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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 1060

2016

Why buy it

✅+67.7% higher PassMark G3D performance.
✅Delivers 34.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 30.2 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Draws 180W instead of 220W, a 40W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon R9 380

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (6,000 vs 10,064).
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 30.2 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
❌22.2% higher power demand at 220W vs 180W.

GeForce GTX 1060

2016

Radeon R9 380

2015

Why buy it

✅+67.7% higher PassMark G3D performance.
✅Delivers 34.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 30.2 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Draws 180W instead of 220W, a 40W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (6,000 vs 10,064).
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 30.2 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
❌22.2% higher power demand at 220W vs 180W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 1060 better than Radeon R9 380?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1060 is the better GPU overall here. You are getting 67.7% higher PassMark G3D performance and 6 GB vs 4 GB of VRAM. It also comes from 2016 instead of 2015, which helps its case as the more complete modern gaming card.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 1060 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2016 generation instead of 2015, 67.7% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 6 GB instead of 4 GB, and the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 1060 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 1060 is about 25.1% more expensive on MSRP at $249 MSRP versus $199 MSRP, and you are getting 67.7% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 380 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Radeon R9 380 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 380 is 2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 6,000 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 1060 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 380 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
1080p
low	117 FPS	101 FPS
medium	105 FPS	87 FPS
high	91 FPS	70 FPS
ultra	77 FPS	41 FPS
1440p
low	103 FPS	88 FPS
medium	87 FPS	77 FPS
high	76 FPS	55 FPS
ultra	67 FPS	31 FPS
4K
low	55 FPS	28 FPS
medium	49 FPS	26 FPS
high	41 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	15 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open Radeon R9 380

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
1080p
low	216 FPS	128 FPS
medium	181 FPS	98 FPS
high	148 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	113 FPS	52 FPS
1440p
low	134 FPS	72 FPS
medium	107 FPS	52 FPS
high	87 FPS	38 FPS
ultra	68 FPS	27 FPS
4K
low	62 FPS	27 FPS
medium	51 FPS	19 FPS
high	49 FPS	15 FPS
ultra	41 FPS	11 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open Radeon R9 380

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
1080p
low	453 FPS	270 FPS
medium	362 FPS	216 FPS
high	302 FPS	180 FPS
ultra	226 FPS	135 FPS
1440p
low	340 FPS	202 FPS
medium	272 FPS	162 FPS
high	226 FPS	135 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	101 FPS
4K
low	226 FPS	135 FPS
medium	181 FPS	108 FPS
high	151 FPS	90 FPS
ultra	113 FPS	68 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open Radeon R9 380

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
1080p
low	358 FPS	171 FPS
medium	302 FPS	142 FPS
high	260 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	226 FPS	103 FPS
1440p
low	299 FPS	121 FPS
medium	254 FPS	102 FPS
high	208 FPS	91 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	69 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	71 FPS
medium	133 FPS	57 FPS
high	123 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	102 FPS	32 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open Radeon R9 380

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1060 and Radeon R9 380

GeForce GTX 1060

The GeForce GTX 1060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 27 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1607 MHz to 1733 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 180W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 10,064 points. Launch price was $599.

Radeon R9 380

The Radeon R9 380 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 970 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 220W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,000 points. Launch price was $199.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1060 scores 10,064 versus the Radeon R9 380's 6,000 — the GeForce GTX 1060 leads by 67.7%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is built on Pascal while the Radeon R9 380 uses GCN 3.0, both on 16 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 380). Raw compute: 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 3.476 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 380). Boost clocks: 1733 MHz vs 970 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
G3D Mark Score	10,064+68%	6,000
Architecture	Pascal	GCN 3.0
Process Node	16 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2560+43%	1792
Compute (TFLOPS)	8.873 TFLOPS+155%	3.476 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1733 MHz+79%	970 MHz
ROPs	64+100%	32
TMUs	160+43%	112
L1 Cache	960 KB+114%	448 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 380 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
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)

The GeForce GTX 1060 comes with 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 380 has 4 GB. The GeForce GTX 1060 offers 50% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 182.4 GB/s (Radeon R9 380) — a 5.3% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1060. Bus width: 192-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 380) — the GeForce GTX 1060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
VRAM Capacity	6 GB+50%	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	192 GB/s+5%	182.4 GB/s
Bus Width	192-bit	256-bit+33%
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060) vs H.264,H.265 (Radeon R9 380).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
Encoder	NVENC (Pascal)	—
Decoder	NVDEC (Pascal)	—
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC	H.264,H.265

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 draws 180W versus the Radeon R9 380's 220W — a 20% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 500W (Radeon R9 380). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon R9 380
TDP	180W-18%	220W
Recommended PSU	400W-20%	500W
Power Connector	6-pin	2x 6-pin
Length	173mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Perf/Watt	55.9+105%	27.3

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 1060 launched at $249 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 380 launched at $199. The Radeon R9 380 costs 20.1% less ($50 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 30.2 (Radeon R9 380) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 33.8% better value. The GeForce GTX 1060 is the newer GPU (2016 vs 2015).