R9 390 vs RTX 4090 D Max-Q
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | R9 390 | RTX 4090 D Max-Q | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,792 | 20,592 | -91.3% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 31 | 157 | -80.3% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 17 | 99 | -82.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 9 | 56 | -83.9% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 5.1 | 51.5 | -90.1% |
| VRAM | 8 GB GDDR5 | 24 GB GDDR6X | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 448 | 1,008 | -55.6% |
| TDP (W) | 275 | 191 | — |
- RTX 4090 D Max-Q averages 99 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 83% faster.
- RTX 4090 D Max-Q draws less power (191W vs 275W).
Verdict: R9 390 or RTX 4090 D Max-Q?
R9 390 advantages
- No decisive advantage on the tracked metrics.
RTX 4090 D Max-Q advantages
- 1440p gaming (+83%)
- 4K gaming (+84%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+91%)
- Video memory (+67%)
- Memory bandwidth (+56%)
- Power efficiency (+31%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RTX 4090 D Max-Q if you game at 1440p.
R9 390 vs RTX 4090 D Max-Q: which should you choose?
R9 390 — AMD desktop graphics card (2015, GCN 2.0) with 8 GB of GDDR5, averaging 17 fps at 1440p; launched at $329.
RTX 4090 D Max-Q — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2023, Ada Lovelace) with 24 GB of GDDR6X, averaging 99 fps at 1440p.
R9 390 vs RTX 4090 D Max-Q: RTX 4090 D Max-Q is faster for gaming. RTX 4090 D Max-Q averages 99 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 83% faster. RTX 4090 D Max-Q draws less power (191W vs 275W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 4090 D Max-Q averages 99 fps against 17. At 4K (9 vs 56 fps) VRAM (8GB vs 24GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 275 W versus 191 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 R9 390 better than the RTX 4090 D Max-Q?
RTX 4090 D Max-Q is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 4090 D Max-Q averages 99 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 83% faster.
What is the main difference between the R9 390 and the RTX 4090 D Max-Q?
RTX 4090 D Max-Q averages 99 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 83% faster. RTX 4090 D Max-Q draws less power (191W vs 275W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RTX 4090 D Max-Q if you game at 1440p.
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.