GeForce GTX 480
Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
GeForce GTX 480 vs Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 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 GTX 480 vs Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 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.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce GTX 480 vs Radeon R9 270 / R7 370: 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 GTX 480
2010Why buy it
- ✅11.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
Trade-offs
- ❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2010 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌234.9% HIGHER MSRP$499 MSRPvs$149 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 8.2 vs 28.6 G3D/$ ($499 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
- ❌127.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 110W.
Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
2015Why buy it
- ✅Costs $350 less on MSRP ($149 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 250.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 28.6 vs 8.2 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
- ✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 2 GB).
- ✅Draws 110W instead of 250W, a 140W reduction.
- ✅Measures 220mm instead of 267mm, a 47mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 480 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌2015 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GTX 480 vs Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 480
The GeForce GTX 480 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 26 2010. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 480 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,075 points. Launch price was $499.
Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 5 2015. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 925 MHz to 975 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 110W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,260 points.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GTX 480 scores 4,075 and the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 reaches 4,260 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 480 is built on Fermi while the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 480 (GeForce GTX 480) vs 1,280 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Raw compute: 1.345 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 480) vs 2.496 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 4,075 | 4,260+5% |
| Architecture | Fermi | GCN 1.0 |
| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |
| Shading Units | 480 | 1280+167% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 1.345 TFLOPS | 2.496 TFLOPS+86% |
| ROPs | 48+50% | 32 |
| TMUs | 60 | 80+33% |
| L1 Cache | 960 KB+150% | 384 KB |
| L2 Cache | 768 KB+50% | 512 KB |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GTX 480 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 480 has 2 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 carries 2 GB. Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 gives you 33.3% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 177.4 GB/s (GeForce GTX 480) vs 179.2 GB/s (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) — a 1% advantage for the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370. Memory bus width is 384-bit on the GeForce GTX 480 and 256-bit on the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370. L2 Cache: 768 KB (GeForce GTX 480) vs 512 KB (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) — the GeForce GTX 480 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 1.5 GB | 2 GB+33% |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 177.4 GB/s | 179.2 GB/s+1% |
| Bus Width | 384-bit+50% | 256-bit |
| L2 Cache | 768 KB+50% | 512 KB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce GTX 480) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 4.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (11_1) |
| Vulkan | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Max Displays | 2 | 4+100% |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: PureVideo HD VP4 (GeForce GTX 480) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 4.0. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GTX 480) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | PureVideo HD VP4 | VCE 1.0 |
| Decoder | PureVideo HD VP4 | UVD 4.0 |
| Codecs | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 ASP | H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 480 draws 250W versus the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370's 110W — a 77.8% difference. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX 480) vs 450W (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 220mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 90°C vs 70.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 250W | 110W-56% |
| Recommended PSU | 600W | 450W-25% |
| Power Connector | 6-pin + 8-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| Length | 267mm | 220mm |
| Height | 111mm | 111mm |
| Slots | 2 | 2 |
| Temp (Load) | 90°C | 70-22% |
| Perf/Watt | 16.3 | 38.7+137% |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce GTX 480 came in at $499, while the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 launched at $149. On MSRP, Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 was 70.1% cheaper ($350 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 8.2 (GeForce GTX 480) vs 28.6 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) — the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 offers 248.8% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 (2015 vs 2010).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 480 | Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $499 | $149-70% |
| Performance per Dollar | 8.2 | 28.6+249% |
| Codename | GF100 | Trinidad |
| Release | March 26 2010 | May 5 2015 |
| Ranking | #488 | #456 |
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