Radeon 520 vs Radeon R9 290X

In this comparison between Radeon 520 and Radeon R9 290X 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 Radeon 520 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 290X will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon 520 Check Price

Radeon R9 290X Check Price

Radeon 520 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon 520 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 520 here:

Radeon 520 Laptops

Main Specs

	Radeon 520	Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP)	50 Watt	250 Watt
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x8	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	None	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	DDR3, GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon R9 290X has 400% more power consumption, than Radeon 520.
Radeon 520 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x8, and Radeon R9 290X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon R9 290X has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon 520.
Radeon 520 is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 290X - in Desktops.
Radeon 520 is build with GCN 1.0 architecture, and Radeon R9 290X - with GCN.
Radeon 520 and Radeon R9 290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
Memory clock speed of Radeon 520 is 1000 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 290X.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	0−1	35−40
ultra / 1080p	−	24−27
QHD / 1440p	0−1	18−20
4K / 2160p	−	10−11
low / 720p	1−2	60−65
medium / 1080p	0−1	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 6100% more, than Radeon 520.
high / 1080p	−	60−65
ultra / 1080p	−	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	18−20
low / 720p	0−1	110−120
medium / 1080p	−	65−70
low / 768p	50−55	50−55
high / 1080p	45−50	−
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
Radeon 520 and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone.
low / 768p	55−60	250−260
medium / 768p	30−33	220−230
ultra / 1080p	6−7	190−200
QHD / 1440p	−	110−120
4K / 2160p	−	70−75
high / 768p	18−20	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 692% more, than Radeon 520.
low / 768p	70−75	60−65
ultra / 1080p	0−1	−
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
Radeon 520 and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Cyberpunk 2077.
low / 768p	45−50	120−130
medium / 768p	10−11	110−120
ultra / 1080p	0−1	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Dota 2 is 313% more, than Radeon 520.
high / 1080p	−	45−50
ultra / 1080p	−	45−50
QHD / 1440p	−	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	16−18
low / 720p	0−1	85−90
medium / 1080p	−	50−55
high / 1080p	−	65−70
ultra / 1080p	−	50−55
QHD / 1440p	−	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	27−30
low / 720p	21−24	180−190
medium / 1080p	0−1	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Fortnite is 740% more, than Radeon 520.
high / 1080p	0−1	65−70
ultra / 1080p	−	45−50
QHD / 1440p	0−1	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	24−27
low / 720p	0−1	110−120
medium / 1080p	0−1	70−75
low / 768p	18−20	140−150
medium / 768p	−	130−140
high / 1080p	0−1	75−80
ultra / 1080p	−	30−35
QHD / 1440p	0−1	24−27
medium / 720p	12−14	−
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Grand Theft Auto V is 663% more, than Radeon 520.
high / 1080p	−	27−30
ultra / 1080p	−	21−24
QHD / 1440p	−	18−20
4K / 2160p	−	9−10
low / 720p	0−1	70−75
medium / 1080p	−	35−40
low / 768p	75−80	130−140
high / 1080p	27−30	−
medium / 1080p	−	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Minecraft is 75% more, than Radeon 520.
ultra / 1080p	−	14−16
low / 720p	10−11	100−110
medium / 1080p	10−11	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 520% more, than Radeon 520.
high / 1080p	−	27−30
ultra / 1080p	−	18−20
QHD / 1440p	−	12−14
4K / 2160p	−	8−9
low / 720p	0−1	70−75
medium / 1080p	−	35−40
low / 768p	0−1	140−150
medium / 768p	−	90−95
high / 1080p	−	50−55
ultra / 1080p	−	27−30
4K / 2160p	−	16−18
low / 768p	45−50	90−95
medium / 768p	14−16	60−65
ultra / 1080p	0−1	55−60
high / 768p	12−14	−
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in World of Tanks is 148% more, than Radeon 520.

Full Specs

	Radeon 520	Radeon R9 290X
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN
Code name	Oland	Hawaii XT
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	21 March 2017	24 October 2013
Pipelines	320	2816
Core clock speed	1030 MHz
Boost Clock		947 MHz
Transistor count	1,040 million	6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	20.60	176.0
Floating-point performance	659.2 gflops	5,632 gflops
Length		275 mm
Memory bus width	64 Bit	512 Bit
Memory clock speed	2250 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	16 GB/s	320 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-
DirectX	12.0
Shader Model	5.0	6.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	+	+
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight)		0.76 kh/s
FreeSync		+
Bus support		PCIe 3.0
HDMI		+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)		623 Mh/s
Eyefinity		+
HD3D		+
TrueAudio		+
Design		reference
DisplayPort support		+
CrossFire		+
DDMA audio		+
Decred / DCR (Decred)		1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)		25.75 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash)		350 Sol/s
AppAcceleration		+
LiquidVR		+
TressFX		+
UVD		+
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon 520 vs Radeon R9 290X

Radeon 520 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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