GeForce 9300GE vs Radeon HD 3000

NVIDIA

GeForce 9300GE

2015Core: 928 MHzBoost: 941 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 3000

2011Core: 750 MHz
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GeForce 9300GE vs Radeon HD 3000 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 9300GE vs Radeon HD 3000 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 9300GE vs Radeon HD 3000: 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 9300GE

2015

Why buy it

  • Draws 33W instead of 186W, a 153W reduction.
  • More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 3000 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2015 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 16700% longer card at 168mm vs 1mm.

Radeon HD 3000

2011

Why buy it

  • 2.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Measures 1mm instead of 168mm, a 167mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • 2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 463.6% higher power demand at 186W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 3000 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 9300GE instead at 98 vs 96, 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?
GeForce 9300GE is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2011. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce 9300GE makes the most sense to buy today. It is priced the same on MSRP at $50 vs $50, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 2.1% (2.0 vs 1.9), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 3000 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce 9300GE vs Radeon HD 3000 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 9300GE

The GeForce 9300GE is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 928 MHz to 941 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 98 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 3000

The Radeon HD 3000 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 1 2011. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The core clock speed is 750 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 186W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 96 points. Launch price was $180.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 9300GE scores 98 and the Radeon HD 3000 reaches 96 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9300GE is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 3000 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 9300GE) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 3000). Raw compute: 0.7227 TFLOPS (GeForce 9300GE) vs 1.92 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3000).

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
G3D Mark Score
98+2%
96
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale 3
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
1280+233%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.7227 TFLOPS
1.92 TFLOPS+166%
ROPs
8
32+300%
TMUs
24
80+233%
L1 Cache
192 KB
320 KB+67%
L2 Cache
1 MB+100%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 9300GE gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 3000 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
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 9300GE and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3000. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 9300GE) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 3000) — the GeForce 9300GE has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB+100%
0.5 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce 9300GE) vs 10.0 (Radeon HD 3000). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
DirectX
10.0
10.0
Max Displays
2
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce 9300GE) vs UVD (Radeon HD 3000). Decoder: PureVideo HD (VP2) vs UVD.

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
Encoder
None
UVD
Decoder
PureVideo HD (VP2)
UVD
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 9300GE draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 3000's 186W — a 139.7% difference. The GeForce 9300GE is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9300GE) vs 350W (Radeon HD 3000). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 168mm vs 1mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots.

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
TDP
33W-82%
186W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
1x 6-pin
Length
168mm
1mm
Height
69mm
Slots
1
0-100%
Temp (Load)
75
Perf/Watt
3.0+500%
0.5
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 9300GE came in at $50, while the Radeon HD 3000 launched at $50. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.0 (GeForce 9300GE) vs 1.9 (Radeon HD 3000) — the GeForce 9300GE offers 5.3% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 9300GE (2015 vs 2011).

FeatureGeForce 9300GERadeon HD 3000
MSRP
$50
$50
Performance per Dollar
2.0+5%
1.9
Codename
GM108
Cayman
Release
March 13 2015
December 1 2011
Ranking
#810
#598

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