Radeon Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 390X

AMD

Radeon Pro W5500

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

Radeon R9 390X

2015Boost: 1050 MHz
Similar parts
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Radeon Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 390X 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 390X 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 390X: 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

  • Costs $30 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $429 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 275W, a 150W reduction.
  • Measures 241mm instead of 277mm, a 36mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 390X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Radeon R9 390X

2015

Why buy it

  • 32.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 7.5% HIGHER MSRP
    $429 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
  • 120% higher power demand at 275W vs 125W.
  • 14.9% longer card at 277mm vs 241mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 390X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 32.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 4.1% in PassMark G3D (9,278 vs 8,913), so the answer here is pretty clean.
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 Pro W5500 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $30 cheaper on MSRP at $399 vs $429, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 3.3% (22.3 vs 21.6), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 390X still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon Pro W5500 vs Radeon R9 390X 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 390X

The Radeon R9 390X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1050 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,278 points. Launch price was $429.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro W5500 scores 8,913 and the Radeon R9 390X reaches 9,278 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro W5500 is built on RDNA 1.0 while the Radeon R9 390X uses GCN 2.0, both on 7 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,408 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 2,816 (Radeon R9 390X). Raw compute: 3.942 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 5.914 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390X). Boost clocks: 1400 MHz vs 1050 MHz.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390X
G3D Mark Score
8,913
9,278+4%
Architecture
RDNA 1.0
GCN 2.0
Process Node
7 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1408
2816+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)
3.942 TFLOPS
5.914 TFLOPS+50%
Boost Clock
1400 MHz+33%
1050 MHz
ROPs
32
64+100%
TMUs
88
176+100%
L2 Cache
2 MB+100%
1 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling + RSR
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390X
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 390X. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390X) — the Radeon Pro W5500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390X
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 (12_0) (Radeon R9 390X). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390X
DirectX
12.1
12 (12_0)
Vulkan
1.2
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

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

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

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro W5500 draws 125W versus the Radeon R9 390X's 275W — a 75% difference. The Radeon Pro W5500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390X). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 277mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 80.

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390X
TDP
125W-55%
275W
Recommended PSU
500W-33%
750W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
241mm
277mm
Height
111mm
129mm
Slots
1-50%
2
Temp (Load)
75°C-6%
80
Perf/Watt
71.3+112%
33.7
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon Pro W5500 came in at $399, while the Radeon R9 390X launched at $429. On MSRP, Radeon Pro W5500 was 7% cheaper ($30 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 22.3 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 21.6 (Radeon R9 390X) — the Radeon Pro W5500 offers 3.2% better value. The newer card here is Radeon Pro W5500 (2020 vs 2015).

FeatureRadeon Pro W5500Radeon R9 390X
MSRP
$399-7%
$429
Performance per Dollar
22.3+3%
21.6
Codename
Navi 14
Grenada
Release
February 10 2020
June 18 2015
Ranking
#294
#287

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