AMD Radeon R9 290
vs
AMD Radeon HD 7970

AMD Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon HD 7970
R9 290 HD 7970 Difference
AMD Radeon R9 290 AMD Radeon HD 7970
Price $ 310.0 $ 299.0 11 (4%)
Year 2013 2011 2 (0%)
Maximum Recorded Temperature 94C 80C 14 (15%)
Max Fan Noise 60.1dB 58.7dB 1.4 (2%)
Recommended Power Supply 625W 600W 25 (4%)
Benchmark CPU Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz ($248.98) Intel Core i7-2600K @ 3.40GHz ($197.99)
CPU Impact on FPS +0.0 FPS +0.0 FPS 0 (0%)
CPU Impact on FPS % 0.0% 0.0% 0 (0%)
Benchmark Quality Settings Ultra Quality Settings Ultra Quality Settings
Average 1080p Performance 57.7 FPS 51.5 FPS 6.2 (11%)
Average 1440p Performance 42.0 FPS 37.8 FPS 4.2 (10%)
(Ultrawide) Average 1440p Performance 36.5 FPS 30.4 FPS 6.1 (17%)
Average 4K Performance 26.2 FPS 19.0 FPS 7.2 (27%)
Memory 4 GB 3 GB 1 (25%)
1080p Cost Per Frame $ 6.9 $ 10.7 3.8 (55%)
1440p Cost Per Frame $ 9.5 $ 14.5 5 (53%)
(Ultrawide) 1440p Cost Per Frame $ 10.9 $ 18.1 7.2 (66%)
4K Cost Per Frame $ 15.2 $ 28.9 13.7 (90%)
Variant AMD Radeon R9 290 AMD Radeon HD 7970
Overall Combination Score 58/100 54/100 4 (7%)
Our Verdict: Upgrading from HD 7970 to R9 290 is not recommended as it is less than 30% of improvement in performance. In general, a reasonable upgrade is between 30% and 50% or more to justify the purchase of new hardware.
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AMD Radeon R9 290

The good news is, with the release of the R9 290X, the R9 290 's price is getting more discount. AMD ’s xx90 cards have always been defined by high-end prices with performance that knocks on the door of extreme graphics cards – especially when overclocked. After taking the time to fully test the GCN 2.0 graphics card inside the R9 290, we can say without a doubt that it continues the trend.

Compared to its NVIDIA 's closest rival, GTX 970, the R9 290 was -7.2 % slower. For 1080p Full HD, we were able to play Fallout 76, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, World War Z, Resident Evil 2, Strange Brigade at 61 fps to 69 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 66 fps.

For 1440p Quad HD, we were able to play Valorant at 88 fps to 88 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 88 fps. For 2160p 4K, we were able to play Valorant at 77 fps to 77 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 77 fps.

AMD Radeon HD 7970

The good news is, with the release of the HD 7970 GHz Edition, the HD 7970 's price is getting more discount. The HD 7970 is much more expensive than the HD 7870 GHz Edition as it costs a whopping $ 549. Compare this to the HD 7870 GHz Edition, which came originally at a price of $ 349. Meanwhile, the NVIDIA closest equivalent card is the GTX 680 which costs $ 499.

For 1080p Full HD, we were able to play Valorant at 78 fps to 78 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 78 fps. For 1440p Quad HD, we were able to play Valorant at 63 fps to 63 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 63 fps.

Game Performance at selected quality settings

Change Quality Settings
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1920x1080

