Radeon HD 6950 vs R9 M390X

Place in the ranking	471	559
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	1.04
Power efficiency	8.66	2.36
Architecture	GCN 3.0 (2014−2019)	TeraScale 3 (2010−2013)
GPU code name	Amethyst	Cayman
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	5 May 2015 (9 years ago)	14 December 2010 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$299

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	2048	1408
Core clock speed	723 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	no data	800 MHz
Number of transistors	5,000 million	2,640 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	500 Watt
Texture fill rate	92.54	70.40
Floating-point processing power	2.961 TFLOPS	2.253 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	128	88

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 size	large	no data
Bus support	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 2.0 x16
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	267 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	2x 6-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	2 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	no data	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	160.0 GB/s	no data
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 Connectors	No outputs	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	+	+
HDMI	-	+

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire	-	+
FreeSync	+	-
HD3D	+	-
PowerTune	+	-
DualGraphics	+	-
ZeroCore	+	-
Switchable graphics	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	DirectX® 12	DirectX® 11
Shader Model	6.3	5.0
OpenGL	4.4	4.4
OpenCL	Not Listed	1.2
Vulkan	+	-
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 M390X 9.32
+37.9%

HD 6950 6.76

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 M390X 3597
+38%

HD 6950 2607

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

14−16
+50%

10−11

−50%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +57.1%	14−16 −57.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Battlefield 5	27−30 +38.1%	21−24 −38.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +50%	10−11 −50%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Far Cry New Dawn	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +55%	40−45 −55%
Hitman 3	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +48.6%	35−40 −48.6%
Metro Exodus	27−30 +38.1%	21−24 −38.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 +52.5%	40−45 −52.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +57.1%	14−16 −57.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Battlefield 5	27−30 +38.1%	21−24 −38.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +50%	10−11 −50%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Far Cry New Dawn	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +55%	40−45 −55%
Hitman 3	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +48.6%	35−40 −48.6%
Metro Exodus	27−30 +38.1%	21−24 −38.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 +52.5%	40−45 −52.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +57.1%	14−16 −57.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +50%	10−11 −50%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +55%	40−45 −55%
Hitman 3	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +48.6%	35−40 −48.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 +52.5%	40−45 −52.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24−27
+44.4%

18−20

−44.4%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Far Cry New Dawn	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Far Cry 5	10−12 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +48.1%	27−30 −48.1%
Hitman 3	12−14 +50%	8−9 −50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	18−20 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +44.4%	9−10 −44.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−12 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +47.5%	40−45 −47.5%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

14−16
+50%

10−11

−50%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Far Cry New Dawn	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%
Hitman 3	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 +40.7%	27−30 −40.7%
Metro Exodus	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2	0−1
Far Cry 5	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
Watch Dogs: Legion	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

9−10
+50%

6−7

−50%

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	9.32	6.76
Recency	5 May 2015	14 December 2010
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	500 Watt

R9 M390X has a 37.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 400% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 M390X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6950 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 M390X is a notebook card while Radeon HD 6950 is a desktop one.

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