Radeon Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 390

AMD

Radeon Pro W5500

2020Core: 1187 MHzBoost: 1400 MHz
Similar parts
·······
VS
AMD

Radeon R9 390

2015Boost: 1000 MHz
Similar parts
·······

Radeon Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 390 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 Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 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 W5500 vs Radeon R9 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 W5500

2020

Why buy it

  • 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.
  • Measures 241mm instead of 275mm, a 34mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 390 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 21.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $399 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 22.3 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

  • 28.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Costs $70 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
  • Delivers 20.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 22.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 140% higher power demand at 300W vs 125W.
  • 14.1% longer card at 275mm vs 241mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 390 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 28.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon Pro W5500 instead at 8,913 vs 8,855, 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 Pro W5500 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 R9 390 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $70 cheaper on MSRP at $329 vs $399, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 20.5% (26.9 vs 22.3), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R9 390 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon Pro W5500 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 390 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon Pro W5500

The Radeon Pro W5500 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in February 10 2020. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1187 MHz to 1400 MHz. It has 1408 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 125W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,913 points. Launch price was $399.

AMD

Radeon R9 390

The Radeon R9 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: 8,855 points. Launch price was $329.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro W5500 scores 8,913 and the Radeon R9 390 reaches 8,855 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro W5500 is built on RDNA 1.0 while the Radeon R9 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 7 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,408 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 390). Raw compute: 3.942 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390). Boost clocks: 1400 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390
G3D Mark Score
8,913
8,855
Architecture
RDNA 1.0
GCN 2.0
Process Node
7 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1408
2560+82%
Compute (TFLOPS)
3.942 TFLOPS
5.12 TFLOPS+30%
Boost Clock
1400 MHz+40%
1000 MHz
ROPs
32
64+100%
TMUs
88
160+82%
L2 Cache
2 MB+100%
1 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling + RSR
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 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 8 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon Pro W5500 and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 390. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon Pro W5500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390
VRAM Capacity
8 GB
8 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 W5500) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 390). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390
DirectX
12.1
12.0
Vulkan
1.2
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
6+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 2.0 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390). Decoder: VCN 2.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: HEVC,H.264,VP9 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390).

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390
Encoder
VCN 2.0
VCE 2.0
Decoder
VCN 2.0
UVD 4.2
Codecs
HEVC,H.264,VP9
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro W5500 draws 125W versus the Radeon R9 390's 300W — a 82.4% difference. The Radeon Pro W5500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 275mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 95°C.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390
TDP
125W-58%
300W
Recommended PSU
500W-33%
750W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
241mm
275mm
Height
111mm
109mm
Slots
1-50%
2
Temp (Load)
75°C-21%
95°C
Perf/Watt
71.3+142%
29.5
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon Pro W5500 came in at $399, while the Radeon R9 390 launched at $329. On MSRP, Radeon R9 390 was 17.5% cheaper ($70 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 22.3 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon R9 390 offers 20.6% better value. The newer card here is Radeon Pro W5500 (2020 vs 2015).

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390
MSRP
$399
$329-18%
Performance per Dollar
22.3
26.9+21%
Codename
Navi 14
Grenada
Release
February 10 2020
June 18 2015
Ranking
#294
#296

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.