GeForce GTX 780 vs Radeon R9 290
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon R9 290 and GeForce GTX 780, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
R9 290 outperforms GTX 780 by a minimal 1% 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 | 262 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 7.90 | 4.76 |
| Power efficiency | 5.32 | 5.79 |
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 (2013−2017) | Kepler (2012−2018) |
| GPU code name | Hawaii | GK110 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 5 November 2013 (11 years ago) | 23 May 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $399 | $649 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
R9 290 has 66% better value for money than GTX 780.
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 | 2304 |
| Core clock speed | 947 MHz | 863 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 900 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 6,200 million | 7,080 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 275 Watt | 250 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | no data | 95 °C |
| Texture fill rate | 151.5 | 173.2 |
| Floating-point processing power | 4.849 TFLOPS | 4.156 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 64 | 48 |
| TMUs | 160 | 192 |
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).
| Bus support | no data | PCI Express 3.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 275 mm | 267 mm |
| Height | no data | 4.376" (11.1 cm) |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Minimum recommended system power | no data | 600 Watt |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
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 | 3 GB |
| Memory bus width | 512 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1250 MHz | 1502 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 320.0 GB/s | 288.4 GB/s |
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 | One Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort |
| Multi monitor support | no data | 4 displays |
| HDMI | + | + |
| HDCP | - | + |
| Maximum VGA resolution | no data | 2048x1536 |
| Audio input for HDMI | no data | Internal |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| Blu Ray 3D | - | + |
| 3D Gaming | - | + |
| 3D Vision | - | + |
| PhysX | - | + |
| 3D Vision Live | - | + |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | 6.3 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.3 |
| OpenCL | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 1.1.126 |
| 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.
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.
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.
Unigine Heaven 4.0
This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark, a newer version of Unigine 3.0 with relatively small differences. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. The benchmark is still sometimes used, despite its significant age, as it was released back in 2013.
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 | 50−55
−8%
| 54
+8%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 7.98 | 12.02 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 20.98 | 20.76 |
| Recency | 5 November 2013 | 23 May 2013 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 3 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 275 Watt | 250 Watt |
R9 290 has a 1.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 months, and a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount.
GTX 780, on the other hand, has 10% lower power consumption.
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon R9 290 and GeForce GTX 780.
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.
