Radeon RX 480 vs R9 295X2

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 295X2 and Radeon RX 480, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 295X2
2014
8 GB GDDR5, 500 Watt
22.34

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking251250
Place by popularitynot in top-10094
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.4215.81
Power efficiency3.0610.21
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code nameVesuviusEllesmere
GCN generationno data4th Gen
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferencereference
Release date29 April 2014 (10 years ago)29 June 2016 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$1,499 $229

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 480 has 553% better value for money than R9 295X2.

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 cores28162304
Compute unitsno data36
Core clock speedno data1120 MHz
Boost clock speed1018 MHz1266 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million5,700 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)500 Watt150 Watt
Texture fill rate179.2182.3
Floating-point processing power5.733 TFLOPS5.834 TFLOPS
ROPs6432
TMUs176144

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 2.1 x16n/a
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length307 mm241 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2 x 8-pin1x 6-pin
Bridgeless CrossFire-+

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 amount8 GB8 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz8000 MHz
Memory bandwidth640 GB/s224 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 Connectors1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Eyefinity++
HDMI+2.0
DisplayPort support-1.4HDR

Supported technologies

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

AppAcceleration-n/a
CrossFire++
Enduro-n/a
FRTC-+
FreeSync++
HD3D+n/a
LiquidVR++
PowerTune-+
TressFX++
TrueAudio-n/a
ZeroCore-+
UVD++
VCE-+
DDMA audio+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 12DirectX® 12
Shader Model6.36.4
OpenGL4.64.5
OpenCL2.02.0
Vulkan++
Mantle-n/a

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 295X2 22.34
RX 480 22.34

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 295X2 8608
RX 480 8609
+0%

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 295X2 21197
+73.9%
RX 480 12186

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 HD75−80
−4%
78
+4%
1440p50−55
−4%
52
+4%
4K35−40
+0%
35
+0%

Cost per frame, $

1080p19.992.94
1440p29.984.40
4K42.836.54

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 58
+0%
58
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Battlefield 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Hitman 3 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Metro Exodus 93
+0%
93
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 110
+0%
110
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 93
+0%
93
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Battlefield 5 48
+0%
48
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 31
+0%
31
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Hitman 3 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Metro Exodus 78
+0%
78
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35
+0%
35
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Far Cry 5 45
+0%
45
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 77
+0%
77
+0%
Hitman 3 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 44
+0%
44
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 65
+0%
65
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 42
+0%
42
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Far Cry 5 30
+0%
30
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Hitman 3 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Metro Exodus 50
+0%
50
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 31
+0%
31
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 21
+0%
21
+0%
Hitman 3 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 60
+0%
60
+0%
Metro Exodus 25
+0%
25
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27
+0%
27
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 17
+0%
17
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Far Cry 5 15
+0%
15
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%

This is how R9 295X2 and RX 480 compete in popular games:

  • RX 480 is 4% faster in 1080p
  • RX 480 is 4% faster in 1440p
  • A tie in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Recency 29 April 2014 29 June 2016
Chip lithography 28 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 500 Watt 150 Watt

RX 480 has an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 233.3% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon R9 295X2 and Radeon RX 480.


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 295X2
Radeon R9 295X2
AMD Radeon RX 480
Radeon RX 480

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.


3.7 94 votes

Rate Radeon R9 295X2 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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4.2 1845 votes

Rate Radeon RX 480 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.