GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon R9 M290X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 M290X. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 M290X. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

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 970 Radeon R9 M290X
Power consumption (TDP) 148 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pins None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort No outputs
Recommended system power (PSU) 500 Watt
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  • GeForce GTX 970 has 48% more power consumption, than Radeon R9 M290X.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 M290X have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • GeForce GTX 970 is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M290X - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 970 is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon R9 M290X - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 970 is 200 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M290X.
  • GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 M290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon R9 M290X is 1193 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 970.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 50−55 16−18
ultra / 1080p 30−35 10−11
QHD / 1440p 27−30 4−5
4K / 2160p 14−16 4−5
low / 720p 75−80 30−35
medium / 1080p 60−65 20−22
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 193% more, than Radeon R9 M290X.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 970 Radeon R9 M290X
Architecture Maxwell GCN
Code name GM204 Neptune
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 19 September 2014 7 January 2014
Pipelines 1664 1280
Core clock speed 1050 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 1178 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 109 billion/sec 72.00
Floating-point performance 3,920 gflops 2,304 gflops
Length 10.5" (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 7.0 GB/s 1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth 224 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.4 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan 1.1.126
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.48 kh/s
FreeSync +
CUDA cores 1664
Bus support PCI Express 3.0 PCIe 3.0 x16
Height 4.376" (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support 4 displays
HDCP +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 478 Mh/s 300 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.51 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 22.21 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 291.61 Sol/s
Compute units 20
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
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