AMD Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Year Game Frames Per Second
2023 Resident Evil 4
41
46.2
35
39.7
2023 A Plague Tale: Requiem
28
31.5
24
27.1
2023 Hogwarts Legacy
24
27.3
21
23.5
2023 The Last of Us Part I
18
21.0
16
18.1
2023 Forspoken
21
24.3
18
20.9
2023 The Callisto Protocol
17
18.9
14
16.2
2023 Dead Space
28
31.5
24
27.1
2023 Baldur's Gate 3
33
37.4
28
32.1
2023 Armored Core VI
33
37.4
28
32.1
2023 Immortals of Aveum
15
16.8
12
14.4
2023 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
30
33.6
26
28.9
2023 Remnant II
17
18.9
14
16.2
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
22
25.2
19
21.7
2023 Atomic Heart
22
25.2
19
21.7
2023 Starfield
11
12.6
9
10.8
2022 Elden Ring
28
31.9
20
22.8
2022 God of War
27
30.2
19
21.7
2022 Overwatch 2
50
56.2
36
40.3
2022 F1 22
34
37.8
29
32.5
2022 Dying Light 2
32
35.7
27
30.7
2022 Total War: Warhammer III
32
35.7
27
30.7
2022 Spider-Man Remastered
52
58.8
45
50.5
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
37
42.0
32
36.1
2021 Forza Horizon 5
27
30.6
19
21.9
2021 Halo Infinite
20
23.3
15
16.7
2021 Battlefield 2042
38
43.0
27
30.9
2021 Hitman 3
43
48.3
37
41.5
2021 Far Cry 6
40
44.9
34
38.6
2021 Guardians of the Galaxy
44
49.1
37
42.2
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion
44
49.5
38
42.6
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
22
24.6
15
17.7
2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator
14
16.1
10
11.5
2020 Valorant
97
108.1
69
77.5
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
38
42.4
27
30.4
2020 Death Stranding
44
48.9
31
35.1
2020 Marvel's Avengers
28
31.9
20
22.8
2020 Godfall
42
47.6
30
34.1
2020 Cyberpunk 2077
22
24.6
15
17.7
2019 Apex Legends
48
54.0
32
36.0
2019 Anthem
31
34.8
20
23.2
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
45
51.0
30
34.0
2019 Resident Evil 2
59
66.4
42
47.6
2019 Metro Exodus
26
29.6
19
21.2
2019 World War Z
59
66.0
35
39.1
2019 Gears of War 5
38
43.0
27
30.9
2019 F1 2019
48
54.0
34
38.7
2019 GreedFall
43
48.6
31
34.9
2019 Borderlands 3
30
34.2
22
24.5
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
59
65.7
42
47.1
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
22
25.3
16
18.1
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
35
39.7
25
28.5
2018 Just Cause 4
38
42.7
27
30.6
2018 Monster Hunter: World
41
46.0
29
33.0
2018 Strange Brigade
62
69.3
44
49.7
2017 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
38
43.0
28
32.0
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
53
59.1
38
42.4
2017 For Honor
70
78.8
50
56.5
2017 Project CARS 2
50
55.8
36
40.0
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
60
67.7
43
48.5
2016 Ashes of the Singularity
40
44.8
24
26.9
2016 Hitman
59
66.6
36
40.8
2016 Rise of the Tomb Raider
52
58.5
34
38.1
2016 The Division
43
48.2
41
45.6
2016 Dishonored 2
36
40.7
26
29.2
2015 DiRT Rally
89
99.0
61
68.1
2015 Grand Theft Auto V
45
50.7
33
36.9
2015 The Witcher 3
42
47.0
26
29.2
2015 Rocket League
207
230.0
148
164.9
2015 Need For Speed
57
63.7
41
45.7
2015 Project CARS
54
61.1
39
43.8
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
100
111.7
72
80.1
2014 Thief
58
64.9
44
49.6
2013 Bioshock Infinite
82
91.5
63
70.9
2013 Company of Heroes 2
52
58.8
37
41.9
2013 Crysis 3
50
56.5
34
38.8
2013 GRID 2
99
110.8
78
87.5
2013 Metro: Last Light
64
71.6
52
58.0
2013 Total War: Rome 2
62
69.3
44
49.5
2013 Battlefield 4
66
73.7
45
50.0
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
141
157.7
101
113.0
2011 Battlefield 3
79
87.9
46
52.1
2009 League of Legends
266
295.7
190
212.0
2008 Crysis: Warhead
72
80.0
49
54.7

