GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 290X

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 290X and GeForce GTX 960, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 290X
2013
4 GB GDDR5, 250 Watt
19.27
+22%

R9 290X outperforms GTX 960 by a significant 22% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking290342
Place by popularitynot in top-10055
Cost-effectiveness evaluation4.909.10
Power efficiency4.559.02
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code nameHawaiiGM206
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date24 October 2013 (11 years ago)22 January 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$549 $199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 960 has 86% better value for money than R9 290X.

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 cores28161024
Core clock speedno data1127 MHz
Boost clock speed947 MHz1178 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million2,940 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)250 Watt120 Watt
Texture fill rate176.075.39
Floating-point processing power5.632 TFLOPS2.413 TFLOPS
ROPs6432
TMUs17664

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 supportPCIe 3.0PCI Express 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length275 mm241 mm
Heightno data4.376" (11.1 cm)
Width2-slot2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)no data400 Watt
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin1x 6-pin
SLI options-+

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 GB4 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz7.0 GB/s
Memory bandwidth320 GB/s112 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 DisplayPortDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2
Multi monitor supportno data4 displays
Eyefinity+-
HDMI++
HDCP-+
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
DisplayPort support+-
G-SYNC support-+
Audio input for HDMIno dataInternal

Supported technologies

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

AppAcceleration+-
CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
LiquidVR+-
TressFX+-
TrueAudio+-
UVD+-
DDMA audio+no data
GameStream-+
GeForce ShadowPlay-+
GPU Boostno data2.0
GameWorks-+

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1212 (12_1)
Shader Model6.36.4
OpenGL4.64.4
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan++
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.

R9 290X 19.27
+22%
GTX 960 15.80

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.

R9 290X 7425
+22%
GTX 960 6085

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.

R9 290X 16168
+50.2%
GTX 960 10768

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

R9 290X 37284
+21.2%
GTX 960 30751

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 290X 11717
+48%
GTX 960 7916

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

R9 290X 73987
+48.2%
GTX 960 49918

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

R9 290X 332042
+6.8%
GTX 960 310860

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.

R9 290X 1547
+78.6%
GTX 960 866

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 HD86
+38.7%
62
−38.7%
4K49
+75%
28
−75%

Cost per frame, $

1080p6.383.21
4K11.207.11

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+20%
24−27
−20%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+19.4%
35−40
−19.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+23.1%
24−27
−23.1%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+23.5%
50−55
−23.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+21.9%
30−35
−21.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+20%
24−27
−20%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+21.6%
35−40
−21.6%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+20.9%
40−45
−20.9%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+18.8%
100−110
−18.8%
Hitman 3 35−40
+23.3%
30−33
−23.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+17.7%
75−80
−17.7%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+22.2%
50−55
−22.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+20.9%
40−45
−20.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+23.5%
50−55
−23.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 90−95
+12.5%
80−85
−12.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+19.4%
35−40
−19.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+23.1%
24−27
−23.1%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+23.5%
50−55
−23.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+21.9%
30−35
−21.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+20%
24−27
−20%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+21.6%
35−40
−21.6%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+20.9%
40−45
−20.9%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+18.8%
100−110
−18.8%
Hitman 3 35−40
+23.3%
30−33
−23.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+17.7%
75−80
−17.7%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+22.2%
50−55
−22.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+20.9%
40−45
−20.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+23.5%
50−55
−23.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 137
+4.6%
131
−4.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion 90−95
+12.5%
80−85
−12.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+19.4%
35−40
−19.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+23.1%
24−27
−23.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+21.9%
30−35
−21.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+20%
24−27
−20%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+21.6%
35−40
−21.6%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+18.8%
100−110
−18.8%
Hitman 3 35−40
+23.3%
30−33
−23.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+17.7%
75−80
−17.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+23.5%
50−55
−23.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 29
+3.6%
28
−3.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion 90−95
+12.5%
80−85
−12.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+20.9%
40−45
−20.9%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+23.3%
30−33
−23.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
+20.8%
24−27
−20.8%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 20−22
+25%
16−18
−25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
+30.8%
12−14
−30.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+23.5%
16−18
−23.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+22.2%
18−20
−22.2%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+27.7%
80−85
−27.7%
Hitman 3 21−24
+21.1%
18−20
−21.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 35−40
+21.9%
30−35
−21.9%
Metro Exodus 35−40
+28.6%
27−30
−28.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 35−40
+34.5%
27−30
−34.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
+29.4%
16−18
−29.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 110−120
+18.8%
95−100
−18.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+23.1%
24−27
−23.1%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+26.7%
14−16
−26.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+25%
12−14
−25%
Hitman 3 14−16
+36.4%
10−12
−36.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 95−100
+25.3%
75−80
−25.3%
Metro Exodus 20−22
+25%
16−18
−25%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 28
+86.7%
14−16
−86.7%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Far Cry 5 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+23.8%
21−24
−23.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+31.3%
16−18
−31.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+21.4%
14−16
−21.4%

This is how R9 290X and GTX 960 compete in popular games:

  • R9 290X is 39% faster in 1080p
  • R9 290X is 75% faster in 4K

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

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the R9 290X is 87% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, R9 290X surpassed GTX 960 in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 19.27 15.80
Recency 24 October 2013 22 January 2015
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 120 Watt

R9 290X has a 22% higher aggregate performance score.

GTX 960, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, and 108.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 290X is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 960 in performance tests.


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

Vote for your favorite

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AMD Radeon R9 290X
Radeon R9 290X
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
GeForce GTX 960

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

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