RTX 5090 Max-Q vs R9 290X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | RTX 5090 Max-Q | R9 290X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 29,316 | 1,970 | +1,388.1% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 215 | 33 | +551.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 137 | 18 | +661.1% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 78 | 9 | +766.7% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 73.3 | 5.6 | +1,201.8% |
| VRAM | 32 GB GDDR7 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 1,792 | 448 | +300.0% |
| TDP (W) | 258 | 290 | — |
- RTX 5090 Max-Q averages 137 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 661% faster.
- RTX 5090 Max-Q draws less power (258W vs 290W).
Verdict: RTX 5090 Max-Q or R9 290X?
RTX 5090 Max-Q advantages
- 1440p gaming (+87%)
- 4K gaming (+88%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+93%)
- Video memory (+88%)
- Memory bandwidth (+75%)
- Power efficiency (+11%)
R9 290X advantages
- No decisive advantage on the tracked metrics.
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RTX 5090 Max-Q if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the RTX 5090 Max-Q if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
RTX 5090 Max-Q vs R9 290X: which should you choose?
RTX 5090 Max-Q — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2025, Blackwell) with 32 GB of GDDR7, averaging 137 fps at 1440p.
R9 290X — AMD desktop graphics card (2013, GCN 2.0) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 18 fps at 1440p; launched at $549.
RTX 5090 Max-Q vs R9 290X: RTX 5090 Max-Q is faster for gaming. RTX 5090 Max-Q averages 137 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 661% faster. RTX 5090 Max-Q draws less power (258W vs 290W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 5090 Max-Q averages 137 fps against 18. At 4K (78 vs 9 fps) VRAM (32GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 258 W versus 290 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 5090 Max-Q better than the R9 290X?
RTX 5090 Max-Q is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 5090 Max-Q averages 137 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 661% faster.
What is the main difference between the RTX 5090 Max-Q and the R9 290X?
RTX 5090 Max-Q averages 137 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 661% faster. RTX 5090 Max-Q draws less power (258W vs 290W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RTX 5090 Max-Q if you game at 1440p. Choose the RTX 5090 Max-Q 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.