RX 6600 vs R9 M290X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | RX 6600 | R9 M290X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,750 | 805 | +365.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 45 | 25 | +80.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 26 | 13 | +100.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 14 | 7 | +100.0% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 8.9 | 2.3 | +288.3% |
| VRAM | 8 GB GDDR6 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 224 | 154 | +45.5% |
| TDP (W) | 132 | 100 | — |
- RX 6600 averages 26 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 100% faster.
- R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 132W).
Verdict: RX 6600 or R9 M290X?
RX 6600 advantages
- 1440p gaming (+50%)
- 4K gaming (+50%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+79%)
- Video memory (+50%)
- Memory bandwidth (+31%)
R9 M290X advantages
- Power efficiency (+24%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RX 6600 if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the R9 M290X if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the RX 6600 if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
RX 6600 vs R9 M290X: which should you choose?
RX 6600 — AMD desktop graphics card (2021, RDNA 2) with 8 GB of GDDR6, averaging 26 fps at 1440p; launched at $329.
R9 M290X — AMD desktop graphics card (2014, GCN 1.0) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 13 fps at 1440p.
RX 6600 vs R9 M290X: RX 6600 is faster for gaming. RX 6600 averages 26 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 100% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 132W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RX 6600 averages 26 fps against 13. At 4K (14 vs 7 fps) VRAM (8GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 132 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 RX 6600 better than the R9 M290X?
RX 6600 is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RX 6600 averages 26 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 100% faster.
What is the main difference between the RX 6600 and the R9 M290X?
RX 6600 averages 26 fps at 1440p versus 13 fps — about 100% faster. R9 M290X draws less power (100W vs 132W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RX 6600 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.