RTX 3080 Ti vs R9 M290X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | RTX 3080 Ti | R9 M290X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 14,663 | 805 | +1,721.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 117 | 25 | +368.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 73 | 13 | +461.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 41 | 7 | +485.7% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 34.1 | 2.3 | +1,382.6% |
| VRAM | 12 GB GDDR6X | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 1,008 | 154 | +554.5% |
| TDP (W) | 350 | 100 | — |
- RTX 3080 Ti averages 73 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 462% faster.
- R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 350W).
Verdict: RTX 3080 Ti or R9 M290X?
RTX 3080 Ti advantages
- 1440p gaming (+82%)
- 4K gaming (+83%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+95%)
- Video memory (+67%)
- Memory bandwidth (+85%)
R9 M290X advantages
- Power efficiency (+71%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RTX 3080 Ti if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the R9 M290X if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the RTX 3080 Ti if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
RTX 3080 Ti vs R9 M290X: which should you choose?
RTX 3080 Ti — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2021, Ampere) with 12 GB of GDDR6X, averaging 73 fps at 1440p; launched at $1,199.
R9 M290X — AMD desktop graphics card (2014, GCN 1.0) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 13 fps at 1440p.
RTX 3080 Ti vs R9 M290X: RTX 3080 Ti is faster for gaming. RTX 3080 Ti averages 73 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 462% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 350W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 3080 Ti averages 73 fps against 13. At 4K (41 vs 7 fps) VRAM (12GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 350 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 RTX 3080 Ti better than the R9 M290X?
RTX 3080 Ti is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 3080 Ti averages 73 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 462% faster.
What is the main difference between the RTX 3080 Ti and the R9 M290X?
RTX 3080 Ti averages 73 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 462% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 350W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RTX 3080 Ti 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.