Radeon R6 Kaveri vs Radeon R9 280X

When choosing between Radeon R6 Kaveri and Radeon R9 280X, 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 R6 Kaveri and Radeon R9 280X.

Radeon R6 Kaveri is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R6 Kaveri 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 R6 Kaveri here:

Main Specs

  Radeon R6 Kaveri Radeon R9 280X
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon R6 Kaveri is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 280X - in Desktops.
  • Radeon R6 Kaveri is build with GCN 1.1 architecture, and Radeon R9 280X - with GCN.
  • Radeon R6 Kaveri and Radeon R9 280X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 0−1 35−40
ultra / 1080p 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 1−2 60−65
medium / 1080p 0−1 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 6100% more, than Radeon R6 Kaveri.

Full Specs

  Radeon R6 Kaveri Radeon R9 280X
Architecture GCN 1.1 GCN
Code name Kaveri Thaiti XTL
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 4 June 2014 8 October 2013
Pipelines 384 2048
Core clock speed 533 MHz
Boost Clock 654 MHz 1000 MHz
Transistor count 2410 Million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 128.0
Floating-point performance 4,096 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 64/128 Bit 384 Bit
Memory bandwidth 288 GB/s
Shared memory + -
DirectX DirectX 12 (FL 12_0), Shader 5.0
Shader Model 5.1
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.5 kh/s
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 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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