Radeon R1E vs Radeon R3

AMD

Radeon R1E

2023Core: 400 MHzBoost: 2200 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon R3

2019Core: 1082 MHzBoost: 1218 MHz

Radeon R1E vs Radeon R3 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 R1E vs Radeon R3: 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 R1E

2023

Why buy it

  • 2.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 15W instead of 50W, a 35W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 6.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $50 MSRP).

Radeon R3

2019

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R1E across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2019 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 233.3% higher power demand at 50W vs 15W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R1E is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 2.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon R3 instead at 314 vs 301, 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 R1E is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 5nm process instead of 14nm, 2 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2023 generation instead of 2019. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R3 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R3 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon R1E has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon R1E vs Radeon R3 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon R1E

The Radeon R1E is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 3 2023. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 400 MHz to 2200 MHz. It has 128 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 2 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 301 points.

AMD

Radeon R3

The Radeon R3 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 13 2019. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1218 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 314 points.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R1E scores 301 and the Radeon R3 reaches 314 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R1E is built on RDNA 2.0 while the Radeon R3 uses GCN 4.0, both on 5 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 128 (Radeon R1E) vs 512 (Radeon R3). Raw compute: 0.5632 TFLOPS (Radeon R1E) vs 1.247 TFLOPS (Radeon R3). Boost clocks: 2200 MHz vs 1218 MHz.

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
G3D Mark Score
301
314+4%
Architecture
RDNA 2.0
GCN 4.0
Process Node
5 nm
14 nm
Shading Units
128
512+300%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.5632 TFLOPS
1.247 TFLOPS+121%
Boost Clock
2200 MHz+81%
1218 MHz
ROPs
4
16+300%
TMUs
8
32+300%
L1 Cache
32 KB
128 KB+300%
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling + RSR
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Radeon R1E and 64-bit on the Radeon R3. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon R1E) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R3) — the Radeon R1E has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
64-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (Radeon R1E) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R3). Vulkan: 1.0 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
DirectX
12
12 (12_0)
Vulkan
1.0
1.2+20%
OpenGL
4.5
4.6+2%
Max Displays
2
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 2.0 (Radeon R1E) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R3). Decoder: UVD 4.2 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,HEVC (Radeon R1E) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon R3).

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
Encoder
VCE 2.0
VCE 2.0
Decoder
UVD 4.2
UVD 4.2
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,HEVC
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R1E draws 15W versus the Radeon R3's 50W — a 107.7% difference. The Radeon R1E is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon R1E) vs 350W (Radeon R3). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 70°C.

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
TDP
15W-70%
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
75
70°C-7%
Perf/Watt
20.1+219%
6.3
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon R1E came in at $0, while the Radeon R3 launched at $50. On MSRP, Radeon R1E was 100+% cheaper ($50 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): Infinity (Radeon R1E) vs 6.3 (Radeon R3) — the Radeon R1E offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R1E (2023 vs 2019).

FeatureRadeon R1ERadeon R3
MSRP
$0-100%
$50
Performance per Dollar
Infinity
6.3
Codename
Dragon Range
Polaris 23
Release
January 3 2023
May 13 2019
Ranking
#843
#757

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