Radeon HD 8790M vs Radeon R9 M270X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M270X. 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 M270X. 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 M270X
Interface MXM-A (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 8790M is connected by MXM-A (3.0), and Radeon R9 M270X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon R9 M270X has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 8790M.
  • Radeon HD 8790M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 M270X - in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 8790M is build with GCN architecture, and Radeon R9 M270X - with GCN 1.0.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 8790M is 125 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M270X.
  • Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon R9 M270X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8790M is 3375 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M270X.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 6−7
ultra / 1080p 1−2 4−5
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 14−16 16−18
medium / 1080p 6−7 8−9
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M270X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 50% more, than Radeon HD 8790M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8790M Radeon R9 M270X
Architecture GCN GCN 1.0
Code name Mars XTX Venus
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 16 November 2012 21 March 2014
Pipelines 384 640
Core clock speed 850 MHz 725 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz 775 MHz
Transistor count 950 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 21.60 31.00
Floating-point performance 691.2 gflops 1,536 gflops
Memory bus width 128 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 4500 MHz 1125 MHz
Memory bandwidth 64 GB/s 72 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan 1.2.131
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0 x16
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 80 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
Compute units 10
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