AMD Radeon 890M vs AMD Radeon R7 250 Comparison
AMD Radeon 890M
Radeon R7 250
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Radeon 890M vs AMD Radeon R7 250
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The only directly comparable benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is a decisive one. The AMD Radeon 890M scores 37,254, while the AMD Radeon R7 250 scores 7,557. That gives the 890M a 393% advantage, a nearly fivefold raw compute lead in this specific test. The delta is so large that it resets expectations for what an integrated processor can do against a dedicated desktop card from an older generation.
Looking at the broader database context, the 890M sits at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9,210. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Vega 8 at 9,221 (a 0.1% gap), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 at 9,273 (0.7% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 at 9,294 (0.9% ahead). The data shows the 890M is effectively trading blows with these mid-range discrete cards from previous generations, which is remarkable given its 15 W TDP and integrated nature. The R7 250, by contrast, lands at the 41st percentile with an average score of 7,557, and its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A310 at 7,550 (the R7 250 is 0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 at 7,580 (0.3% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 at 7,472 (1.1% ahead). So the R7 250 is competitive within its own tier, but that tier is far below where the 890M operates.
The 890M's individual benchmark suite reinforces this picture. In Passmark G3D, it scores 8,076, and in Passmark GPU Compute it reaches 4,157. Its DirectX 9 score is 97, DirectX 11 is 73, DirectX 12 is 37, and DirectX 10 is 33. The 2D score of 979 is a strong indicator of desktop and compositing performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 590 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 40,808 further demonstrate the 890M's capability in modern graphics APIs. The R7 250 has no recorded scores in these tests, so a direct comparison is impossible, but the OpenCL gap alone tells the story: the 890M is in a different performance class entirely.
FAQ
Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon 890M than the AMD Radeon R7 250 in OpenCL?
A: The 890M scores 37,254 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the R7 250 scores 7,557. The 890M leads by 393%.
Q: How does the 890M compare to its closest rivals in the database?
A: The 890M's average benchmark score is 9,210. It is 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9,221), 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9,273), and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9,294). It is 1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (9,302).
Q: Where does the R7 250 rank among all GPUs?
A: The R7 250 is at the 41st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 7,557. It sits just ahead of the Intel Arc A310 (7,550) by 0.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (7,472) by 1.1%.
Q: Does the 890M support modern graphics APIs?
A: Yes, the 890M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R7 250 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.
Q: What is the production status of each GPU?
A: The 890M is listed as Active, with a release date of 2024-07-14. The R7 250 is End-of-life, released on 2013-10-07.
Q: How do the pixel and texture rates compare?
A: The 890M has a pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s. The R7 250 has a pixel rate of 14.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 29.60 GTexel/s.
Where Each One Wins
The AMD Radeon 890M wins every recorded head-to-head comparison in this matchup. Its 393% OpenCL advantage makes it the clear choice for compute workloads, and its API support list is strictly more modern. DirectX 12 Ultimate with ray tracing support (16 RT cores) positions it for current and upcoming game titles that leverage DXR and variable rate shading. The 890M's shading unit count of 1,024, TMUs of 64, and ROPs of 32 are all double the R7 250's respective counts of 512, 32, and 16. The FP32 throughput of 5.939 TFLOPS versus 947.2 GFLOPS means the 890M handles general-purpose GPU tasks, content creation, and physics simulations with far more headroom.
The R7 250's only advantage is its dedicated memory configuration. It has 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The 890M uses system-shared memory with bandwidth described as system dependent. In scenarios where a system has slow or insufficient RAM, the R7 250's dedicated VRAM could provide more consistent frame pacing in older games that fit within 1 GB. The R7 250 also has a lower transistor count (1,500 million versus 34,000 million) and a smaller die size (123 mm² versus 233 mm²), but these are not performance advantages; they simply reflect its older, simpler design.
For gaming, the 890M is the stronger option across the board in the recorded data. Its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 97 and DirectX 11 score of 73 indicate solid legacy API performance, while its DirectX 12 score of 37 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 590 show it can handle modern rendering paths. The R7 250 has no recorded DirectX or 3DMark scores, so its gaming capability cannot be quantified here, but the OpenCL gap suggests it would trail in any compute-heavy workload.
Specification Differences
The most obvious difference is the memory subsystem. The R7 250 has 1024 MB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. The 890M uses system-shared memory, with size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all marked as system shared or system dependent. This is the fundamental architectural split between a discrete GPU and an integrated one.
Clock speeds differ significantly. The 890M has a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. The R7 250 has no base or boost clock listed; its memory clock is 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective). The 890M's boost clock is the headline figure here, and it directly contributes to the massive throughput advantage.
The bus interface is another differentiator. The 890M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the R7 250 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The newer PCIe 4.0 standard offers higher per-lane bandwidth, which helps the 890M compensate for its reliance on shared system memory.
Power and physical specs diverge sharply. The 890M has a TDP of 15 W, is an IGP with no power connectors, and its display outputs are portable device dependent. The R7 250 has a TDP of 55 W, is a single-slot card with no power connectors, a suggested PSU of 250 W, a length of 168 mm (6.6 inches), and fixed display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2.
Production status and release timing also differ. The 890M is Active, released on 2024-07-14, with a predecessor of Navi II IGP. The R7 250 is End-of-life, released on 2013-10-07, with a predecessor of Sea Islands and a successor of Pirate Islands.
Architecture Differences
The 890M is built on the Strix Point chip using the RDNA 3.5 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It belongs to the Navi III IGP generation (Strix Point Mobile). The R7 250 uses the Cape Verde chip with the GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, and belongs to the Volcanic Islands generation (R7 200).
The process node gap is enormous: 4 nm versus 28 nm. This explains the transistor density difference. The 890M packs 34,000 million transistors onto a 233 mm² die, yielding a density of 145.9 million transistors per mm². The R7 250 has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 12.2 million per mm². The 890M has over 22 times the transistor count in less than double the die area.
Compute resources scale accordingly. The 890M has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 16 RT cores. The R7 250 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with no RT cores listed. The 890M's FP16 throughput matches its FP32 at 5.939 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the R7 250 has no FP16 figure recorded. API support reflects the architectural generation: the 890M reaches DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the R7 250 is capped at DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.
The 890M's RT core count of 16 is a defining feature. It enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a capability entirely absent from the R7 250. Combined with the higher shading unit count and the much newer process node, the 890M is not just a refresh of the older part; it is a generational leap in every measurable architectural dimension. The R7 250's GCN 1.0 architecture was designed for a different era of graphics workloads, and the recorded data confirms it cannot keep pace with the RDNA 3.5-based integrated solution.