AMD Radeon R9 M290X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile compare to the AMD Radeon R9 M290X in overall average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GPU records an average benchmark score of 25740, while the AMD GPU scores 23276. That places the NVIDIA part roughly 10.6% higher overall, and it sits at the 71st percentile of all GPUs versus the AMD part's 68th percentile.

Q: In the only direct head-to-head benchmark available, what is the margin of victory?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 117866 versus the AMD Radeon R9 M290X's 22028. That is a 435.1% advantage for the NVIDIA part, the only head-to-head test recorded in the database.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card in the database?

A: For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, the nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (delta of 0.1%, with the W5700 slightly higher), AMD FirePro D700 (-0.4%), AMD Radeon RX 6700M (0.4%), and AMD FirePro W7100 (-0.4%). For the AMD Radeon R9 M290X, the closest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (0.1%), NVIDIA P106-100 (0.1%), and AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 (-0.2%).

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor density and what does that indicate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a transistor density of 44.4M per mm², while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X has 13.2M per mm². The NVIDIA part packs far more transistors into each square millimeter, which reflects its much newer 8 nm process versus the AMD part's 28 nm node.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X supports DirectX 12 (11_1). This means the NVIDIA part is certified for the full feature set of DirectX 12 Ultimate, including features the older AMD architecture cannot claim.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile delivers 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 256-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X provides 153.6 GB/s across a 256-bit bus with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. The NVIDIA part's bandwidth is more than three times higher.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different technological eras. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the GA103 chip built on Ampere architecture, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X uses the Neptune chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. That process gap alone explains much of the performance disparity.

The transistor counts tell a stark story. The NVIDIA chip integrates 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die, resulting in a density of 44.4M per mm². The AMD chip has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, with a density of 13.2M per mm². The NVIDIA part contains nearly eight times as many transistors and packs them over three times more densely.

Memory subsystem differences are equally dramatic. The NVIDIA GPU uses 16 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective speed, producing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD GPU uses 4 GB of GDDR5 memory at 1200 MHz with 4.8 Gbps effective speed, yielding 153.6 GB/s. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the newer memory technology gives the NVIDIA part a decisive bandwidth advantage.

The compute resource allocation is heavily skewed toward the NVIDIA part. It features 7424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, 96 raster output units, 58 ray tracing cores, and 232 tensor cores. The AMD part has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores present. This means the NVIDIA GPU is built for modern workloads like ray tracing and AI acceleration, while the AMD part is a purely conventional rasterization design.

Clock behavior also differs. The NVIDIA GPU has a base clock of 810 MHz and a boost clock of 1260 MHz. The AMD GPU has a base clock of 850 MHz and a boost clock of 900 MHz. The AMD part starts higher but boosts much less, while the NVIDIA part has a wider boost headroom.

The API support reflects the architectural gap. The NVIDIA GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD GPU supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA part also uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the AMD part uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Both are end-of-life products, but the NVIDIA GPU was released in 2022 while the AMD GPU came out in 2014.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records exactly one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. This single comparison is lopsided. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 117866, while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 22028. The delta is 435.1% in favor of the NVIDIA part. That means the NVIDIA GPU delivers more than five times the OpenCL compute performance of the AMD GPU.

This result is consistent with the raw specifications. The NVIDIA GPU's FP32 throughput is 18.71 TFLOPS, while the AMD GPU's is 2.304 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA part also has a texture rate of 292.3 GTexel/s versus 72.00 GTexel/s for the AMD part, and a pixel rate of 121.0 GPixel/s versus 28.80 GPixel/s. Every throughput metric points the same direction.

The NVIDIA GPU also has dedicated hardware that the AMD part lacks entirely. Its 58 ray tracing cores and 232 tensor cores enable workloads that the AMD GPU cannot accelerate at all. Even without those specialized units, the raw shading power gap is enormous: 7424 shading units versus 1280, a 5.8x difference.

In the broader benchmark suite, the NVIDIA GPU posts scores across many tests, including Passmark G3D at 19288, Geekbench Vulkan at 107502, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 2869. The AMD GPU only has two recorded benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL at 22028 and Geekbench Metal at 24524. The NVIDIA GPU's OpenCL score alone is nearly five times the AMD GPU's Metal score, even though Metal is not a workload the NVIDIA part is tested on.

The average benchmark score confirms the hierarchy. The NVIDIA GPU averages 25740 across all tests, while the AMD GPU averages 23276. The NVIDIA part sits at the 71st percentile of all GPUs, and the AMD part at the 68th percentile. The gap in percentiles is modest, but the gap in raw scores is substantial.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the far stronger GPU by every measurable metric in the database. Its average benchmark score of 25740 exceeds the AMD Radeon R9 M290X's 23276. Its OpenCL score is 435.1% higher in the only direct head-to-head comparison. Its memory bandwidth, shading unit count, texture rate, pixel rate, and FP32 throughput all dwarf the AMD part's numbers.

The AMD Radeon R9 M290X is not without merit in context. It was released in 2014, and its performance is comparable to modern mid-range parts like the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which scores 23273 and is within 0% delta of the AMD GPU. That means the R9 M290X's performance level is still relevant in the lower tiers of the current market, even if it cannot compete with high-end modern parts.

However, the NVIDIA GPU is in a different class entirely. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro W5700, AMD FirePro D700, AMD Radeon RX 6700M, and AMD FirePro W7100, all of which are within 0.4% of its average score. These are all far more modern or higher-tier parts than the R9 M290X.

For anyone choosing between these two specific GPUs, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the only sensible pick for modern workloads. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, includes ray tracing and tensor cores, has four times the memory, and delivers over three times the bandwidth. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X should only be considered if the workload is extremely old and the power envelope is a strict constraint, since it draws 100 W versus the NVIDIA part's 115 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile | AMD Radeon R9 M290X |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 1.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Transistors | 22,000 million | 2,800 million |

| Die Size | 496 mm² | 212 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 44.4M / mm² | 13.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 810 MHz | 850 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1260 MHz | 900 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective | 1200 MHz, 4.8 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 153.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 7424 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 232 | 80 |

| ROPs | 96 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 58 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 232 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 121.0 GPixel/s | 28.80 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 292.3 GTexel/s | 72.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 18.71 TFLOPS | 2.304 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 18.71 TFLOPS (1:1) | Not specified |

| TDP | 115 W | 100 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | MXM Module |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2022-01-24 | 2014-01-08 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 20 Mobile | Solar System |

| Successor | None listed | Polarise Mobile |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins in every recorded benchmark category. It dominates the only head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, with a 435.1% advantage. Its average benchmark score is higher, its percentile ranking is higher, and its raw specification sheet is superior across memory, compute, and feature support. It is the clear winner for any DirectX 12 Ultimate workload, ray tracing, tensor-based AI acceleration, or high-resolution gaming with large texture budgets.

The AMD Radeon R9 M290X wins only in narrower contexts. It has a lower TDP of 100 W versus 115 W, which could matter in a power-constrained portable chassis. It also uses a standard MXM module form factor, which may offer more straightforward upgrade compatibility in certain laptop designs. Its release in 2014 means it is a mature, long-supported platform, and its performance remains competitive with modern entry-level parts like the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which is within 0% delta. For legacy software that predates ray tracing or tensor acceleration, the AMD part may still be serviceable.

The database records zero benchmark wins for the AMD GPU and one for the NVIDIA GPU. The verdict is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the superior part for virtually any use case, while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X is best reserved for legacy systems where power draw and module compatibility take priority over raw performance.