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 780 Ti

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 3 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
62.9% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$429 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 13.5 vs 21.6 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $429 MSRP).

Radeon R9 390X

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $270 less on MSRP ($429 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 59.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.6 vs 13.5 G3D/$ ($429 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅166.7% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 3 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

GeForce GTX 780 Ti

2013

Radeon R9 390X

2015

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Why buy it

✅Costs $270 less on MSRP ($429 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 59.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.6 vs 13.5 G3D/$ ($429 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅166.7% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 3 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 3 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
62.9% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$429 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 13.5 vs 21.6 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $429 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 780 Ti better than Radeon R9 390X?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 9,469 vs 9,278 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 780 Ti is the overall package: you are getting no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

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

GeForce GTX 780 Ti is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

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

GeForce GTX 780 Ti is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 780 Ti is about 62.9% more expensive on MSRP at $699 MSRP versus $429 MSRP, and you are getting 2.1% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 390X really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon R9 390X make more sense than GeForce GTX 780 Ti?

Yes. Radeon R9 390X is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture and staying closer to $429 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of GeForce GTX 780 Ti. The trade-off is that GeForce GTX 780 Ti currently gives you 2.1% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 390X still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

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 780 Ti Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 390X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	89 FPS	135 FPS
medium	74 FPS	115 FPS
high	59 FPS	94 FPS
ultra	40 FPS	57 FPS
1440p
low	71 FPS	113 FPS
medium	59 FPS	96 FPS
high	43 FPS	70 FPS
ultra	29 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	29 FPS	39 FPS
medium	26 FPS	36 FPS
high	19 FPS	22 FPS
ultra	16 FPS	19 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 780 Ti Open Radeon R9 390X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	171 FPS	201 FPS
medium	143 FPS	176 FPS
high	113 FPS	146 FPS
ultra	82 FPS	115 FPS
1440p
low	114 FPS	138 FPS
medium	85 FPS	110 FPS
high	65 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	68 FPS
4K
low	49 FPS	61 FPS
medium	39 FPS	50 FPS
high	34 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	36 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 780 Ti Open Radeon R9 390X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	426 FPS	418 FPS
medium	341 FPS	334 FPS
high	284 FPS	278 FPS
ultra	213 FPS	209 FPS
1440p
low	320 FPS	313 FPS
medium	256 FPS	251 FPS
high	213 FPS	209 FPS
ultra	160 FPS	157 FPS
4K
low	213 FPS	209 FPS
medium	170 FPS	167 FPS
high	142 FPS	139 FPS
ultra	107 FPS	104 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 780 Ti Open Radeon R9 390X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	145 FPS	283 FPS
medium	115 FPS	247 FPS
high	96 FPS	206 FPS
ultra	77 FPS	163 FPS
1440p
low	105 FPS	204 FPS
medium	85 FPS	180 FPS
high	71 FPS	144 FPS
ultra	55 FPS	110 FPS
4K
low	63 FPS	115 FPS
medium	47 FPS	94 FPS
high	37 FPS	77 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	57 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 780 Ti Open Radeon R9 390X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 780 Ti and Radeon R9 390X

GeForce GTX 780 Ti

The GeForce GTX 780 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in November 7 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 875 MHz to 928 MHz. It has 2880 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,469 points. Launch price was $699.

Radeon R9 390X

The Radeon R9 390X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1050 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,278 points. Launch price was $429.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 9,469 and the Radeon R9 390X reaches 9,278 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 780 Ti is built on Kepler while the Radeon R9 390X uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,880 (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 2,816 (Radeon R9 390X). Raw compute: 5.345 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 5.914 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390X). Boost clocks: 928 MHz vs 1050 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
G3D Mark Score	9,469+2%	9,278
Architecture	Kepler	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2880+2%	2816
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.345 TFLOPS	5.914 TFLOPS+11%
Boost Clock	928 MHz	1050 MHz+13%
ROPs	48	64+33%
TMUs	240+36%	176
L1 Cache	240 KB	704 KB+193%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 780 Ti gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 390X relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
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 780 Ti comes with 3 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 390X has 8 GB. The Radeon R9 390X offers 166.7% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 336 GB/s (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 384 GB/s (Radeon R9 390X) — a 14.3% advantage for the Radeon R9 390X. Bus width: 384-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390X) — the GeForce GTX 780 Ti has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
VRAM Capacity	3 GB	8 GB+167%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	336 GB/s	384 GB/s+14%
Bus Width	384-bit	512-bit+33%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R9 390X). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
DirectX	12	12 (12_0)
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390X). Decoder: NVDEC 1st gen vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390X).

Feature	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
Encoder	NVENC 1st gen	VCE 2.0
Decoder	NVDEC 1st gen	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1	H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 780 Ti draws 250W versus the Radeon R9 390X's 275W — a 9.5% difference. The GeForce GTX 780 Ti is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390X). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 277mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 83°C vs 80.

Feature	GeForce GTX 780 Ti	Radeon R9 390X
TDP	250W-9%	275W
Recommended PSU	600W-20%	750W
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	267mm	277mm
Height	111mm	129mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	83°C	80-4%
Perf/Watt	37.9+12%	33.7

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 780 Ti launched at $699 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 390X launched at $429. The Radeon R9 390X costs 38.6% less ($270 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 13.5 (GeForce GTX 780 Ti) vs 21.6 (Radeon R9 390X) — the Radeon R9 390X offers 60% better value. The Radeon R9 390X is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2013).