Quadro K5000 vs R9 M290X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | Quadro K5000 | R9 M290X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 759 | 805 | -5.7% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 25 | 25 | — |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 13 | 13 | — |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 6 | 7 | -14.3% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 2.2 | 2.3 | -5.7% |
| VRAM | 4 GB GDDR5 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 224 | 154 | +45.5% |
| TDP (W) | 122 | 100 | — |
- Quadro K5000 averages 13 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 0% faster.
- R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 122W).
Verdict: Quadro K5000 or R9 M290X?
Quadro K5000 advantages
- Memory bandwidth (+31%)
R9 M290X advantages
- 4K gaming (+14%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+6%)
- Power efficiency (+18%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the Quadro K5000 if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads.
- Choose the R9 M290X if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
Quadro K5000 vs R9 M290X: which should you choose?
Quadro K5000 — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2012, Kepler) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 13 fps at 1440p; launched at $2,249.
R9 M290X — AMD desktop graphics card (2014, GCN 1.0) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 13 fps at 1440p.
Quadro K5000 vs R9 M290X: Quadro K5000 is faster for gaming. Quadro K5000 averages 13 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 0% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 122W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the Quadro K5000 averages 13 fps against 13. At 4K (6 vs 7 fps) VRAM (4GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 122 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 Quadro K5000 better than the R9 M290X?
R9 M290X is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. Quadro K5000 averages 13 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 0% faster.
What is the main difference between the Quadro K5000 and the R9 M290X?
Quadro K5000 averages 13 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 0% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 122W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the Quadro K5000 if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads. Choose the R9 M290X if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
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.