RTX 5090 SE Mobile vs R9 290X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | RTX 5090 SE Mobile | R9 290X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 22,752 | 1,970 | +1,054.9% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 171 | 33 | +418.2% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 108 | 18 | +500.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 61 | 9 | +577.8% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 56.9 | 5.6 | +910.3% |
| VRAM | 16 GB GDDR7 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 1,344 | 448 | +200.0% |
| TDP (W) | 300 | 290 | — |
- RTX 5090 SE Mobile averages 108 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 500% faster.
- R9 290X draws less power (290W vs 300W).
Verdict: RTX 5090 SE Mobile or R9 290X?
RTX 5090 SE Mobile advantages
- 1440p gaming (+83%)
- 4K gaming (+85%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+91%)
- Video memory (+75%)
- Memory bandwidth (+67%)
R9 290X advantages
- No decisive advantage on the tracked metrics.
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RTX 5090 SE Mobile if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the RTX 5090 SE Mobile if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
RTX 5090 SE Mobile vs R9 290X: which should you choose?
RTX 5090 SE Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2026, Blackwell) with 16 GB of GDDR7, averaging 108 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 SE Mobile vs R9 290X: RTX 5090 SE Mobile is faster for gaming. RTX 5090 SE Mobile averages 108 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 500% faster. R9 290X draws less power (290W vs 300W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 5090 SE Mobile averages 108 fps against 18. At 4K (61 vs 9 fps) VRAM (16GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 300 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 SE Mobile better than the R9 290X?
RTX 5090 SE Mobile is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 5090 SE Mobile averages 108 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 500% faster.
What is the main difference between the RTX 5090 SE Mobile and the R9 290X?
RTX 5090 SE Mobile averages 108 fps at 1440p versus 18 fps — about 500% faster. R9 290X draws less power (290W vs 300W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RTX 5090 SE Mobile if you game at 1440p. Choose the RTX 5090 SE Mobile 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.