Radeon HD 8790M vs Radeon R9 M280X
If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X, 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 Radeon HD 8790M stacks up against Radeon R9 M280X, check out specs charts below.
Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X are Laptop Graphics Cards
Note: Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 or Radeon R9 M280X here:
Main Specs
Radeon HD 8790M
Radeon R9 M280X
Interface
MXM-A (3.0)
PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors
None
Memory type
GDDR5
Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount
2 GB
Display Connectors
No outputs
No outputs
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Radeon HD 8790M is connected by MXM-A (3.0), and Radeon R9 M280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Both cards are used in Laptops.
Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X are build with GCN architecture.
Core clock speed of Radeon R9 M280X is 50 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8790M.
Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
Game benchmarks
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Battlefield 5
Call of Duty: Warzone
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Cyberpunk 2077
Dota 2
Far Cry 5
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4
Grand Theft Auto V
Metro Exodus
Minecraft
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
World of Tanks
high / 1080p
3−4
2−3
ultra / 1080p
1−2
1−2
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
low / 720p
14−16
14−16
medium / 1080p
6−7
4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 20% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
8−9
7−8
ultra / 1080p
6−7
5−6
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
low / 720p
21−24
18−20
medium / 1080p
9−10
7−8
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Battlefield 5 is 22% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
45−50
50−55
high / 1080p
40−45
30−35
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Call of Duty: Warzone is 7% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
120−130
110−120
medium / 768p
100−110
90−95
ultra / 1080p
50−55
40−45
QHD / 1440p
24−27
24−27
4K / 2160p
−
18−20
high / 768p
75−80
65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 13% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
70−75
70−75
ultra / 1080p
21−24
21−24
medium / 1080p
40−45
45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Cyberpunk 2077 is 4% more, than Radeon HD 8790M.
low / 768p
75−80
70−75
medium / 768p
55−60
50−55
ultra / 1080p
30−35
27−30
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Dota 2 is 7% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
4−5
3−4
ultra / 1080p
4−5
3−4
4K / 2160p
1−2
2−3
low / 720p
14−16
14−16
medium / 1080p
6−7
4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Far Cry 5 is 20% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
12−14
10−12
ultra / 1080p
7−8
5−6
QHD / 1440p
4−5
2−3
low / 720p
60−65
50−55
medium / 1080p
18−20
14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Fortnite is 23% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
8−9
6−7
ultra / 1080p
7−8
−
QHD / 1440p
0−1
4−5
4K / 2160p
−
2−3
low / 720p
21−24
21−24
medium / 1080p
10−11
9−10
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Forza Horizon 4 is 8% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
50−55
45−50
medium / 768p
−
40−45
high / 1080p
10−11
7−8
ultra / 1080p
4−5
3−4
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
medium / 720p
40−45
−
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Grand Theft Auto V is 15% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
2−3
2−3
ultra / 1080p
0−1
0−1
4K / 2160p
0−1
0−1
low / 720p
9−10
8−9
medium / 1080p
4−5
4−5
Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X have the same average FPS in Metro Exodus.
low / 768p
85−90
80−85
high / 1080p
70−75
−
ultra / 1080p
−
70−75
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in Minecraft is 6% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
ultra / 1080p
12−14
12−14
low / 720p
30−35
27−30
medium / 1080p
14−16
14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 11% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
7−8
−
ultra / 1080p
4−5
6−7
QHD / 1440p
0−1
−
low / 720p
8−9
8−9
medium / 1080p
8−9
7−8
Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M280X have the same average FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2.
low / 768p
20−22
16−18
medium / 768p
12−14
10−12
high / 1080p
7−8
6−7
ultra / 1080p
5−6
4−5
4K / 2160p
1−2
2−3
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 12% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
75−80
70−75
medium / 768p
40−45
35−40
ultra / 1080p
18−20
16−18
high / 768p
30−35
30−35
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8790M in World of Tanks is 7% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
Full Specs
Radeon HD 8790M
Radeon R9 M280X
Architecture
GCN
GCN
Code name
Mars XTX
Saturn XT
Type
Laptop
Laptop
Release date
16 November 2012
1 February 2015
Pipelines
384
896
Core clock speed
850 MHz
900 MHz
Boost Clock
900 MHz
Transistor count
950 million
2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology
28 nm
28 nm
Texture fill rate
21.60
61.60
Floating-point performance
691.2 gflops
1,792 gflops
Memory bus width
128 Bit
Memory clock speed
4500 MHz
Memory bandwidth
64 GB/s
96 GB/s
Shared memory
-
-
DirectX
12 (11_1)
Shader Model
5.1
6.3
OpenGL
4.6
4.4
OpenCL
1.2
Not Listed
Vulkan
1.2.131
FreeSync
+
Bus support
Not Listed
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)
80 Mh/s
Laptop size
medium sized
large
HD3D
+
PowerTune
+
DualGraphics
+
ZeroCore
+
Switchable graphics
+
Mantle
+
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