AMD Radeon R9 M290X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains a single direct head-to-head benchmark between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X: the Geekbench OpenCL test. The results are decisive. The RTX 5060 scores 112,787 points, while the R9 M290X manages 22,028 points. That is a delta of 412 percent in favor of the NVIDIA card. In practical terms, the newer GPU delivers more than five times the raw compute throughput in this OpenCL workload, a gap so large that it redefines the class of performance each product occupies.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores in the database reinforces this separation. The RTX 5060 holds an average benchmark score of 26,331, placing it at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs tracked. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon 860M (average score 26,401, delta -0.3 percent), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (average score 26,421, delta -0.3 percent), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (average score 26,011, delta 1.2 percent). The RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary trails by 0.8 percent with an average score of 26,553. The RTX 5060 sits in a tight cluster where single-digit percentage swings separate competitors, meaning its standing is competitive but not dominant within its immediate peer group.

The R9 M290X, by contrast, posts an average benchmark score of 23,276, good for the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (average score 23,273, delta 0 percent), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (average score 23,250, delta 0.1 percent), the NVIDIA P106-100 (average score 23,249, delta 0.1 percent), and the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 (average score 23,315, delta -0.2 percent). The R9 M290X is effectively a statistical tie with these GPUs, all within a fraction of a percent of one another. That tells a clear story: the older AMD part performs at the level of a mid-range mobile or entry desktop GPU from a much later era, while the RTX 5060 operates in a different performance band entirely.

The benchmark data shows no wins for the R9 M290X in any recorded head-to-head test. The only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, goes to the RTX 5060 by a massive margin. The rest of the RTX 5060's benchmark suite includes scores like 3,628 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 113,321 in Geekbench Vulkan, 20,891 in Passmark G3D, and 10,899 in Passmark GPU Compute. The R9 M290X has no corresponding entries in those tests in the database, so direct comparisons there are impossible. What the data does show is that the R9 M290X only appears in two recorded benchmarks, Geekbench Metal (24,524) and Geekbench OpenCL (22,028), and in the one test where both cards appear, the RTX 5060 obliterates the older GPU.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the superior product by every measurable metric in the database. The 412 percent lead in Geekbench OpenCL is not a marginal advantage; it is a generational chasm. The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 26,331 versus the R9 M290X's 23,276 represents a 13 percent advantage in overall averaged performance, and the newer card sits at a higher percentile rank (72 versus 68) across all GPUs.

Who should pick the RTX 5060? Anyone building a modern desktop system that needs current-generation features and performance. The card is actively in production, uses Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and HDMI 2.1b with DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. It has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128 bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M290X, in contrast, is end-of-life, uses the aging GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process, and offers only 4 GB of GDDR5 memory with 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth. Its DirectX support tops out at 12 (11_1), and its Vulkan support is limited to version 1.2.170.

Who should pick the R9 M290X? Strictly speaking, only someone constrained to a very old mobile or compact platform. The card is an MXM module with no power connectors, draws only 100 W, and relies on portable-device-dependent display outputs. It is not a desktop card in the conventional sense. The RTX 5060 requires a 300 W suggested PSU and a single 8-pin connector, but it delivers a 412 percent performance advantage in the one shared benchmark. The verdict from the data is unambiguous: the RTX 5060 is the only rational choice for any application where both cards are physically installable.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is enormous, spanning roughly a decade of semiconductor evolution. The RTX 5060 uses the GB206 chip built on NVIDIA's Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 21,900 million transistors on a die size of 181 mm², yielding a transistor density of 121.0 million per square millimeter. The R9 M290X uses the Neptune chip with AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture, also fabricated at TSMC but on a 28 nm process. It packs just 2,800 million transistors into a larger 212 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.2 million per square millimeter. That means the RTX 5060 crams roughly 9 times more transistors into a smaller physical area.

