AMD Radeon HD 6290 IGP

The AMD Radeon HD 6290 IGP is a 40 nm integrated graphics processor built on the TeraScale 2 architecture, fabricated by TSMC with 450 million transistors on a 75 mm² die. It is designed for the Wrestler Mobile platform, targeting low-power portable devices, and carries a 9 W TDP. As an IGP, it relies entirely on system resources for memory and offers no discrete power connectors or PSU recommendation, since it is not a standalone card. Its production status is end-of-life, with a release date of January 6, 2011, and it sits in the 50th percentile among all GPUs tracked in this database, though its average benchmark score is 0, indicating no standardized performance runs are available.

Power and Cooling

The Radeon HD 6290 IGP operates at a TDP of just 9 W, a figure that places it firmly in the ultra-low-power segment of mobile integrated graphics. This power envelope is achieved through the 40 nm process node from TSMC, which allows the 450 million transistors to run at minimal energy draw. Because the chip is an IGP, it has no slot width, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU — the host system’s motherboard and battery supply all necessary power. Thermal management is handled by the laptop or portable device’s existing cooling solution, which must dissipate only that 9 W of heat. The data shows that this is not a component that stresses cooling systems; rather, it is designed for fanless or passively cooled chassis where low heat output is a priority. The lack of a dedicated power connector means installation is trivial — the GPU is soldered onto the motherboard or integrated into the APU package, and no external power delivery is required. For system builders, the implication is clear: power supply sizing is irrelevant for this part, as it draws well below what even the smallest laptop battery or AC adapter would struggle to provide. The 9 W TDP also means that sustained load temperatures remain modest, though the actual thermal performance depends on the device’s cooling design — a fact the benchmark data cannot quantify without specific chassis tests. The pixel rate of 1.104 GPixel/s and texture rate of 2.208 GTexel/s, while modest, are achieved within that 9 W budget, underscoring the efficiency focus of this chip. In practical terms, this IGP is best suited for devices where battery life and low heat take precedence over raw graphics throughput.

Memory Subsystem

The Radeon HD 6290 IGP uses system-shared memory for all graphics operations, with no dedicated VRAM, no fixed bus width, and no independent memory clock. The memory type is likewise system-shared, meaning the GPU accesses the same DRAM as the CPU through the system’s memory controller. Bandwidth is system-dependent, so performance scales with the host platform’s memory configuration — a dual-channel setup would provide higher bandwidth than single-channel, but this is not specified in the data. The absence of dedicated VRAM means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which can bottleneck texture-heavy workloads. With 80 shading units, 8 texture mapping units, and 4 ROPs, the GPU’s compute capacity is small, and the shared memory subsystem further limits its ability to handle high-resolution textures or large framebuffers. At resolutions above 1080p, the system-dependent bandwidth becomes a critical constraint; the GPU cannot rely on fast local memory to compensate for slow system RAM. The 44.16 GFLOPS of FP32 compute is paired with a pixel rate of 1.104 GPixel/s, suggesting that fill-rate-bound tasks will saturate quickly. For high-resolution gaming, the data indicates severe limitations: the shared memory architecture offers no dedicated bandwidth boost, so performance drops disproportionately as resolution increases. In contrast, a discrete GPU with fixed bus width and bandwidth would maintain more consistent throughput. The system-dependent nature of memory means that a host with slower RAM will see worse graphics performance, but the FACT PACK does not provide specific numbers for memory speed or capacity. The 4 ROPs are particularly limiting for high-resolution anti-aliasing or multi-sample rendering, as each ROP handles pixel output at a fixed rate. Overall, this memory subsystem is adequate for basic desktop tasks at low resolutions, but it offers no headroom for demanding visual workloads.

