Radeon R9 280X vs Radeon R9 M290X

When choosing between Radeon R9 280X and Radeon R9 M290X, 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 R9 280X and Radeon R9 M290X.

Radeon R9 M290X is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R9 M290X 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 R9 M290X here:

Main Specs

  Radeon R9 280X Radeon R9 M290X
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon R9 280X has 150% more power consumption, than Radeon R9 M290X.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon R9 M290X has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 280X.
  • Radeon R9 280X is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M290X - in Laptops.
  • Radeon R9 280X and Radeon R9 M290X are build with GCN architecture.
  • Radeon R9 280X and Radeon R9 M290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 16−18
ultra / 1080p 21−24 10−11
QHD / 1440p 16−18 4−5
4K / 2160p 10−11 4−5
low / 720p 60−65 30−35
medium / 1080p 40−45 20−22
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 113% more, than Radeon R9 M290X.

Full Specs

  Radeon R9 280X Radeon R9 M290X
Architecture GCN GCN
Code name Thaiti XTL Neptune
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 8 October 2013 7 January 2014
Pipelines 2048 1280
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 1000 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 4,313 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 128.0 72.00
Floating-point performance 4,096 gflops 2,304 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 384 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth 288 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.5 kh/s
FreeSync + +
Bus support PCIe 3.0 PCIe 3.0 x16
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 494 Mh/s 300 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity + +
HD3D + +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
TrueAudio +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
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
Compute units 20
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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