Radeon RX 470 Mobile vs R9 290

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 290 with Radeon RX 470 Mobile, including specs and performance data.

R9 290
2013
4 GB GDDR5, 275 Watt
20.97
+15.4%

R9 290 outperforms RX 470 Mobile by a moderate 15% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking257299
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation7.899.61
Power efficiency5.2814.80
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code nameHawaiiEllesmere
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date5 November 2013 (11 years ago)4 August 2016 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$399 $549.99

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 470 Mobile has 22% better value for money than R9 290.

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 cores25602048
Core clock speed947 MHz926 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1074 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million5,700 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)275 Watt85 Watt
Texture fill rate151.5137.5
Floating-point processing power4.849 TFLOPS4.399 TFLOPS
ROPs6432
TMUs160128

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 sizeno datalarge
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16MXM-B (3.0)
Length275 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinno 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB8 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth320.0 GB/s224.0 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPortNo outputs
HDMI+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

FreeSync-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_0)12 (12_0)
Shader Model6.36.4
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.02.0
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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.

R9 290 20.97
+15.4%
RX 470 Mobile 18.17

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.

R9 290 11860
+10.7%
RX 470 Mobile 10715

Gaming performance

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

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Hitman 3 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Hitman 3 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Hitman 3 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Hitman 3 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Metro Exodus 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Hitman 3 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Metro Exodus 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 20.97 18.17
Recency 5 November 2013 4 August 2016
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 8 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 275 Watt 85 Watt

R9 290 has a 15.4% higher aggregate performance score.

RX 470 Mobile, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 223.5% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 290 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 470 Mobile in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 290 is a desktop card while Radeon RX 470 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.

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AMD Radeon R9 290
Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon RX 470 Mobile
Radeon RX 470 Mobile

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4.1 548 votes

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4.1 32 votes

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Questions & comments

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