AMD Radeon R9 M390X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench Vulkan, and the result is a decisive NVIDIA victory. The RTX 2080 SUPER scores 111,284, while the Radeon R9 M390X manages 16,951. That is a delta of 556.5%, meaning the RTX 2080 SUPER is roughly 6.5 times faster in this API workload. This is not a close contest; the gap is large enough that the two cards occupy entirely different performance tiers.

Looking at the broader database averages reinforces this. The RTX 2080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 24,170 across all recorded tests, placing it at the 69th percentile of all GPUs. The R9 M390X averages 20,662, which sits at the 66th percentile. While the percentile difference is modest, the raw average score gap is 3,508 points, or about 17%. The average score includes many different workloads, and the RTX 2080 SUPER leads in every category where both have data.

The RTX 2080 SUPER also shows strength in individual tests. It records 99,226 in Geekbench OpenCL, 19,490 in Passmark G3D, and 8,290 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its Passmark DirectX scores are 227 for DirectX 9, 165 for DirectX 11, 140 for DirectX 10, and 75 for DirectX 12. The R9 M390X has no comparable entries for these tests, so the database only shows the Vulkan head-to-head. That single comparison, however, tells the story clearly: the newer NVIDIA architecture dominates in modern API performance.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 2080 SUPER provide context. Its average score of 24,170 is 0.3% behind the GeForce GTX 780 Ti (24,236), 0.4% behind the GeForce GTX 1630 (24,277), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24,063), and 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (24,442). These are all close margins, indicating the RTX 2080 SUPER sits in a competitive band of GPUs from its era. The R9 M390X, by contrast, has nearest rivals that include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20,713, 0.2% ahead), the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, 0.4% behind), the Intel Arc B570 (20,556, 0.5% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534, 0.6% behind). The R9 M390X is therefore bracketed by much newer hardware, which suggests its performance level is roughly comparable to mid-range GPUs from several generations later.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the RTX 2080 SUPER is the far stronger card. Its average benchmark score of 24,170 versus 20,662 for the R9 M390X represents a 17% overall lead. In the single shared test, Vulkan, the RTX 2080 SUPER is 556.5% ahead. If you are choosing between these two for any modern workload, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the obvious pick.

The R9 M390X is not without merit, but its merits are narrow. It is a 75 W MXM module with no power connectors, designed for portable devices. The RTX 2080 SUPER is a 250 W dual-slot card requiring a 600 W power supply. If the use case is a laptop or a compact MXM-based system, the R9 M390X is the only practical option. Performance is secondary when the form factor dictates the choice.

For desktop builders, the verdict is unambiguous. The RTX 2080 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory versus 4 GB of GDDR5, a 256-bit bus in both cases but with 495.9 GB/s of bandwidth versus 160.0 GB/s. Its 11.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is nearly four times the R9 M390X's 2.961 TFLOPS. The RTX 2080 SUPER also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and includes 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores, features the R9 M390X lacks entirely. The R9 M390X only reaches DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 SUPER wins in every performance category where both cards have recorded data. Its Vulkan score is 111,284 versus 16,951, a 556.5% advantage. Its memory bandwidth is 495.9 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s, a 3.1x difference. Its pixel rate is 116.2 GPixel/s versus 23.14 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 348.5 GTexel/s versus 92.54 GTexel/s. For gaming, content creation, compute workloads, or any GPU-accelerated task, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the stronger choice.

The R9 M390X wins in power efficiency and physical flexibility. Its 75 W TDP is one-third of the RTX 2080 SUPER's 250 W. It uses an MXM module form factor with no external power connectors, which makes it suitable for systems where the RTX 2080 SUPER physically cannot fit. The R9 M390X has a 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratio, meaning its half-precision performance matches its single-precision performance at 2.961 TFLOPS. The RTX 2080 SUPER has a 2:1 ratio, delivering 22.30 TFLOPS of FP16 from its 11.15 TFLOPS of FP32. For workloads that use FP16 heavily, the RTX 2080 SUPER is still far ahead in absolute terms, but the R9 M390X does not lose half its throughput when switching to half-precision.

Use-case split: choose the RTX 2080 SUPER for desktop gaming, ray tracing, DLSS-capable workloads, or any task requiring high memory bandwidth. Choose the R9 M390X for MXM-based laptops or compact systems where the 75 W power envelope and lack of external power connectors are non-negotiable.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2080 SUPER than the R9 M390X in Vulkan?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER scores 111,284 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the R9 M390X scores 16,951. That is a 556.5% difference in favor of the RTX 2080 SUPER.

Q: Which card has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 495.9 GB/s of bandwidth on a 256-bit bus. The R9 M390X has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory with 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth, also on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Does the R9 M390X support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The R9 M390X has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 2080 SUPER has 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has a 250 W TDP and requires a 600 W suggested power supply, using one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. The R9 M390X has a 75 W TDP, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU rating, as it is an MXM module.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER averages 24,170 across all recorded tests, placing it at the 69th percentile. The R9 M390X averages 20,662, at the 66th percentile. The RTX 2080 SUPER leads by 3,508 points, about 17%.

Q: Which card supports newer API versions?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M390X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 2080 SUPER uses the TU104 chip built on Turing architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 12 nm process. It contains 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 25.0 million per mm². The R9 M390X uses the Amethyst chip built on GCN 3.0 architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 28 nm process. It contains 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die, giving a density of 13.7 million per mm². The newer process node allows the RTX 2080 SUPER to pack nearly three times the transistors into a die that is only 49% larger by area.

The RTX 2080 SUPER has 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. The R9 M390X has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 2080 SUPER also adds 48 RT cores for ray tracing and 384 tensor cores for AI acceleration, neither of which exist on the R9 M390X. This is a generational feature gap, not just a performance gap.

The R9 M390X belongs to the "Gem System (R9 M300)" generation and has a predecessor in the "Solar System" line and a successor in "Polaris Mobile". The RTX 2080 SUPER belongs to the GeForce 20-series, with the GeForce 10 as predecessor and GeForce 30 as successor. The R9 M390X was released on 2015-05-04, while the RTX 2080 SUPER came later on 2019-07-22.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category. The RTX 2080 SUPER has a base clock of 1650 MHz and a boost clock of 1815 MHz, while the R9 M390X has no recorded base or boost clocks. Memory clocks differ substantially: the RTX 2080 SUPER runs at 1937 MHz with 15.5 Gbps effective, while the R9 M390X runs at 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective.

Memory configuration differs in size and type: 8 GB GDDR6 versus 4 GB GDDR5. Bandwidth is 495.9 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s. Compute rates: the RTX 2080 SUPER delivers 11.15 TFLOPS FP32 and 22.30 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the R9 M390X delivers 2.961 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio). Pixel rates are 116.2 GPixel/s versus 23.14 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 348.5 GTexel/s versus 92.54 GTexel/s.

Physical specifications diverge completely. The RTX 2080 SUPER is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm long, 116 mm high, and 35 mm wide, with a 250 W TDP, one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, and a 600 W suggested PSU. The R9 M390X is an MXM module with a 75 W TDP, no power connectors, no suggested PSU, and dimensions dependent on the host device. Display outputs also differ: the RTX 2080 SUPER has one HDMI 2.0, three DisplayPort 1.4a, and one USB Type-C, while the R9 M390X is "Portable Device Dependent".

The RTX 2080 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 699 USD. The R9 M390X has no recorded launch MSRP. Both are end-of-life products, and both use a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface.