Radeon HD 6850 X2 vs Radeon R9 290X

In this comparison between Radeon HD 6850 X2 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 HD 6850 X2 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 290X will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon HD 6850 X2

Radeon R9 290X Check Price

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 6850 X2	Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP)	254 Watt	250 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 8-pin	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
		Check Price

Radeon HD 6850 X2 has 1% more power consumption, than Radeon R9 290X.
Radeon HD 6850 X2 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 290X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon R9 290X has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
Radeon HD 6850 X2 is build with TeraScale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 290X - with GCN.
Radeon HD 6850 X2 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 290X - by 28 nm process technology.
Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 6850 X2 is 2950 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 290X.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	12−14	35−40
ultra / 1080p	7−8	24−27
QHD / 1440p	2−3	18−20
4K / 2160p	−	10−11
low / 720p	27−30	60−65
medium / 1080p	16−18	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 192% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	21−24	60−65
ultra / 1080p	18−20	50−55
QHD / 1440p	4−5	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	18−20
low / 720p	45−50	110−120
medium / 1080p	21−24	65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Battlefield 5 is 191% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	190−200	250−260
medium / 768p	160−170	220−230
ultra / 1080p	85−90	190−200
QHD / 1440p	45−50	110−120
4K / 2160p	30−33	70−75
high / 768p	120−130	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 65% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	35−40	−
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Cyberpunk 2077 is 15% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	100−110	120−130
medium / 768p	85−90	110−120
ultra / 1080p	55−60	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Dota 2 is 38% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	14−16	45−50
ultra / 1080p	14−16	45−50
QHD / 1440p	−	30−35
4K / 2160p	5−6	16−18
low / 720p	30−35	85−90
medium / 1080p	16−18	50−55
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Far Cry 5 is 194% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	21−24	65−70
ultra / 1080p	16−18	50−55
QHD / 1440p	16−18	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	27−30
low / 720p	85−90	180−190
medium / 1080p	45−50	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Fortnite is 142% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	21−24	65−70
ultra / 1080p	16−18	45−50
QHD / 1440p	7−8	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	24−27
low / 720p	45−50	110−120
medium / 1080p	24−27	70−75
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Forza Horizon 4 is 183% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	75−80	140−150
medium / 768p	65−70	130−140
high / 1080p	24−27	75−80
ultra / 1080p	10−11	30−35
QHD / 1440p	1−2	24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Grand Theft Auto V is 130% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	8−9	27−30
ultra / 1080p	6−7	21−24
QHD / 1440p	−	18−20
4K / 2160p	2−3	9−10
low / 720p	24−27	70−75
medium / 1080p	10−12	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Metro Exodus is 240% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	100−110	130−140
ultra / 1080p	95−100	−
medium / 1080p	100−110	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Minecraft is 23% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	21−24	−
ultra / 1080p	16−18	14−16
low / 720p	50−55	100−110
medium / 1080p	21−24	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 53% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
high / 1080p	12−14	27−30
ultra / 1080p	9−10	18−20
QHD / 1440p	0−1	12−14
4K / 2160p	−	8−9
low / 720p	24−27	70−75
medium / 1080p	14−16	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 160% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	45−50	140−150
medium / 768p	27−30	90−95
high / 1080p	16−18	50−55
ultra / 1080p	9−10	27−30
4K / 2160p	7−8	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 204% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
low / 768p	95−100	90−95
medium / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	30−35	55−60
high / 768p	50−55	−
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in World of Tanks is 12% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 6850 X2	Radeon R9 290X
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN
Code name	Barts	Hawaii XT
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	19 September 2011	24 October 2013
Pipelines	960	2816
Core clock speed	800 MHz
Boost Clock		947 MHz
Transistor count	1,700 million	6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	38.40	176.0
Floating-point performance	2x 1,536.0 gflops	5,632 gflops
Length		275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	512 Bit
Memory clock speed	4200 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	134.4 GB/s	320 GB/s
Shared memory		-
DirectX	11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model	5.0	6.3
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	N/A	+
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

Radeon HD 6850 X2 vs Radeon R9 290X

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

Similar compares