HWBench.com

    GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 290X

    GeForce GTX 960
    Memory: 2048Mb GDDR5DESKTOP
    Release date: 22 Jan 2015
    GeForce GTX 960
    Radeon R9 290X
    Memory: 4096Mb GDDR5DESKTOP
    Release date: 24 Oct 2013
    Radeon R9 290X

    Summary

    Synthetic performance index

    • GeForce GTX 960
      100%
    • Radeon R9 290X
      156%

    Relative performance

    Gaming performance index

    • GeForce GTX 960
      100%
    • Radeon R9 290X
      201%

    Relative performance

    Reasons to consider GeForce GTX 960

    170 watts lower power draw. This might be a strong point if your current power supply is not enough to handle the Radeon R9 290X .
    This is a much newer product, it might have better long term support.
    Supports PhysX
    Supports G-Sync
    Supports ShadowPlay (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
    Based on an outdated architecture (Nvidia Maxwell), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications

    Reasons to consider Radeon R9 290X

    101% higher gaming performance.
    Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute
    Supports FreeSync
    Supports ReLive (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
    Supports TrueAudio
    Based on an outdated architecture (AMD GCN), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications
    Radeon R9 290X

    HWBench recommends Radeon R9 290X

    The Radeon R9 290X is the better performing card based on the game benchmark suite used (51 combinations of games and resolutions).

    Specifications

    Core Configuration

    GeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 290X
    GPU NameGM206 (GM206-300-A1)vsHawaii (Hawaii XT)
    Fab Process28 nmvs28 nm
    Die Size228 mm²vs438 mm²
    Transistors2,940 millionvs6,200 million
    Shaders1024vs2816
    Compute Units8vs44
    Core clock1127 MHzvs1000 MHz
    ROPs32vs64
    TMUs64vs176

    Memory Configuration

    GeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 290X
    Memory TypeGDDR5vsGDDR5
    Bus Width128 bitvs512 bit
    Memory Speed1753 MHz
    7012 MHz effective    		vs1250 MHz
    5000 MHz effective
    Memory Size2048 Mbvs4096 Mb

    Additional details

    GeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 290X
    TDP120 wattsvs290 watts
    Release Date22 Jan 2015vs24 Oct 2013

    Raw Performance comparison

    Pixel Rate

    • GeForce GTX 960
      36.10 GP/s
    • Radeon R9 290X
      64.00 GP/s

    GigaPixels - higher is better

    Texel Rate

    • GeForce GTX 960
      72.10 GT/s
    • Radeon R9 290X
      176.00 GT/s

    GigaTexels - higher is better

    Memory bandwidth

    • GeForce GTX 960
      112.20 GB/s
    • Radeon R9 290X
      320.00 GB/s

    GB/s - higher is better

    Single precision performance

    • GeForce GTX 960
      2308.10 GFLOPs
    • Radeon R9 290X
      5632.00 GFLOPs

    GFLOPs - higher is better

    Synthetic benchmarks

    3DMark 11

    • GeForce GTX 960
      10380
    • Radeon R9 290X
      16210

    Points (higher is better)

    Game benchmarks

    Anno 2205

    DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      46
    • Radeon R9 290X
      57

    FPS (higher is better)

    Assassin's Creed: Unity

    • GeForce GTX 960
      19.7
    • Radeon R9 290X
      35.5

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield 3

    • GeForce GTX 960
      71.5
    • Radeon R9 290X
      120.6

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield 4

    • GeForce GTX 960
      49.2
    • Radeon R9 290X
      74.3

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield Hardline

    DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait

    • GeForce GTX 960
      34
    • Radeon R9 290X
      66

    FPS (higher is better)

    Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

    • GeForce GTX 960
      94.5
    • Radeon R9 290X
      113.3

    FPS (higher is better)

    Civilization: Beyond Earth

    • GeForce GTX 960
      66.4
    • Radeon R9 290X
      105.7

    FPS (higher is better)

    Crysis 3

    • GeForce GTX 960
      26.3
    • Radeon R9 290X
      46.2

    FPS (higher is better)

    Doom (2016)

    OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx

    • GeForce GTX 960
      38
    • Radeon R9 290X
      100

    FPS (higher is better)

    Fallout 4

    DX11, Ultra Details, Godrays, High shadows

    • GeForce GTX 960
      53
    • Radeon R9 290X
      73

    FPS (higher is better)

    Far Cry Primal

    DX11, Very High Settings

    • GeForce GTX 960
      42
    • Radeon R9 290X
      68

    FPS (higher is better)

    Grand Theft Auto V

    DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      53
    • Radeon R9 290X
      83

    FPS (higher is better)

    Hitman (2016)

    DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      31
    • Radeon R9 290X
      75

    FPS (higher is better)

    Rise Of The Tomb Raider

    DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+

    • GeForce GTX 960
      31
    • Radeon R9 290X
      60

    FPS (higher is better)

