GeForce GTX 1050 vs Radeon R9 M290X

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 M290X you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce GTX 1050 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 M290X will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon R9 M290X is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R9 M290X is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon R9 M290X here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 1050 Radeon R9 M290X
Power consumption (TDP) 75 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort No outputs
Recommended system power (PSU) 300 Watt
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  • Radeon R9 M290X has 33% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 1050.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 M290X have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • GeForce GTX 1050 is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M290X - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 1050 is build with Pascal architecture, and Radeon R9 M290X - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 1050 is 440 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M290X.
  • GeForce GTX 1050 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M290X - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 1050 is 5808 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M290X.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 16−18
ultra / 1080p 21−24 10−11
QHD / 1440p 16−18 4−5
4K / 2160p 10−11 4−5
low / 720p 60−65 30−35
medium / 1080p 40−45 20−22
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 1050 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 113% more, than Radeon R9 M290X.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 1050 Radeon R9 M290X
Architecture Pascal GCN
Code name N17P-G1 Neptune
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 25 October 2016 7 January 2014
Pipelines 640 1280
Core clock speed 1290 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 1392 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 3,300 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 58.20 72.00
Floating-point performance 1,862 gflops 2,304 gflops
Length 5.7" (14.5 cm)
Memory bus width 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 7008 MHz 1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth 112 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
VR Ready +
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.5 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan 1.2.131
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.3 kh/s
FreeSync +
CUDA cores 640
Bus support PCIe 3.0 PCIe 3.0 x16
Height 4.38" (11.1 cm)
Multi monitor support +
HDCP 2.2
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 279 Mh/s 300 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 0.85 Gh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 143.76 Sol/s
Compute units 20
Width 2-slot
GameStream +
GPU Boost 3.0
SLI -
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