GeForce 8300 vs Radeon X1600 Pro

NVIDIA

GeForce 8300

2014Core: 1082 MHzBoost: 1150 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon X1600 Pro

2020Core: 1130 MHzBoost: 1560 MHz

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon X1600 Pro Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon X1600 Pro FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon X1600 Pro: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 8300

2014

Why buy it

  • Costs $99 less on MSRP ($50 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
  • Delivers 207% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.0 vs 0.7 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
  • Draws 33W instead of 150W, a 117W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon X1600 Pro across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2014 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon X1600 Pro

2020

Why buy it

  • 2.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • GeForce 8300 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so Radeon X1600 Pro is the less risky modern option long term.
  • More future proof: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Older hardware, 512 MB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in newer AAA releases.
  • 198% HIGHER MSRP
    $149 MSRPvs$50 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.7 vs 2.0 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $50 MSRP).
  • 354.5% higher power demand at 150W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon X1600 Pro is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 2.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce 8300 instead at 102 vs 99, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon X1600 Pro is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 7nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2020 generation instead of 2014. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce 8300 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $99 cheaper on MSRP at $50 vs $149, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 207% (2.0 vs 0.7), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, GeForce 8300 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon X1600 Pro has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 8300 vs Radeon X1600 Pro Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce 8300

The GeForce 8300 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 22 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1150 MHz. It has 256 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 102 points.

AMD

Radeon X1600 Pro

The Radeon X1600 Pro is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 21 2020. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1130 MHz to 1560 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 99 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 8300 scores 102 and the Radeon X1600 Pro reaches 99 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 8300 is built on Maxwell while the Radeon X1600 Pro uses RDNA 1.0, both on 28 nm vs 7 nm. Shader units: 256 (GeForce 8300) vs 2,048 (Radeon X1600 Pro). Raw compute: 0.5888 TFLOPS (GeForce 8300) vs 6.39 TFLOPS (Radeon X1600 Pro). Boost clocks: 1150 MHz vs 1560 MHz.

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
G3D Mark Score
102+3%
99
Architecture
Maxwell
RDNA 1.0
Process Node
28 nm
7 nm
Shading Units
256
2048+700%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.5888 TFLOPS
6.39 TFLOPS+985%
Boost Clock
1150 MHz
1560 MHz+36%
ROPs
8
64+700%
TMUs
16
128+700%
L2 Cache
1 MB
3 MB+200%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 8300 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon X1600 Pro leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 8300 and 64-bit on the Radeon X1600 Pro. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 8300) vs 3 MB (Radeon X1600 Pro) — the Radeon X1600 Pro has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB
3 MB+200%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce 8300) vs 9.0c (Radeon X1600 Pro). Vulkan: None vs N/A. OpenGL: 3.3 vs 2.1. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
DirectX
10.0+11%
9.0c
Vulkan
None
N/A
OpenGL
3.3+57%
2.1
Max Displays
1
2+100%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 8300) vs None (Radeon X1600 Pro). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP3 vs Avivo. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (GeForce 8300) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon X1600 Pro).

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
Encoder
No
None
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP3
Avivo
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 8300 draws 33W versus the Radeon X1600 Pro's 150W — a 127.9% difference. The GeForce 8300 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 8300) vs 350W (Radeon X1600 Pro). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 168mm, occupying 0 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 75.

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
TDP
33W-78%
150W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
168mm
Height
0mm
111mm
Slots
0-100%
1
Temp (Load)
70°C-7%
75
Perf/Watt
3.1+343%
0.7
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 8300 came in at $50, while the Radeon X1600 Pro launched at $149. On MSRP, GeForce 8300 was 66.4% cheaper ($99 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.0 (GeForce 8300) vs 0.7 (Radeon X1600 Pro) — the GeForce 8300 offers 185.7% better value. The newer card here is Radeon X1600 Pro (2020 vs 2014).

FeatureGeForce 8300Radeon X1600 Pro
MSRP
$50-66%
$149
Performance per Dollar
2.0+186%
0.7
Codename
GM108
Navi 10
Release
July 22 2014
January 21 2020
Ranking
#832
#216

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