    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

    DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      36
    • Radeon R9 290X
      49

    FPS (higher is better)

    Thief 2014

    DX11, Very High Details

    • GeForce GTX 960
      40
    • Radeon R9 290X
      64

    FPS (higher is better)

    Tom Clancy's The Division

    DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      40
    • Radeon R9 290X
      61

    FPS (higher is better)

    Anno 2205

    DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      28
    • Radeon R9 290X
      41

    FPS (higher is better)

    Assassin's Creed: Unity

    • GeForce GTX 960
      10.4
    • Radeon R9 290X
      22.9

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield 3

    • GeForce GTX 960
      43.7
    • Radeon R9 290X
      77.5

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield 4

    • GeForce GTX 960
      31.2
    • Radeon R9 290X
      49.8

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield Hardline

    DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait

    • GeForce GTX 960
      25
    • Radeon R9 290X
      48

    FPS (higher is better)

    Bioshock Infinite

    DX11, Ultra, DDOD, FXAA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      47
    • Radeon R9 290X
      62

    FPS (higher is better)

    Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

    • GeForce GTX 960
      68.3
    • Radeon R9 290X
      89.7

    FPS (higher is better)

    Civilization: Beyond Earth

    • GeForce GTX 960
      45.9
    • Radeon R9 290X
      76.5

    FPS (higher is better)

    Crysis 3

    • GeForce GTX 960
      15.8
    • Radeon R9 290X
      29.9

    FPS (higher is better)

    Doom (2016)

    OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx

    • GeForce GTX 960
      30
    • Radeon R9 290X
      63

    FPS (higher is better)

    Fallout 4

    DX11, Ultra Details, Godrays, High shadows

    • GeForce GTX 960
      33
    • Radeon R9 290X
      47

    FPS (higher is better)

    Far Cry Primal

    DX11, Very High Settings

    • GeForce GTX 960
      27
    • Radeon R9 290X
      50

    FPS (higher is better)

    Grand Theft Auto V

    DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      37
    • Radeon R9 290X
      58

    FPS (higher is better)

    Hitman (2016)

    DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      25
    • Radeon R9 290X
      59

    FPS (higher is better)

    Hitman Absolution

    DX11, High Quality, 2x MSAA, 16x AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      34
    • Radeon R9 290X
      67

    FPS (higher is better)

    Rise Of The Tomb Raider

    DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+

    • GeForce GTX 960
      21
    • Radeon R9 290X
      43

    FPS (higher is better)

    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

    DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      27
    • Radeon R9 290X
      39

    FPS (higher is better)

    Thief 2014

    DX11, Very High Details

    • GeForce GTX 960
      29
    • Radeon R9 290X
      49

    FPS (higher is better)

    Tom Clancy's The Division

    DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      30
    • Radeon R9 290X
      44

    FPS (higher is better)

    Anno 2205

    DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      17
    • Radeon R9 290X
      25

    FPS (higher is better)

    Assassin's Creed: Unity

    • GeForce GTX 960
      9.6
    • Radeon R9 290X
      20.2

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield 3

    • GeForce GTX 960
      20.9
    • Radeon R9 290X
      38.5

    FPS (higher is better)

    Battlefield 4

    • GeForce GTX 960
      14.4
    • Radeon R9 290X
      25.6

    FPS (higher is better)

    Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

    • GeForce GTX 960
      38.9
    • Radeon R9 290X
      56.4

    FPS (higher is better)

    Civilization: Beyond Earth

    • GeForce GTX 960
      28
    • Radeon R9 290X
      48.8

    FPS (higher is better)

    Crysis 3

    • GeForce GTX 960
      10.5
    • Radeon R9 290X
      20.7

    FPS (higher is better)

    Doom (2016)

    OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx

    • GeForce GTX 960
      3
    • Radeon R9 290X
      32

    FPS (higher is better)

    Fallout 4

    DX11, Ultra Details, Godrays, High shadows

    • GeForce GTX 960
      14
    • Radeon R9 290X
      22

    FPS (higher is better)

    Far Cry Primal

    DX11, Very High Settings

    • GeForce GTX 960
      10
    • Radeon R9 290X
      28

    FPS (higher is better)

    Hitman (2016)

    DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      10
    • Radeon R9 290X
      31

    FPS (higher is better)

    Rise Of The Tomb Raider

    DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+

    • GeForce GTX 960
      9
    • Radeon R9 290X
      24

    FPS (higher is better)

    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

    DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA

    • GeForce GTX 960
      14
    • Radeon R9 290X
      24

    FPS (higher is better)

    Thief 2014

    DX11, Very High Details

    • GeForce GTX 960
      7
    • Radeon R9 290X
      26

    FPS (higher is better)

    Tom Clancy's The Division

    DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF

    • GeForce GTX 960
      11
    • Radeon R9 290X
      25

    FPS (higher is better)

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