Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon R9 290X

When choosing between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon R9 290X, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon R9 290X.

Radeon HD 6870 Check Price

Radeon R9 290X Check Price

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 6870	Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP)	151 Watt	250 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon R9 290X has 65% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 6870.
Radeon HD 6870 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 290X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon R9 290X has 3 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6870.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
Radeon HD 6870 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 290X - with GCN.
Radeon HD 6870 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 290X - by 28 nm process technology.
Radeon R9 290X is 55 mm longer, than Radeon HD 6870.
Memory clock speed of Radeon R9 290X is 200 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6870.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	10−12	35−40
ultra / 1080p	6−7	24−27
QHD / 1440p	1−2	18−20
4K / 2160p	−	10−11
low / 720p	24−27	60−65
medium / 1080p	12−14	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 245% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	18−20	60−65
ultra / 1080p	14−16	50−55
QHD / 1440p	1−2	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	18−20
low / 720p	35−40	110−120
medium / 1080p	20−22	65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Battlefield 5 is 272% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
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 6870.
low / 768p	180−190	250−260
medium / 768p	140−150	220−230
ultra / 1080p	75−80	190−200
QHD / 1440p	40−45	110−120
4K / 2160p	30−33	70−75
high / 768p	110−120	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 80% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	30−33	−
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Cyberpunk 2077 is 15% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	95−100	120−130
medium / 768p	75−80	110−120
ultra / 1080p	50−55	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Dota 2 is 53% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	12−14	45−50
ultra / 1080p	12−14	45−50
QHD / 1440p	−	30−35
4K / 2160p	5−6	16−18
low / 720p	27−30	85−90
medium / 1080p	14−16	50−55
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Far Cry 5 is 233% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	20−22	65−70
ultra / 1080p	14−16	50−55
QHD / 1440p	−	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	27−30
low / 720p	80−85	180−190
medium / 1080p	35−40	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Fortnite is 174% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	18−20	65−70
ultra / 1080p	14−16	45−50
QHD / 1440p	5−6	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	24−27
low / 720p	40−45	110−120
medium / 1080p	21−24	70−75
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Forza Horizon 4 is 240% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	70−75	140−150
medium / 768p	60−65	130−140
high / 1080p	21−24	75−80
ultra / 1080p	9−10	30−35
QHD / 1440p	0−1	24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Grand Theft Auto V is 136% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	7−8	27−30
ultra / 1080p	5−6	21−24
QHD / 1440p	−	18−20
4K / 2160p	1−2	9−10
low / 720p	21−24	70−75
medium / 1080p	9−10	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Metro Exodus is 277% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	100−110	130−140
ultra / 1080p	90−95	−
medium / 1080p	100−105	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Minecraft is 26% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	18−20	−
ultra / 1080p	16−18	14−16
low / 720p	45−50	100−110
medium / 1080p	21−24	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 58% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	12−14	27−30
ultra / 1080p	8−9	18−20
QHD / 1440p	0−1	12−14
4K / 2160p	−	8−9
low / 720p	20−22	70−75
medium / 1080p	12−14	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 200% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	40−45	140−150
medium / 768p	24−27	90−95
high / 1080p	14−16	50−55
ultra / 1080p	8−9	27−30
4K / 2160p	7−8	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 252% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	95−100	90−95
medium / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	27−30	55−60
high / 768p	45−50	−
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in World of Tanks is 14% more, than Radeon HD 6870.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 6870	Radeon R9 290X
Architecture	Terascale 2	GCN
Code name	RV940 Barts	Hawaii XT
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	22 October 2010	24 October 2013
Pipelines	1120	2816
Boost Clock	900 MHz	947 MHz
Transistor count	1,700 million	6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	50.40	176.0
Floating-point performance	2,016.0 gflops	5,632 gflops
Length	220 mm	275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	512 Bit
Memory clock speed	1050 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	134.4 GB/s	320 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-
Shader Model	5.0	6.3
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan		+
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight)		0.76 kh/s
FreeSync		+
Bus support	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0
HDMI	+	+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)	213 Mh/s	623 Mh/s
Eyefinity	+	+
HD3D		+
TrueAudio		+
Design	reference	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		+
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Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon R9 290X

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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