GeForce GTX 280 vs Radeon HD 8790M
If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 280 and Radeon HD 8790M, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the GeForce GTX 280 stacks up against Radeon HD 8790M, check out specs charts below.
GeForce GTX 280
Radeon HD 8790M is a Laptop Graphics Card
Note: Radeon HD 8790M 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 HD 8790M here:
Main Specs
| GeForce GTX 280 | Radeon HD 8790M | |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 236 Watt | |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | MXM-A (3.0) |
| Supplementary power connectors | 6-pin & 8-pin | None |
| Memory type | GDDR3 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Display Connectors | 2x DVI, 1x S-Video | No outputs |
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- GeForce GTX 280 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 8790M uses MXM-A (3.0) interface.
- Radeon HD 8790M has 1 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 280.
- GeForce GTX 280 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 8790M - in Laptops.
- GeForce GTX 280 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and Radeon HD 8790M - with GCN.
- Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 280 is 446 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8790M.
- GeForce GTX 280 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 8790M - by 28 nm process technology.
- Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8790M is 3393 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 280.
Game benchmarks
| high / 1080p | 1−2 | 3−4 |
| ultra / 1080p | 0−1 | 1−2 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 12−14 | 14−16 |
| medium / 1080p | 3−4 | 6−7 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 33% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| high / 1080p | − | 8−9 |
| ultra / 1080p | 4−5 | 6−7 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 16−18 | 21−24 |
| medium / 1080p | 5−6 | 9−10 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Battlefield 5 is 33% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| low / 768p | 45−50 | 45−50 |
| high / 1080p | 40−45 | 40−45 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| GeForce GTX 280 and Radeon HD 8790M have the same average FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone. | ||
| low / 768p | 120−130 | 120−130 |
| medium / 768p | 90−95 | 100−110 |
| ultra / 1080p | 40−45 | 50−55 |
| QHD / 1440p | 21−24 | 24−27 |
| 4K / 2160p | 18−20 | − |
| high / 768p | 65−70 | 75−80 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 10% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| low / 768p | 85−90 | 70−75 |
| ultra / 1080p | 16−18 | 21−24 |
| medium / 1080p | 40−45 | 40−45 |
| The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 280 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 8% more, than Radeon HD 8790M. | ||
| low / 768p | 75−80 | 75−80 |
| medium / 768p | 50−55 | 55−60 |
| ultra / 1080p | 24−27 | 30−35 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Dota 2 is 7% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| high / 1080p | 2−3 | 4−5 |
| ultra / 1080p | 2−3 | 4−5 |
| 4K / 2160p | 0−1 | 1−2 |
| low / 720p | 10−12 | 14−16 |
| medium / 1080p | 3−4 | 6−7 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Far Cry 5 is 75% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| high / 1080p | 10−11 | 12−14 |
| ultra / 1080p | 5−6 | 7−8 |
| QHD / 1440p | 2−3 | 4−5 |
| low / 720p | 50−55 | 60−65 |
| medium / 1080p | 10−12 | 18−20 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Fortnite is 31% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| high / 1080p | 4−5 | 8−9 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 7−8 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 16−18 | 21−24 |
| medium / 1080p | 7−8 | 10−11 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Forza Horizon 4 is 44% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| low / 768p | 40−45 | 50−55 |
| high / 1080p | 5−6 | 10−11 |
| ultra / 1080p | 2−3 | 4−5 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| medium / 720p | 35−40 | 40−45 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Grand Theft Auto V is 22% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| high / 1080p | 1−2 | 2−3 |
| ultra / 1080p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| 4K / 2160p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 5−6 | 9−10 |
| medium / 1080p | 3−4 | 4−5 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Metro Exodus is 66% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| low / 768p | 90−95 | 85−90 |
| high / 1080p | 85−90 | 70−75 |
| ultra / 1080p | 70−75 | − |
| medium / 1080p | 90−95 | − |
| The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 280 in Minecraft is 12% more, than Radeon HD 8790M. | ||
| ultra / 1080p | 12−14 | 12−14 |
| low / 720p | 27−30 | 30−35 |
| medium / 1080p | 14−16 | 14−16 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 11% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| high / 1080p | − | 7−8 |
| ultra / 1080p | 4−5 | 4−5 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 6−7 | 8−9 |
| medium / 1080p | − | 8−9 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 20% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| low / 768p | 12−14 | 20−22 |
| medium / 768p | 8−9 | 12−14 |
| high / 1080p | 4−5 | 7−8 |
| ultra / 1080p | 3−4 | 5−6 |
| 4K / 2160p | 0−1 | 1−2 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 57% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
| low / 768p | 75−80 | 75−80 |
| medium / 768p | 35−40 | 40−45 |
| ultra / 1080p | 16−18 | 18−20 |
| high / 768p | 30−35 | 30−35 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in World of Tanks is 2% more, than GeForce GTX 280. | ||
Full Specs
| GeForce GTX 280 | Radeon HD 8790M | |
| Architecture | Tesla 2.0 | GCN |
| Code name | GT200 | Mars XTX |
| Type | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 16 June 2008 | 16 November 2012 |
| Pipelines | 240 | 384 |
| Core clock speed | 1296 MHz | 850 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 900 MHz | |
| Transistor count | 1,400 million | 950 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 28 nm |
| Texture fill rate | 48.2 billion/sec | 21.60 |
| Floating-point performance | 622.1 gflops | 691.2 gflops |
| Length | 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm) | |
| Memory bus width | 512 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1107 MHz | 4500 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 141.7 GB/s | 64 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | |
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 12 (11_1) |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | N/A | 1.2.131 |
| CUDA | + | |
| CUDA cores | 240 | |
| Height | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) | |
| SLI options | + | |
| Multi monitor support | + | |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | |
| Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) | 80 Mh/s | |
| Laptop size | medium sized | |
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