GPUBoss Review Our evaluation of R9 290X vs 780 among GPUs between $200 and $400

Gaming

Radeon R9 290X
8.1
GeForce GTX 780
7.4
GeForce GTX 970
8.2
Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Bioshock Infinite and 21 more

Graphics

Radeon R9 290X
9.2
GeForce GTX 780
n.d.
GeForce GTX 970
7.4
T-Rex, Manhattan, Sky Diver Factor and Fire Strike Factor

Computing

Radeon R9 290X
8.2
GeForce GTX 780
7.5
GeForce GTX 970
7.5
Face Detection, Ocean Surface Simulation and 3 more

Performance per Watt

Radeon R9 290X
5.7
GeForce GTX 780
5.4
GeForce GTX 970
7.3
Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Bioshock Infinite and 31 more

Value

Radeon R9 290X
7.9
GeForce GTX 780
5.9
GeForce GTX 970
8.5
Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Bioshock Infinite and 31 more

Noise and Power

Radeon R9 290X
5.0
GeForce GTX 780
9.0
GeForce GTX 970
7.8
TDP, Idle Power Consumption, Load Power Consumption and 2 more
7.7

Overall Score

Radeon R9 290X
7.7
GeForce GTX 780
6.6
GeForce GTX 970
7.7

Winner
AMD Radeon R9 290X 

GPUBoss recommends the AMD Radeon R9 290X  based on its benchmarks.

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AMD Radeon R9 290X

GPUBoss Winner
 Front view of Radeon R9 290X
Front view of GeForce GTX 780

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780

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Differences What are the advantages of each

Front view of Radeon R9 290X

Reasons to consider the
AMD Radeon R9 290X

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Much better 3DMark 11 graphics score 32,271 vs 14,020 More than 2.2x better 3DMark 11 graphics score
Higher clock speed 1,000 MHz vs 863 MHz More than 15% higher clock speed
Better floating-point performance 5,632 GFLOPS vs 3,977 GFLOPS More than 40% better floating-point performance
Higher memory bandwidth 320 GB/s vs 288.4 GB/s More than 10% higher memory bandwidth
More memory 4,096 MB vs 3,072 MB Around 35% more memory
Higher pixel rate 64 GPixel/s vs 41.4 GPixel/s Around 55% higher pixel rate
More render output processors 64 vs 48 16 more render output processors
More shading units 2,816 vs 2,304 512 more shading units
Higher turbo clock speed 1,000 MHz vs 902 MHz More than 10% higher turbo clock speed
Front view of GeForce GTX 780

Reasons to consider the
Nvidia GeForce GTX 780

Report a correction
Much better 3DMark06 score 35,080 vs 16,167.5 Around 2.2x better 3DMark06 score
Higher effective memory clock speed 6,008 MHz vs 5,000 MHz More than 20% higher effective memory clock speed
Better ocean surface simulation score 1,929.94 frames/s vs 1,457.59 frames/s More than 30% better ocean surface simulation score
Higher memory clock speed 1,502 MHz vs 1,250 MHz More than 20% higher memory clock speed
Slightly more texture mapping units 192 vs 176 16 more texture mapping units
Lower TDP 250W vs 300W More than 15% lower TDP

Benchmarks Real world tests of Radeon R9 290X vs GeForce GTX 780

PassMark Industry standard benchmark for overall graphics card performanceData courtesy Passmark

Radeon R9 290X
7,331
GeForce GTX 780
7,976

Bitcoin mining Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 290X
624.45 mHash/s
GeForce GTX 780
252.8 mHash/s

Face detection Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 290X
105.88 mPixels/s
GeForce GTX 780
65.4 mPixels/s

Ocean surface simulation Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 290X
1,457.59 frames/s
GeForce GTX 780
1,929.94 frames/s

Particle simulation Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 290X
604.46 mInteraction/s
GeForce GTX 780
966.29 mInteraction/s

T-Rex (Compubench 1.5) Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 290X
8.83 frames/s
GeForce GTX 780
6.89 frames/s

Video composition Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 290X
112.58 frames/s
GeForce GTX 780
91.16 frames/s

Battlefield 4

Radeon R9 290X
68.75
GeForce GTX 780
74

Reviews Word on the street

Radeon R9 290X  vs GeForce GTX 780 
9.2
read review
9.3
read review
The EVGA ACX cooler does look nice, but I still don't think it can compete with the NVIDIA reference design cooler and its large shiny metal surfaces.
GeForce GTX 780

