GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile vs Radeon R9 290
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon R9 290 with GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, including specs and performance data.
R9 290 outperforms GTX 1050 Mobile by an impressive 80% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 259 | 409 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 7.90 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 5.32 | 10.81 |
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 (2013−2017) | Pascal (2016−2021) |
| GPU code name | Hawaii | GP107B |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 5 November 2013 (11 years ago) | 3 January 2017 (7 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $399 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
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 | 2560 | 640 |
| Core clock speed | 947 MHz | 1354 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 1493 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 6,200 million | 3,300 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 275 Watt | 75 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | no data | 97 °C |
| Texture fill rate | 151.5 | 59.72 |
| Floating-point processing power | 4.849 TFLOPS | 1.911 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 64 | 16 |
| TMUs | 160 | 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 |
| Bus support | no data | PCIe 3.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 275 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | no data |
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 | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 4000 MB |
| Memory bus width | 512 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1250 MHz | 7008 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 320.0 GB/s | 112 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 | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, Dual Link-DVI |
| Multi monitor support | no data | + |
| HDMI | + | - |
| HDCP | - | 2.2 |
| G-SYNC support | - | + |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| GameStream | - | + |
| GPU Boost | no data | 3.0 |
| Ansel | - | + |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 (12_1) |
| Shader Model | 6.3 | 6.4 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| OpenCL | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 1.2.131 |
| CUDA | - | + |
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.
3DMark Fire Strike Graphics
Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.
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:
| 900p | 130−140
+78.1%
| 73
−78.1%
|
| Full HD | 80−85
+73.9%
| 46
−73.9%
|
| 1440p | 40−45
+66.7%
| 24
−66.7%
|
| 4K | 27−30
+80%
| 15
−80%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 4.99 | no data |
| 1440p | 9.98 | no data |
| 4K | 14.78 | no data |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 37
+0%
|
37
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 51
+0%
|
51
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 40
+0%
|
40
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 39
+0%
|
39
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 38
+0%
|
38
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 55
+0%
|
55
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 27
+0%
|
27
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 33
+0%
|
33
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 30
+0%
|
30
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 44
+0%
|
44
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 33
+0%
|
33
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 36
+0%
|
36
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 37
+0%
|
37
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 52
+0%
|
52
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 19
+0%
|
19
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 14
+0%
|
14
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 29
+0%
|
29
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 39
+0%
|
39
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 18
+0%
|
18
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 37
+0%
|
37
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 33
+0%
|
33
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 33
+0%
|
33
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 37
+0%
|
37
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 22
+0%
|
22
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 18
+0%
|
18
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 11
+0%
|
11
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 17
+0%
|
17
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 13
+0%
|
13
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 26
+0%
|
26
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 21
+0%
|
21
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 24
+0%
|
24
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 26
+0%
|
26
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 10
+0%
|
10
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 7
+0%
|
7
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 8
+0%
|
8
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 7
+0%
|
7
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 13
+0%
|
13
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 11
+0%
|
11
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 11
+0%
|
11
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 15
+0%
|
15
+0%
|
This is how R9 290 and GTX 1050 Mobile compete in popular games:
- R9 290 is 78% faster in 900p
- R9 290 is 74% faster in 1080p
- R9 290 is 67% faster in 1440p
- R9 290 is 80% faster in 4K
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 43 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 20.98 | 11.63 |
| Recency | 5 November 2013 | 3 January 2017 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 4000 MB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 275 Watt | 75 Watt |
R9 290 has a 80.4% higher aggregate performance score, and a 2.4% higher maximum VRAM amount.
GTX 1050 Mobile, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 266.7% lower power consumption.
The Radeon R9 290 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon R9 290 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
