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 Pro 5500 XT vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 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 Pro 5500 XT vs Radeon R9 290 / 390: 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 Pro 5500 XT

2020

Why buy it

✅Costs $130 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Delivers 60.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 39.7 vs 24.8 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 125W instead of 300W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 / 390 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Radeon R9 290 / 390

2015

Why buy it

✅27.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌
65.3% HIGHER MSRP
$329 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 24.8 vs 39.7 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌140% higher power demand at 300W vs 125W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 290 / 390 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 27.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 3% in PassMark G3D (8,150 vs 7,910), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon Pro 5500 XT is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 7nm process instead of 28nm and a newer 2020 generation instead of 2015. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon Pro 5500 XT makes the most sense to buy today. It is $130 cheaper on MSRP at $199 vs $329, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 60.5% (39.7 vs 24.8), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 290 / 390 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon Pro 5500 XT vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon Pro 5500 XT

The Radeon Pro 5500 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 4 2020. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1187 MHz to 1757 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 125W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 7,910 points.

Radeon R9 290 / 390

The Radeon R9 290 / 390 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,150 points. Launch price was $329.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 7,910 and the Radeon R9 290 / 390 reaches 8,150 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT is built on RDNA 1.0 while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 7 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Raw compute: 5.398 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Boost clocks: 1757 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
G3D Mark Score	7,910	8,150+3%
Architecture	RDNA 1.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	7 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1536	2560+67%
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.398 TFLOPS+5%	5.12 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1757 MHz+76%	1000 MHz
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	96	160+67%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
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 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon Pro 5500 XT and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 290 / 390. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — the Radeon Pro 5500 XT has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit	512-bit+300%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
DirectX	12.1	12.0
Vulkan	1.4+17%	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	0	6

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 2.0 (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Decoder: VCN 2.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265 (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290 / 390).

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
Encoder	VCN 2.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	VCN 2.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,H.265	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro 5500 XT draws 125W versus the Radeon R9 290 / 390's 300W — a 82.4% difference. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin.

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
TDP	125W-58%	300W
Recommended PSU	350W-53%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	—	275mm
Height	—	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	—	95°C
Perf/Watt	63.3+133%	27.2

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon Pro 5500 XT came in at $199, while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 launched at $329. On MSRP, Radeon Pro 5500 XT was 39.5% cheaper ($130 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 39.7 (Radeon Pro 5500 XT) vs 24.8 (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — the Radeon Pro 5500 XT offers 60.1% better value. The newer card here is Radeon Pro 5500 XT (2020 vs 2015).

Feature	Radeon Pro 5500 XT	Radeon R9 290 / 390
MSRP	$199-40%	$329
Performance per Dollar	39.7+60%	24.8
Codename	Navi 14	Grenada
Release	August 4 2020	June 18 2015
Ranking	#322	#296

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