Radeon R9 390 vs Radeon RX 550
The Radeon R9 390 is dramatically faster than the Radeon RX 550, leading by roughly 400% in our performance index. It is also the stronger value pick here, so it's the easy recommendation if your budget allows.
Market Value Leader
Radeon R9 390 is the clear winner, offering 79.8% better value than Radeon RX 550.
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Radeon R9 390 vs Radeon RX 550: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon R9 390 vs Radeon RX 550
The Radeon R9 390 is dramatically faster, around 400% ahead of the Radeon RX 550. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p. The Radeon R9 390 packs 2,560 stream processors versus 640 on the Radeon RX 550.
Price & Value
Right now the Radeon RX 550 starts at $133 EUR against $369 EUR for the Radeon R9 390. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon R9 390 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 80%.
Power & Efficiency
The Radeon RX 550 draws just 50W versus 275W for the Radeon R9 390, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom. Its more modern GCN 4.0 (Polaris) architecture on a GloFo 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 8GB against 2GB, the Radeon R9 390 has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the Radeon RX 550's 2GB can fall short. The Radeon R9 390's memory is also faster — 384 GB/s versus 96 GB/s (512-bit vs 128-bit bus) — which helps feed the GPU at 4K and with heavy textures.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 550 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon R9 390 (GCN 4.0 (Polaris) vs GCN 2.0), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Which should you buy: Radeon R9 390 or Radeon RX 550?
The Radeon R9 390 is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the Radeon RX 550 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon R9 390 better than the Radeon RX 550?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Radeon R9 390 or the Radeon RX 550?
Is the Radeon R9 390 worth the extra $236 EUR over the Radeon RX 550?
Does the Radeon R9 390 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: Radeon R9 390 or Radeon RX 550?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 550 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | GCN 4.0 (Polaris) |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (Stream Processors / Stream Processors) | 2,560✓ | 640 |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 550 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,000 MHz | 1,019 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,000 MHz | 1,183 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 550 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 8 GB✓ | 2 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 512-bit✓ | 128-bit |
| Memory Speed | 6 Gbps | 6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 384 GB/s✓ | 96 GB/s |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 550 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |
| TDP | 275 W | 50 W✓ |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | None |
| Released | Jun 2015 | Apr 2017 |