Read more

Comments

Showing 25 comments.
INeverCheckMyNotifications (06:51 PM, August 20, 2016)
He's talking about single-slot GPUs, not tiny GPUs. He probably only has 1 PCI cover that he can remove, or the other ones are occupied.
Lovethecreeper (04:03 PM, November 7, 2015)
The fastest low profile card is actually the AMD Radeon R9 Nano. it's about the same performance of a 290X, but more power efficient and tiny
SContrerasMer (02:01 AM, October 18, 2015)
Ndivia sucks, as a company, their products are quite good, though i'm building the ultimate small PC and have a small form factos (Freaking low profile) case, the fastest low profile card i could find was the GTX 750Ti, so , like it or not, i have to go with that
Guest (08:20 AM, September 14, 2015)
hey Jude it has been 2 years and you haven't fixed it yet. Nvidia paying you good money right?
Nerd (09:56 AM, July 10, 2015)
Because gpuboss amirite?? (look at compute performance)
aaron (04:22 PM, May 14, 2015)
The bonus to AMD cards is that you can make toast without getting up and going to the kitchen :D. No, but seriously with graphics cards AMD and Nvidia are neck to neck.
roma (06:28 AM, April 12, 2015)
the r9 295x2 makes titan z and titan x pee their paints!
TheVoiceOfReason (02:59 PM, April 4, 2015)
Actually, Crossfire 290x averages 20fps higher on ultra at 1440p than sli 980s. 48fps higher at 1080p. Also the 290x costs as much as a 970, and outperforms the 980.
Anonymous Nvidia Fanboy (11:14 PM, March 25, 2015)
And My Sli gtx 980 is better than the crossfire r9 290x :D #Roasted
Anonymous Amd Fanboy (04:53 AM, March 15, 2015)
OOOH, WORLD STAR, You Burnt That Nvidia Fanboy, And My Crossfire R9 290x Is better Than The 980 Or 970 :D #Roasted
Lowize (05:10 AM, January 30, 2015)
wanna say that to you when r9 3xx is comming out
Moe (04:14 AM, January 19, 2015)
Thats not what the 980 and 970 is saying to your pathetic 290x
Dk (10:07 PM, January 13, 2015)
Nivea is shit
Brett Williams (11:20 AM, September 17, 2014)
im no WAY a fan boy of either amd or nvidia thats just stupid however INTEL I5 IS THE BEAST LOL , joking but im going intel i5 and this r9 cause its a beast that 780 bench mark is bollaxs lol
Robert Hollar (05:56 PM, September 15, 2014)
you guys need to start keeping these updated this might have been true when the original drivers were released. I highly suggest you run benchmarks monthly or bimonthly at the least. I also would not take benchmarks from other sites. List the benchmark date, driver, and system the benchmark was run on in the comparison. Id also have a discontinue date for cards so your not endlessly testing them. addition: also suggest showing the test environment and keeping the ambient air temps the same
Delsin Kenway (12:27 AM, September 9, 2014)
again wrong with the performance numbers i'm sorry GPUboss
Techhead (02:10 PM, September 2, 2014)
these states dont make no sense at all Gpuboss guys be serious. the r9 290x is clearly a way better card & u know it
NyanDogeYT (10:15 PM, August 31, 2014)
GPU Boss is biased towards Nvidia. I bet Nvidia pays them to give BS comparisons.
NyanDogeYT (07:56 PM, August 31, 2014)
Or open your case and shove a bunch of dry ice in there :D
Drachma (07:55 PM, August 28, 2014)
Umm Raptr never force installs you idiot.....Ive been using AMD cards for awhile now and never has...Your whole write up blows. Everyone knows the 290x had issues when it first came out due to fan problems but that is solved now.....due some research before you comment. And for the record, I have used both AMD and NVIDIA and they both are great companies. Most users wont see a difference when gaming
Nvidiaasskisser (10:29 PM, August 26, 2014)
AMD : our dream is to make a singe core gpu with perfomance like 770gtx. Thats right like Gtx 770..! mouhahaahahah! The GTX 780 ARE better! Dont cry AMD peseants and buy a couple of ten powers supply'es to make this horrible thing run. Oh and take care about how much playing games on this thing because maybe one day explode your house when this thing is close to the limits!
FANBOY OF MY WALLET (12:20 AM, August 26, 2014)
The best GPU you can buy at the moment is the SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X TRI-X OC R9 290X, period. And yes it is quieter, colder and faster than most 780tis out there.
Sven (08:11 AM, August 21, 2014)
Ridiculous nvidia fanboys. The gtx 780 ( stock ) and the r9 290x ( stock ) are very close together but the r9 290x is better. You can find the real results from a test in the internet. Congratulations, you are the first claim otherwise. Presumably with manipulated tests Sry for my bad english, its not my nativ language
Simon Belmontecarlo (06:30 PM, August 14, 2014)
I hate this bullshit. You get shit websites and gay ass fagot fanboys but fucking each other. AMD is always and always will be the bang 4 ur buck company for cpu's and graphics cards. Nvidia releases awesome cars as well but are not priced logically (i,e GTX TITAN). I like both companies and there awesome, The difference is I dont suck their dicks for money and kiss their ass like other pussy's.
Jay (02:21 PM, July 30, 2014)
You dont understand math, do you lol
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