Radeon PRO W6400 vs Radeon R9 290X

AMD

Radeon PRO W6400

2022Core: 2331 MHzBoost: 2331 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon R9 290X

2013Boost: 947 MHz

Radeon PRO W6400 vs Radeon R9 290X 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 W6400 vs Radeon R9 290X 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 W6400 vs Radeon R9 290X: 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 W6400

2022

Why buy it

  • Costs $320 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
  • Delivers 139.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 36.8 vs 15.3 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 50W instead of 350W, a 300W reduction.
  • Measures 168mm instead of 275mm, a 107mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Radeon R9 290X

2013

Why buy it

  • 31.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • 2013 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 139.7% HIGHER MSRP
    $549 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 15.3 vs 36.8 G3D/$ ($549 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
  • 600% higher power demand at 350W vs 50W.
  • 63.7% longer card at 275mm vs 168mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 290X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 31.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon PRO W6400 instead at 8,428 vs 8,426, 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 W6400 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 6nm process instead of 28nm, 12 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2013. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon PRO W6400 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $320 cheaper on MSRP at $229 vs $549, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 139.8% (36.8 vs 15.3), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 290X still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon PRO W6400 vs Radeon R9 290X Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon PRO W6400

The Radeon PRO W6400 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 19 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2331 MHz to 2331 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 12 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,428 points.

AMD

Radeon R9 290X

The Radeon R9 290X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in October 24 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 947 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 350W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,426 points. Launch price was $549.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon PRO W6400 scores 8,428 and the Radeon R9 290X reaches 8,426 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon PRO W6400 is built on RDNA 2.0 while the Radeon R9 290X uses GCN 2.0, both on 6 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 2,816 (Radeon R9 290X). Raw compute: 3.58 TFLOPS (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 5.632 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290X). Boost clocks: 2331 MHz vs 947 MHz.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
G3D Mark Score
8,428
8,426
Architecture
RDNA 2.0
GCN 2.0
Process Node
6 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
768
2816+267%
Compute (TFLOPS)
3.58 TFLOPS
5.632 TFLOPS+57%
Boost Clock
2331 MHz+146%
947 MHz
ROPs
32
64+100%
TMUs
48
176+267%
L1 Cache
256 KB
704 KB+175%
L2 Cache
1 MB
1 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling + RSR
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
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 256-bit on the Radeon PRO W6400 and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 290X.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR5
Bus Width
256-bit
512-bit+100%
L2 Cache
1 MB
1 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290X). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
DirectX
12.2+2%
12.0
Vulkan
1.2+9%
1.1
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
2
6+200%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.0 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290X). Decoder: VCN 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (Radeon PRO W6400) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290X).

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
Encoder
VCN 3.0
VCE 2.0
Decoder
VCN 3.0
UVD 4.2
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon PRO W6400 draws 50W versus the Radeon R9 290X's 350W — a 150% difference. The Radeon PRO W6400 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290X). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 168mm vs 275mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 95°C.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
TDP
50W-86%
350W
Recommended PSU
500W-33%
750W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
168mm
275mm
Height
69mm
109mm
Slots
1-50%
2
Temp (Load)
70°C-26%
95°C
Perf/Watt
168.6+600%
24.1
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon PRO W6400 came in at $229, while the Radeon R9 290X launched at $549. On MSRP, Radeon PRO W6400 was 58.3% cheaper ($320 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 36.8 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 15.3 (Radeon R9 290X) — the Radeon PRO W6400 offers 140.5% better value. The newer card here is Radeon PRO W6400 (2022 vs 2013).

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X
MSRP
$229-58%
$549
Performance per Dollar
36.8+141%
15.3
Codename
Navi 24
Hawaii
Release
January 19 2022
October 24 2013
Ranking
#308
#342

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