Radeon HD 7990 vs R9 390X

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 390X and Radeon HD 7990, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 390X
2015
0 MB GDDR5, 275 Watt
24.47
+69%

R9 390X outperforms HD 7990 by an impressive 69% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking230362
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation9.981.50
Power efficiency6.132.66
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameGrenadaMalta
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date18 June 2015 (9 years ago)24 April 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$429 $999

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

R9 390X has 565% better value for money than HD 7990.

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 cores28162048
Core clock speedno data950 MHz
Boost clock speed1050 MHz1000 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)275 Watt375 Watt
Texture fill rate184.8128.0
Floating-point processing power5.914 TFLOPS4.096 TFLOPS
ROPs6432
TMUs176128

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 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length275 mm307 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin, 1 x 8-pin2x 8-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
High bandwidth memory (HBM)-no data
Maximum RAM amount0 MB3 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed1050 MHz1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth384 GB/s288.0 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 DisplayPort1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity+-
Number of Eyefinity displays6no data
HDMI+-
DisplayPort support+-

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-
PowerTune+-
TrueAudio+-
VCE+-
DDMA audio+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1212 (11_1)
Shader Model6.35.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan+1.2.131
Mantle+-

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 390X 24.47
+69%
HD 7990 14.48

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 390X 9408
+69.1%
HD 7990 5565

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 390X 12389
HD 7990 15540
+25.4%

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 HD90
+80%
50−55
−80%
4K51
+70%
30−35
−70%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.77
+319%
19.98
−319%
4K8.41
+296%
33.30
−296%
  • R9 390X has 319% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • R9 390X has 296% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+87.5%
24−27
−87.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 50−55
+85.2%
27−30
−85.2%
Elden Ring 80−85
+77.8%
45−50
−77.8%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+87.5%
40−45
−87.5%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+87.5%
24−27
−87.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 50−55
+85.2%
27−30
−85.2%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+78.3%
60−65
−78.3%
Metro Exodus 60−65
+82.9%
35−40
−82.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+80%
30−33
−80%
Valorant 95−100
+78.2%
55−60
−78.2%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+87.5%
40−45
−87.5%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+87.5%
24−27
−87.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 50−55
+85.2%
27−30
−85.2%
Dota 2 80−85
+86.7%
45−50
−86.7%
Elden Ring 80−85
+77.8%
45−50
−77.8%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+90%
40−45
−90%
Fortnite 120−130
+75.7%
70−75
−75.7%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+78.3%
60−65
−78.3%
Grand Theft Auto V 80−85
+86.7%
45−50
−86.7%
Metro Exodus 60−65
+82.9%
35−40
−82.9%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 150−160
+72.2%
90−95
−72.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+80%
30−33
−80%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 78
+73.3%
45−50
−73.3%
Valorant 95−100
+78.2%
55−60
−78.2%
World of Tanks 250−260
+70.7%
150−160
−70.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+87.5%
40−45
−87.5%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+87.5%
24−27
−87.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 50−55
+85.2%
27−30
−85.2%
Dota 2 80−85
+86.7%
45−50
−86.7%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+90%
40−45
−90%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+78.3%
60−65
−78.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 150−160
+72.2%
90−95
−72.2%
Valorant 95−100
+78.2%
55−60
−78.2%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 40−45
+70.8%
24−27
−70.8%
Elden Ring 40−45
+79.2%
24−27
−79.2%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+70.8%
24−27
−70.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+75%
100−105
−75%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+83.3%
12−14
−83.3%
World of Tanks 160−170
+70.5%
95−100
−70.5%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+81.5%
27−30
−81.5%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+75%
12−14
−75%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+75%
12−14
−75%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+77.5%
40−45
−77.5%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+85.7%
35−40
−85.7%
Metro Exodus 55−60
+86.7%
30−33
−86.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35−40
+71.4%
21−24
−71.4%
Valorant 65−70
+88.6%
35−40
−88.6%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+83.3%
12−14
−83.3%
Dota 2 40−45
+75%
24−27
−75%
Elden Ring 18−20
+90%
10−11
−90%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+75%
24−27
−75%
Metro Exodus 18−20
+90%
10−11
−90%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
+87.5%
40−45
−87.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+87.5%
8−9
−87.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+75%
24−27
−75%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+78.6%
14−16
−78.6%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+83.3%
12−14
−83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+100%
4−5
−100%
Dota 2 40−45
+75%
24−27
−75%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+77.8%
18−20
−77.8%
Fortnite 30−33
+87.5%
16−18
−87.5%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+76.2%
21−24
−76.2%
Valorant 30−35
+77.8%
18−20
−77.8%

This is how R9 390X and HD 7990 compete in popular games:

  • R9 390X is 80% faster in 1080p
  • R9 390X is 70% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 24.47 14.48
Recency 18 June 2015 24 April 2013
Power consumption (TDP) 275 Watt 375 Watt

R9 390X has a 69% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and 36.4% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 390X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7990 in performance tests.


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 390X
Radeon R9 390X
AMD Radeon HD 7990
Radeon HD 7990

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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


4.3 264 votes

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4.2 55 votes

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Questions & comments

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