The compute architectures differ just as dramatically. The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, 48 raster output units, 30 ray tracing cores, and 120 tensor cores. The R9 M290X has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores at all. The RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the R9 M290X is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6, but the RTX 5060 supports Vulkan 1.4 versus the R9 M290X's Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 5060 is a modern GPU designed for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads; the R9 M290X predates both of those paradigm shifts.

Memory architecture also diverges sharply. The RTX 5060 uses GDDR7 memory with a 128 bit bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M290X uses GDDR5 with a wider 256 bit bus but only 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite having half the bus width, the RTX 5060 delivers nearly 3 times the memory bandwidth thanks to the much faster GDDR7 signaling. The R9 M290X has 4 GB of memory versus 8 GB on the RTX 5060, a doubling of capacity that matters for modern texture-heavy workloads and higher resolutions.

Clock speeds and power efficiency follow the same pattern. The RTX 5060 runs at a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The R9 M290X runs at 850 MHz base and 900 MHz boost, with memory at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective). The RTX 5060's higher clocks, combined with its newer architecture, produce a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s, against the R9 M290X's 28.80 GPixel/s and 72.00 GTexel/s. The RTX 5060 also achieves 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, versus 2.304 TFLOPS for the R9 M290X, an 8.3 times raw throughput advantage.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field in the database. The RTX 5060 is a dual-slot desktop card measuring 241 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 145 W TDP. The R9 M290X is an MXM module with no specified dimensions, no power connectors, and a 100 W TDP. The RTX 5060 uses a PCIe 5.0 x8 bus interface, while the R9 M290X uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 5060 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs; the R9 M290X relies on portable device dependent outputs.

The RTX 5060 has 3840 shading units versus 1280, 120 TMUs versus 80, and 48 ROPs versus 32. It adds 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores, which the R9 M290X lacks entirely. Memory capacity is 8 GB versus 4 GB, type is GDDR7 versus GDDR5, bus width is 128 bit versus 256 bit, and bandwidth is 448.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 5060 supports FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio with FP32 (19.18 TFLOPS), while the R9 M290X has no recorded FP16 capability. The RTX 5060 was released on 2025-05-18 and is active in production; the R9 M290X was released on 2014-01-08 and is end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26,331, while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X has an average score of 23,276. The RTX 5060 leads by approximately 13 percent.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5060 in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 5060 scores 112,787 points versus 22,028 points for the R9 M290X, a delta of 412 percent in favor of the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the R9 M290X support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The R9 M290X has null values for both ray tracing cores and tensor cores in the database. The RTX 5060 has 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128 bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 M290X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256 bit bus with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 5060 has a transistor density of 121.0 million per square millimeter, versus 13.2 million per square millimeter for the R9 M290X. The RTX 5060 packs 21,900 million transistors into 181 mm², while the R9 M290X fits 2,800 million into 212 mm².

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The RTX 5060 has an active production status and was released on 2025-05-18. The R9 M290X is end-of-life and was released on 2014-01-08.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5060 wins in every category where comparison data exists. In the single head-to-head benchmark, it dominates. In average benchmark score, it leads by 3,055 points. In percentile ranking among all GPUs, it sits at 72 versus 68. The RTX 5060 wins on memory bandwidth, compute throughput, pixel rate, texture rate, API support, process node, transistor density, and feature set. It is the clear choice for modern gaming, content creation, ray tracing workloads, and any application that can leverage DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4.

The R9 M290X has no recorded wins in the database. What it does offer is a lower power draw of 100 W versus 145 W, a wider 256 bit memory bus (though with far less bandwidth), and an MXM form factor that suits very specific portable or compact systems. It also has a recorded Geekbench Metal score of 24,524, a test the RTX 5060 does not appear in, so for Apple ecosystem Metal benchmarks specifically, the R9 M290X at least has data on the board. But that is not a performance win, merely a data presence. For any practical use case where both cards fit, the RTX 5060 is the only sensible pick based on the recorded measurements. The R9 M290X is a relic from a previous era, and the numbers confirm it.