2560x1440

AMD Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Year Game Frames Per Second
2023 Resident Evil 4
26
33.6
23
28.9
2023 A Plague Tale: Requiem
18
23.1
15
19.9
2023 Hogwarts Legacy
16
21.0
14
18.1
2023 The Last of Us Part I
12
15.9
10
13.7
2023 Forspoken
12
15.9
10
13.7
2023 The Callisto Protocol
10
13.4
9
11.6
2023 Dead Space
16
21.0
14
18.1
2023 Baldur's Gate 3
24
30.2
20
26.0
2023 Armored Core VI
24
30.2
20
26.0
2023 Immortals of Aveum
9
11.8
8
10.1
2023 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
18
23.1
15
19.9
2023 Remnant II
10
12.6
8
10.8
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
15
18.9
12
16.2
2023 Atomic Heart
14
18.0
12
15.5
2023 Starfield
9
11.3
7
9.7
2022 Elden Ring
20
25.2
14
18.0
2022 God of War
20
26.0
14
18.6
2022 Overwatch 2
38
48.3
27
34.6
2022 F1 22
18
23.1
15
19.9
2022 Dying Light 2
18
23.1
15
19.9
2022 Total War: Warhammer III
20
25.2
17
21.7
2022 Spider-Man Remastered
33
42.0
28
36.1
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
21
27.3
18
23.5
2021 Forza Horizon 5
21
26.3
15
18.8
2021 Halo Infinite
16
21.0
12
15.1
2021 Battlefield 2042
22
28.6
16
20.5
2021 Hitman 3
27
34.4
23
29.6
2021 Far Cry 6
26
33.6
23
28.9
2021 Guardians of the Galaxy
27
34.8
24
30.0
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion
25
32.3
22
27.8
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
17
21.4
12
15.3
2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator
11
14.1
8
10.1
2020 Valorant
70
88.4
50
63.3
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
26
33.2
19
23.8
2020 Death Stranding
30
38.0
21
27.2
2020 Marvel's Avengers
18
22.7
12
16.2
2020 Godfall
25
31.9
18
22.8
2020 Cyberpunk 2077
18
23.0
13
16.5
2019 Apex Legends
32
40.2
21
26.8
2019 Anthem
22
27.6
14
18.4
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
31
39.6
21
26.4
2019 Resident Evil 2
35
44.7
25
32.0
2019 Metro Exodus
18
23.0
13
16.5
2019 World War Z
38
48.2
22
28.5
2019 Gears of War 5
24
31.2
17
22.4
2019 F1 2019
30
38.2
21
27.4
2019 GreedFall
28
35.1
20
25.2
2019 Borderlands 3
19
24.0
13
17.2
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
37
47.3
27
33.9
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
16
20.7
11
14.8
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
24
31.2
17
22.4
2018 Just Cause 4
25
31.5
18
22.6
2018 Monster Hunter: World
25
32.2
18
23.1
2018 Strange Brigade
38
48.3
27
34.6
2017 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
26
33.0
19
24.0
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
34
42.7
24
30.6
2017 For Honor
36
46.0
26
33.0
2017 Project CARS 2
31
39.4
22
28.3
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
48
61.1
35
43.8
2016 Dishonored 2
27
34.8
20
25.0
2015 Grand Theft Auto V
28
35.9
20
26.0
2015 Rocket League
78
98.6
56
70.7
2015 Need For Speed
39
49.3
28
35.3
2015 Project CARS
37
46.6
26
33.4
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
57
72.3
41
51.8
2014 Thief
36
45.4
27
34.1
2013 Bioshock Infinite
47
59.1
35
44.9
2013 Company of Heroes 2
32
40.1
22
28.0
2013 Crysis 3
29
36.7
30
37.8
2013 GRID 2
64
80.2
51
64.0
2013 Metro: Last Light
45
56.8
32
41.1
2013 Total War: Rome 2
35
44.2
25
31.3
2013 Battlefield 4
39
49.6
26
33.3
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
105
131.4
75
94.2
2011 Battlefield 3
48
60.4
42
53.0
2009 League of Legends
131
164.3
94
117.8
2008 Crysis: Warhead
42
53.0
28
36.0

3440x1440

AMD Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Year Game Frames Per Second
2019 Apex Legends
26
34.3
17
22.9
2019 Anthem
17
22.8
11
15.2
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
24
32.4
16
21.6
2019 Resident Evil 2
27
35.7
19
25.6
2019 Metro Exodus
15
20.1
10
14.4
2019 World War Z
30
40.6
18
24.0
2019 Gears of War 5
20
27.2
14
19.5
2019 F1 2019
25
33.4
18
24.0
2019 GreedFall
20
26.5
14
19.0
2019 Borderlands 3
14
19.5
10
14.0
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
30
40.4
22
29.0
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
13
18.1
9
12.9
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
20
27.2
14
19.5
2018 Just Cause 4
19
25.6
13
18.4
2018 Monster Hunter: World
19
25.5
13
18.3
2018 Strange Brigade
30
39.9
21
28.6
2017 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
21
27.8
15
20.3
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
29
38.7
21
27.7
2017 For Honor
28
36.9
20
26.5
2017 Project CARS 2
29
38.7
21
27.8
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
45
60.1
32
43.1
2016 Dishonored 2
25
33.4
18
24.0
2015 Rocket League
58
77.3
42
55.4
2015 Need For Speed
33
44.0
23
31.5
2015 Project CARS
32
42.5
23
30.5
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
43
56.6
30
40.6
2014 Thief
34
45.1
25
33.8
2013 Bioshock Infinite
43
57.2
32
42.9
2013 GRID 2
51
67.8
40
53.9
2013 Total War: Rome 2
34
46.0
24
32.3
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
101
133.6
72
95.8
2009 League of Legends
93
123.0
67
88.2
2008 Crysis: Warhead
40
53.7
29
38.2

