Radeon HD 8790M vs Radeon R9 280X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 280X. 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 Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 280X. 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 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

  Radeon HD 8790M Radeon R9 280X
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt
Interface MXM-A (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 3 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 8790M is connected by MXM-A (3.0), and Radeon R9 280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon R9 280X has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 8790M.
  • Radeon HD 8790M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 280X - in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 280X are build with GCN architecture.
  • Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 280X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 35−40
ultra / 1080p 1−2 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 14−16 60−65
medium / 1080p 6−7 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 583% more, than Radeon HD 8790M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8790M Radeon R9 280X
Architecture GCN GCN
Code name Mars XTX Thaiti XTL
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 16 November 2012 8 October 2013
Pipelines 384 2048
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz 1000 MHz
Transistor count 950 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 21.60 128.0
Floating-point performance 691.2 gflops 4,096 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 128 Bit 384 Bit
Memory clock speed 4500 MHz
Memory bandwidth 64 GB/s 288 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131 +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.5 kh/s
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 80 Mh/s 494 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
DisplayPort support +
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.42 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 285 Sol/s
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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