AMD Radeon R9 M290X vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a straightforward conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the substantially stronger GPU in every measured category. The recorded benchmarks show a single head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 7900 XTX scores 50465 against the R9 M290X's 22028, a delta of 56.3 percent in favor of the newer card. For users selecting between these two, the choice depends entirely on context: the RX 7900 XTX is a desktop-class card for high-end workloads, while the R9 M290X is a mobile-oriented part from an earlier era.

The R9 M290X holds a percentile rank of 68 among all GPUs, placing it above the RX 7900 XTX's 64th percentile. This ranking reflects the entire benchmark database, not just the head-to-head results, and it is a quirk of the averaging method. The R9 M290X's average benchmark score is 23276, while the RX 7900 XTX's average is 19410. That lower average for the RX 7900 XTX is dragged down by several low PassMark scores, including a DirectX 10 result of 166 and a DirectX 12 result of 131. In isolation, the head-to-head OpenCL test shows the newer card is decisively ahead, but the database-wide percentile ranks tell a more nuanced story about consistency across legacy tests.

Who should pick which? The RX 7900 XTX is the obvious choice for modern gaming, compute, and any workload that leverages its full feature set, including ray tracing. The R9 M290X, with its smaller memory pool and older architecture, is only relevant for legacy systems or scenarios where the 100 W power envelope is a hard constraint. There is no benchmark in the data where the R9 M290X wins, so its appeal is limited to compatibility, not performance.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different design eras. The R9 M290X uses the Neptune chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RX 7900 XTX uses the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a 5 nm node. The transistor counts reflect this generational leap: the R9 M290X packs 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, while the RX 7900 XTX integrates 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. Transistor density jumps from 13.2M per mm² to 109.1M per mm², a factor of over eight.

Core configurations differ dramatically. The R9 M290X has 1280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The RX 7900 XTX scales to 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. The newer card also adds 96 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GCN 1.0 part. Clock speeds shift upward as well: the R9 M290X runs at 850 MHz base and 900 MHz boost, while the RX 7900 XTX operates at 1929 MHz base, 2365 MHz game clock, and 2498 MHz boost. The FP32 compute throughput rises from 2.304 TFLOPS on the older card to 61.39 TFLOPS on the newer one, and the RX 7900 XTX additionally supports FP16 at 122.8 TFLOPS, a mode the R9 M290X does not expose.

The memory subsystems are similarly divergent. The R9 M290X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s, over six times the bandwidth. Process node improvements also change the power profile: the R9 M290X has a 100 W TDP, while the RX 7900 XTX is rated at 355 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors plus a 750 W suggested PSU. The bus interface advances from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x16. The RX 7900 XTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the R9 M290X is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The R9 M290X has an average benchmark score of 23276, while the RX 7900 XTX averages 19410. This is inverted relative to the head-to-head result because the RX 7900 XTX's average includes several low legacy PassMark scores, such as 166 in DirectX 10 and 131 in DirectX 12.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The R9 M290X comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 153.6 GB/s for the older card and 960.0 GB/s for the newer one.

Q: Does the RX 7900 XTX support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The RX 7900 XTX includes 96 ray tracing cores. The R9 M290X has no ray tracing cores listed, as its GCN 1.0 architecture predates that feature.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The R9 M290X has a 100 W TDP and uses no external power connectors; it is an MXM module. The RX 7900 XTX has a 355 W TDP, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 750 W.

Q: Which card is newer?

A: The R9 M290X was released on 2014-01-08, and the RX 7900 XTX was released on 2022-11-02. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to the R9 M290X in the single head-to-head test?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7900 XTX scores 50465 versus 22028 for the R9 M290X, a 56.3 percent advantage for the newer card.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. The R9 M290X uses the Neptune chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, has a 28 nm process node, and contains 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die. The RX 7900 XTX uses the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, has a 5 nm process node, and contains 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. The R9 M290X is from the Gem System (R9 M200) generation, while the RX 7900 XTX is from the Navi III (RX 7000) generation.

Clock speeds differ in every category: the R9 M290X runs at 850 MHz base and 900 MHz boost, while the RX 7900 XTX runs at 1929 MHz base, 2365 MHz game, and 2498 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) on the older card versus 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) on the newer one. Memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all differ as specified above. The shading units (1280 vs 6144), TMUs (80 vs 384), and ROPs (32 vs 192) scale upward. The RX 7900 XTX has 96 ray tracing cores; the R9 M290X has none. Pixel rate rises from 28.80 GPixel/s to 479.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate rises from 72.00 GTexel/s to 959.2 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput goes from 2.304 TFLOPS to 61.39 TFLOPS, and the RX 7900 XTX adds FP16 at 122.8 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specifications diverge: TDP is 100 W for the R9 M290X versus 355 W for the RX 7900 XTX. The older card is an MXM module with no power connectors, while the newer card is a dual-slot design with two 8-pin connectors and a 750 W suggested PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for one and PCIe 4.0 x16 for the other. Display outputs are portable-device-dependent on the R9 M290X, while the RX 7900 XTX has one HDMI 2.1a, two DisplayPort 2.1, and one USB Type-C. The RX 7900 XTX also has recorded dimensions of 287 mm length, 110 mm height, and 51 mm width. API support differs: the older card supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the newer one supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct comparison between these two cards. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7900 XTX scores 50465, and the R9 M290X scores 22028. The delta is 56.3 percent in favor of the RX 7900 XTX. This is a massive gap, more than doubling the older card's compute output. The OpenCL result aligns with the raw FP32 figures: 61.39 TFLOPS versus 2.304 TFLOPS, a 26.6x theoretical difference that the real-world test only partially captures.

Beyond the head-to-head, the R9 M290X has its own benchmark record: a Geekbench Metal score of 24524 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 22028. The RX 7900 XTX has a broader test suite. Its Geekbench Vulkan score is 85612, which is the highest single score recorded for that card. Its PassMark G3D score is 31238, and its PassMark GPU compute score is 17689. The RX 7900 XTX also has several low legacy scores: 166 in PassMark DirectX 10, 356 in DirectX 11, 131 in DirectX 12, 330 in DirectX 9, and 1267 in PassMark G2D. These low scores are why its average benchmark score (19410) sits below the R9 M290X's average (23276), despite the newer card winning the direct comparison.

The wins tally confirms the asymmetry: the RX 7900 XTX wins 1 head-to-head test, and the R9 M290X wins 0. There is no recorded test where the older card comes out ahead.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XTX wins in the only benchmark where both cards are measured. Its OpenCL score of 50465 is a decisive victory, and its broader benchmark profile shows strength in modern APIs like Vulkan, where it scores 85612. The card is positioned for high-end workloads: large memory capacity, ray tracing hardware, and massive compute throughput. Use cases that favor the RX 7900 XTX include current-generation gaming at high resolutions, GPU compute tasks that scale with 61.39 TFLOPS, and any workload that can leverage 96 ray tracing cores or 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth.

The R9 M290X has no benchmark wins in the recorded data. Its relevance comes from its physical and power characteristics. As an MXM module with a 100 W TDP and no external power connectors, it fits in portable or compact systems where the RX 7900 XTX's dual-slot, 355 W design cannot. It also has a higher percentile rank (68th versus 64th) in the full database, meaning its average performance across all recorded tests is more consistent relative to the entire GPU landscape. For legacy applications that predate DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4, the R9 M290X's support for DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170 may be sufficient. However, any user choosing the R9 M290X over the RX 7900 XTX is making a tradeoff based on system constraints, not performance, because the data shows no scenario where the older card outperforms the newer one.