3840x2160

AMD Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Year Game Frames Per Second
2023 Resident Evil 4
17
25.2
15
21.7
2023 A Plague Tale: Requiem
10
14.7
8
12.6
2023 Hogwarts Legacy
10
14.7
8
12.6
2023 The Last of Us Part I
5
8.4
5
7.2
2023 Forspoken
5
7.6
4
6.5
2023 The Callisto Protocol
4
6.7
4
5.8
2023 Dead Space
5
8.4
5
7.2
2023 Baldur's Gate 3
11
16.8
10
14.4
2023 Armored Core VI
11
16.8
10
14.4
2023 Immortals of Aveum
3
5.5
3
4.7
2023 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
8
12.6
7
10.8
2023 Remnant II
4
6.3
3
5.4
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
6
9.2
5
7.9
2023 Atomic Heart
7
11.3
6
9.7
2023 Starfield
5
7.6
4
6.5
2022 Elden Ring
10
14.3
7
10.3
2022 God of War
14
20.2
10
14.5
2022 Overwatch 2
25
36.5
18
26.1
2022 F1 22
11
16.8
10
14.4
2022 Dying Light 2
11
16.8
10
14.4
2022 Total War: Warhammer III
13
18.9
11
16.2
2022 Spider-Man Remastered
20
29.4
17
25.3
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
11
16.8
10
14.4
2021 Forza Horizon 5
14
20.4
10
14.6
2021 Halo Infinite
10
14.5
7
10.4
2021 Battlefield 2042
12
18.4
9
13.2
2021 Hitman 3
14
21.0
12
18.1
2021 Far Cry 6
12
18.0
10
15.5
2021 Guardians of the Galaxy
13
18.9
11
16.2
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion
14
21.0
12
18.1
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
10
14.5
7
10.4
2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator
7
11.2
5
8.0
2020 Valorant
53
76.9
38
55.1
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
12
17.7
8
12.7
2020 Death Stranding
16
23.1
11
16.5
2020 Marvel's Avengers
8
11.9
5
8.5
2020 Godfall
10
15.2
7
10.9
2020 Cyberpunk 2077
10
15.1
7
10.8
2019 Apex Legends
16
24.0
11
16.0
2019 Anthem
10
15.0
7
10.0
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
14
21.0
9
14.0
2019 Resident Evil 2
15
22.0
11
15.8
2019 Metro Exodus
10
14.5
7
10.4
2019 World War Z
19
27.7
11
16.4
2019 Gears of War 5
13
19.7
9
14.1
2019 F1 2019
17
24.3
12
17.4
2019 GreedFall
10
14.5
7
10.4
2019 Borderlands 3
8
12.5
6
8.9
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
19
28.3
14
20.3
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
9
13.1
6
9.4
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
13
19.7
9
14.1
2018 Just Cause 4
11
16.4
8
11.8
2018 Monster Hunter: World
10
15.4
7
11.1
2018 Strange Brigade
18
26.3
13
18.8
2017 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
13
19.0
9
14.0
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
20
29.6
14
21.2
2017 For Honor
16
23.0
11
16.5
2017 Project CARS 2
23
32.9
16
23.6
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
35
51.2
25
36.7
2016 Dishonored 2
19
27.6
13
19.8
2015 Rocket League
32
46.0
23
33.0
2015 Need For Speed
23
32.9
16
23.6
2015 Project CARS
23
32.9
16
23.6
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
23
33.5
16
24.0
2014 Thief
27
38.9
20
29.0
2013 Bioshock Infinite
33
47.9
24
35.2
2013 GRID 2
32
46.5
25
36.8
2013 Total War: Rome 2
29
41.7
20
29.1
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
82
118.3
59
84.8
2009 League of Legends
45
65.7
32
47.1
2008 Crysis: Warhead
33
47.3
24
35.4
R9 290 vs HD 7970 with i7-3770K vs i7-2600K at 1080p and ultra vs ultra settings
R9 290 vs HD 7970 with i7-3770K vs i7-2600K at 1440p and ultra vs ultra settings
R9 290 vs HD 7970 with i7-3770K vs i7-2600K at 4K and ultra vs ultra settings

