GTX 1660 vs R9 M290X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | GTX 1660 | R9 M290X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,760 | 805 | +118.6% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 31 | 25 | +24.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 17 | 13 | +30.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 9 | 7 | +28.6% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 5.0 | 2.3 | +118.7% |
| VRAM | 6 GB GDDR5 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 168 | 154 | +9.1% |
| TDP (W) | 120 | 100 | — |
- GTX 1660 averages 17 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 31% faster.
- R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 120W).
Verdict: GTX 1660 or R9 M290X?
GTX 1660 advantages
- 1440p gaming (+24%)
- 4K gaming (+22%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+54%)
- Video memory (+33%)
- Memory bandwidth (+8%)
R9 M290X advantages
- Power efficiency (+17%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the GTX 1660 if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the R9 M290X if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the GTX 1660 if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
GTX 1660 vs R9 M290X: which should you choose?
GTX 1660 — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2019, Turing) with 6 GB of GDDR5, averaging 17 fps at 1440p; launched at $219.
R9 M290X — AMD desktop graphics card (2014, GCN 1.0) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 13 fps at 1440p.
GTX 1660 vs R9 M290X: GTX 1660 is faster for gaming. GTX 1660 averages 17 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 31% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 120W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the GTX 1660 averages 17 fps against 13. At 4K (9 vs 7 fps) VRAM (6GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 120 W versus 100 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the GTX 1660 better than the R9 M290X?
GTX 1660 is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. GTX 1660 averages 17 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 31% faster.
What is the main difference between the GTX 1660 and the R9 M290X?
GTX 1660 averages 17 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 31% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 120W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the GTX 1660 if you game at 1440p. Choose the R9 M290X if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.