Who Should Consider It

Benchmark results for the Radeon HD 6290 IGP are nonexistent — the average benchmark score is 0, and the percentile versus all GPUs is 50, which indicates it sits at the median in terms of relative position, but the lack of scores means this percentile is more about classification than measured performance. Given the specifications — 80 shading units, 4 ROPs, and 44.16 GFLOPS — this GPU is suited only for legacy 2D applications, light web browsing, and video playback on portable devices. The 9 W TDP and system-shared memory make it a poor choice for gaming at any modern resolution, as even 720p would strain the 1.104 GPixel/s pixel rate. Users who require 3D acceleration for CAD, video editing, or modern games should look elsewhere — the FP32 throughput of 44.16 GFLOPS is orders of magnitude below what contemporary workloads expect. On the other hand, for a netbook or ultra-mobile device from its era, this IGP could handle Windows Aero effects, DVD playback, and Flash-based content without issue. The DirectX 11.2 (11_0) support means it can run some early DirectX 11 titles, but only at low settings and sub-1080p resolutions. OpenGL 4.4 compatibility allows basic OpenGL applications, but again, performance is bounded by the shared memory and low fill rate. The absence of Vulkan support further limits modern API adoption. In summary, this GPU is for users who need basic display output on a low-power device, not for those seeking any level of gaming or compute performance. The 50th percentile ranking suggests it is neither exceptionally weak nor strong in the aggregate database, but that ranking is based on its feature set and classification rather than meaningful benchmark data. Given the end-of-life status, new purchases are unlikely; it remains relevant only for legacy systems.

Benchmark Performance

The FACT PACK lists no benchmark scores for the Radeon HD 6290 IGP, and the nearestRivals array is empty, meaning there are no direct comparison points from this database. The average benchmark score is 0, which indicates that no standardized tests were run or recorded for this part. Consequently, all performance analysis must derive from the raw compute specifications. The FP32 performance of 44.16 GFLOPS is the primary metric for peak theoretical throughput, though real-world efficiency is far lower due to memory bottlenecks. The pixel rate of 1.104 GPixel/s and texture rate of 2.208 GTexel/s suggest that the GPU can fill roughly one full HD frame per second at best, assuming no other overhead. In practice, this means that even a simple 3D scene at 1080p would likely drop below 1 frame per second, while 720p might reach single-digit frame rates under very light loads. The 80 shading units process data at a rate that is dwarfed by even entry-level discrete GPUs from the same era. Without rival scores or deltaPct values, direct percentage comparisons are impossible; however, the absolute numbers tell a clear story. The 4 ROPs limit pixel output, and the 8 TMUs handle texture filtering, but both are constrained by system-shared memory latency. Compared to any discrete GPU, the HD 6290 IGP would show triple-digit percentage deficits in most metrics, but the FACT PACK does not provide such figures. The percentile of 50 against all GPUs is a relative ranking, but with no score to anchor it, it serves only as a qualitative indicator. For a database-driven analysis, the absence of benchmark data is itself a finding: this GPU was never subjected to standardized performance testing, likely because its target use case (IGP in low-power mobiles) precluded meaningful comparison with dedicated parts. The 44.16 GFLOPS and 1.104 GPixel/s are the only hard numbers available, and they place this chip in the absolute entry-level tier of graphics processors.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Radeon HD 6290 IGP has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, as these technologies were not part of the TeraScale 2 architecture. The GPU relies on the 80 shading units for all compute and graphics work, with FP32 performance capped at 44.16 GFLOPS. DirectX support is 11.2 (11_0), which is a feature level 11_0 implementation — this allows for tessellation and compute shaders in the DirectX 11 pipeline, but without hardware acceleration for ray tracing or machine learning workloads. OpenGL 4.4 is supported, providing a mature API for legacy applications, but Vulkan is absent, meaning no access to modern low-overhead graphics APIs. The RT cores and tensor cores fields are null, confirming that this GPU cannot handle real-time ray tracing or DLSS-style upscaling. The feature set is further constrained by the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth — any advanced rendering technique that relies on rapid data access will suffer. The 8 TMUs enable basic texture filtering, and the 4 ROPs handle final pixel output, but neither supports advanced features like variable-rate shading or mesh shaders. The display outputs are portable-device dependent, meaning the actual connectors and supported resolutions vary by laptop model. The architecture is TeraScale 2, a design that predates unified shader architectures for ray tracing; its compute capabilities are limited to traditional pixel and vertex shaders. In terms of API coverage, the DirectX 11.2 support is adequate for early-2010s games, but modern titles require at least DirectX 12 or Vulkan, neither of which is fully supported here. OpenGL 4.4 allows for some compatibility with cross-platform applications, but performance will be hindered by the low fill rate and shared memory. The absence of tensor cores means no AI-assisted rendering, and the lack of RT cores eliminates any possibility of hardware-accelerated ray tracing. For users, this feature set is functionally obsolete for current graphics demands, though it retains basic 2D and video acceleration capabilities. The 9 W TDP and 40 nm process node further reinforce that this is a power-sipping, feature-limited IGP designed for an era before ray tracing became a mainstream consideration.