AMD Radeon R9 290 / i7-3770K

For the most part, the R9 290 is still capable of playing modern games, but you would have to reduce settings to sustain those higher framerates. If keeping graphics quality settings closer to ultra or high is important, there are a few options for upgrades. It is worth noting that the R9 290 is a very power hungry card and requires a decent power supply unit. It is important to know that R9 290 's max load temperature is very high and might require custom cooling solutions. This combination between R9 290 and Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz has less than 8% bottleneck in many games and is perfect match to avoid FPS loss. This combination between R9 290 and Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz is a perfect match to avoid FPS loss. With current 4096 MB RAM, the R9 290 can have very few memory-related bottlenecks in more modern games.
View Current Price List

AMD Radeon HD 7970 / i7-2600K

For the most part, the HD 7970 is still capable of playing modern games, but you would have to reduce settings to sustain those higher framerates. If keeping graphics quality settings closer to ultra or high is important, there are a few options for upgrades. It is worth noting that the HD 7970 is a very power hungry card and requires a decent power supply unit. This combination between HD 7970 and Intel Core i7-2600K @ 3.40GHz has less than 8% bottleneck in many games and is perfect match to avoid FPS loss. This combination between HD 7970 and Intel Core i7-2600K @ 3.40GHz is a perfect match to avoid FPS loss. With current 3072 MB RAM, the HD 7970 can have very few memory-related bottlenecks in more modern games.
View Current Price List

R9 290 vs HD 7970 Specifications Comparison

Board Design

R9 290 HD 7970
Board NumberC671C380
Length10.83 inches 275 mm10.8 inches 274 mm
Outputs2x DVI1x HDMI1x DisplayPort1x DVI1x HDMI2x mini-DisplayPort
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Slot WidthDual-slotDual-slot
TDP275 W250 W

Clock Speeds

R9 290 HD 7970
GPU Clock947 MHz925 MHz
Memory Clock1250 MHz 5000 MHz effective1375 MHz 5500 MHz effective

Graphics Card

R9 290 HD 7970
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
GenerationVolcanic Islands (R9 200)Southern Islands (HD 7900)
Launch Price399 USD549 USD
ProductionEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
Release DateNov 5th, 2013Dec 22nd, 2011

Graphics Features

R9 290 HD 7970
DirectX12.0 (12_0)12.0 (11_1)
OpenCL21.2
OpenGL4.64.5
Shader Model65.1
Vulkan1.1.821.1.77

Graphics Processor

R9 290 HD 7970
ArchitectureGCN 2.0GCN 1.0
Die Size438 mm²352 mm²
GPU NameHawaiiTahiti
GPU VariantHawaii PRO (215-0852020)Tahiti XT (215-0821060)
Process Size28 nm28 nm
Transistors6,200 million4,313 million

Memory

R9 290 HD 7970
Bandwidth320.0 GB/s264.0 GB/s
Memory Bus512 bit384 bit
Memory Size4096 MB3072 MB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5

Render Config

R9 290 HD 7970
Compute Units4032
ROPs6432
Shading Units25602048
TMUs160128

Theoretical Performance

R9 290 HD 7970
FP32 (float) performance4,849 GFLOPS3,789 GFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance606.1 GFLOPS (1:8)947.2 GFLOPS (1:4)
Pixel Rate60.61 GPixel/s29.60 GPixel/s
Texture Rate151.5 GTexel/s118.4 GTexel/s
What to Consider Before Buying a Graphics Card

What to Consider Before Buying a Graphics Card

If you have been planning to upgrade your system by purchasing a new graphics card. Then there are some important factors to consider.
Resolution VS Quality: Impact on Game Performance

Resolution VS Quality: Impact on Game Performance

What affects game performance? Clarity or Details?

Ultra VS High Quality Settings in PC Games

Ultra VS High Quality Settings in PC Games

Every player has a different notion about the ideal setting for PC games. But in most cases, opting for a High quality graphics configuration is the way to go.

What are CPU or GPU Bottlenecks?

What are CPU or GPU Bottlenecks?

Are you getting sudden frame drops? you might have a bottleneck.
What is the acceptable FPS speed for me?

What is the acceptable FPS speed for me?

For some games, you can still enjoy great garphics at lower frame rates.
GPU Hierarchy
GPU Hierarchy
GPU Compare
GPU Compare
CPU Hierarchy
CPU Compare
Laptop Hierarchy
Gaming Laptops
Monitor Hierarchy
Gaming Monitors
Headset Hierarchy
Gaming Headsets

Discussion and Comments

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