Radeon RX 6850M XT vs HD 6290

Place in the ranking	1351	77
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	0.98	18.85
Architecture	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)	RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)
GPU code name	Cedar	Navi 22
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	4 December 2011 (13 years ago)	4 January 2022 (3 years ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	80	2560
Core clock speed	650 MHz	2321 MHz
Boost clock speed	400 MHz	2581 MHz
Number of transistors	292 million	17,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	19 Watt	165 Watt
Texture fill rate	5.200	413.0
Floating-point processing power	0.104 TFLOPS	13.21 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	64
TMUs	8	160
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	40

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	168 mm	no data
Width	1-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	None	None

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR3	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	12 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	800 MHz	2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	12.8 GB/s	384.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI	No outputs
HDMI	+	-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	11.2 (11_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.0	6.5
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.1
Vulkan	N/A	1.3

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

HD 6290 0.27

RX 6850M XT 45.18
+16633%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

HD 6290 104

RX 6850M XT 17369
+16601%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

HD 6290 179

RX 6850M XT 42016
+23372%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD	6 −2217%	139 +2217%
1440p	0−1	87
4K	-0−1	67

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	8−9 −1125%	95−100 +1125%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −7900%	160 +7900%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Counter-Strike 2	8−9 −1125%	95−100 +1125%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −3300%	68 +3300%
Forza Horizon 4	5−6 −5840%	297 +5840%
Red Dead Redemption 2	4−5 −2050%	85−90 +2050%

Full HD
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	8−9 −1125%	95−100 +1125%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −2550%	53 +2550%
Far Cry 5	6−7 −633%	44 +633%
Forza Horizon 4	5−6 −5080%	259 +5080%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	6−7 −3400%	210−220 +3400%
Red Dead Redemption 2	4−5 −2050%	85−90 +2050%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 −4025%	160−170 +4025%
World of Tanks	12−14 −2225%	270−280 +2225%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	8−9 −1125%	95−100 +1125%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −2100%	44 +2100%
Far Cry 5	6−7 −1617%	100−110 +1617%
Forza Horizon 4	5−6 −4440%	227 +4440%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	6−7 −3400%	210−220 +3400%

1440p
High Preset

PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS

1−2

−17400%

170−180
+17400%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 −444%	45−50 +444%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −1300%	28 +1300%
Far Cry 5	4−5 −3525%	140−150 +3525%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	2−3 −4050%	80−85 +4050%
Valorant	4−5 −3675%	150−160 +3675%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	14−16 −560%	99 +560%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 −560%	99 +560%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	1−2 −14900%	150−160 +14900%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 −560%	99 +560%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	0−1	50−55
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −1200%	13 +1200%
Dota 2	14−16 −420%	78 +420%
Valorant	0−1	80−85

Full HD
Low Preset

Elden Ring

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Metro Exodus	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Valorant	180−190 +0%	180−190 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Dota 2	122 +0%	122 +0%
Elden Ring	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%
Fortnite	180−190 +0%	180−190 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	126 +0%	126 +0%
Metro Exodus	43 +0%	43 +0%
Valorant	180−190 +0%	180−190 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Dota 2	95 +0%	95 +0%
Valorant	180−190 +0%	180−190 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	89 +0%	89 +0%
Elden Ring	95−100 +0%	95−100 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	89 +0%	89 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
World of Tanks	280−290 +0%	280−290 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	166 +0%	166 +0%
Metro Exodus	95−100 +0%	95−100 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Elden Ring	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Metro Exodus	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Far Cry 5	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Fortnite	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	92 +0%	92 +0%

This is how HD 6290 and RX 6850M XT compete in popular games:

RX 6850M XT is 2217% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1440p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 6850M XT is 17400% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 6850M XT is ahead in 31 test (51%)
there's a draw in 30 tests (49%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.27	45.18
Recency	4 December 2011	4 January 2022
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	12 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	19 Watt	165 Watt

HD 6290 has 768.4% lower power consumption.

RX 6850M XT, on the other hand, has a 16633.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, a 1100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 471.4% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 6850M XT is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6290 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6290 is a desktop card while Radeon RX 6850M XT is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.