avg: $20

100%

#167

Radeon HD 8470D

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

100%

#170

GeForce GT 340

MSRP: $100|Avg: $20

98%

#171

GeForce GT 230

MSRP: $44|Avg: $44

98%

#172

Radeon HD 6670

MSRP: $99|Avg: $99

97%

#175

Radeon R5 420

MSRP: $80|Avg: $20

96%

#176

Radeon R7 A8-7670K

MSRP: $118|Avg: $50

96%

#177

Radeon HD 6570

MSRP: $79|Avg: $79

94%

#178

Radeon HD 8370D

MSRP: $45|Avg: $10

93%

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 0.5% higher G3D Mark score and 300% more VRAM (2 GB vs 512 MB). This advantage makes it significantly better for higher resolutions (1440p/4K) and graphic-intensive titles compared to the Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop).

Insight	Radeon HD 8790M	Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
Performance	✅Leading raw performance (+0.5%)	❌Lower raw frame rates (-0.5%)
Longevity	🛑Obsolete Architecture (2013 / GCN 1.0 (2012−2020))	🛑Obsolete Architecture (2014 / GCN (2012−2015))
Ecosystem	Supports FSR Upscaling	Supports FSR Upscaling
VRAM	✅ More VRAM (+300%)	❌ Less VRAM capacity
Efficiency	⚡ Higher Power Consumption	💡 Excellent Perf/Watt
Case Fit	—	—

💎 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

Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)

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.

Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)

The Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 14 2014. It features the GCN architecture. The core clock speed is 720 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,300 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 8790M scores 1,306 and the Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) reaches 1,300 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 8790M is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) uses GCN, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 512 (Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)).

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
G3D Mark Score	1,306	1,300
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	384	512+33%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
Upscaling Tech	FSR 1.0 (Software)	FSR 1.0 (Software)
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon HD 8790M comes with 2 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) has 512 MB. The Radeon HD 8790M offers 300% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: System vs 128-bit.

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
VRAM Capacity	2 GB+300%	0.5 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	Unknown
Bus Width	System	128-bit

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 12 (Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 3.

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
DirectX	11.1 (11_1)	12+8%
Vulkan	1.2+9%	1.1
OpenGL	4.6+2%	4.5
Max Displays	0	3

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 8790M) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)). Decoder: UVD 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 8790M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)).

Feature	Radeon HD 8790M	Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
Encoder	VCE 1.0	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

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 8790M draws 50W versus the Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)'s 30W — a 50% difference. The Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 8790M) vs 350W (Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs None. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 80°C.