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GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 280X

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 960

2015Core: 1127 MHzBoost: 1178 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon R9 280X

2013Boost: 1000 MHz
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GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 280X Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 960
4 GB 100
6,133
+0.5%
brand logoGeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST
brand logoGeForce GTX 880M SLI
brand logoGeForce GTX 580
brand logoGeForce GTX 670
brand logoGeForce GTX 1650 SUPER
brand logoGeForce RTX 4050 Mobile
brand logoGeForce GTX 1080 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB
Radeon R9 280X
3 GB 200
6,100
0.0%
brand logoRadeon HD8970M
brand logoRadeon HD 7800-serie
brand logoRadeon R9 370
brand logoRadeon RX 6300
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 5700
brand logoRadeon RX 7650 GRE
brand logoRadeon RX 7900M

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 960 vs Radeon R9 280X 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

Path of Exile 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low80 FPS
medium68 FPS
high57 FPS
ultra37 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low77 FPS
medium63 FPS
high50 FPS
ultra33 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low131 FPS
medium104 FPS
high83 FPS
ultra50 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low140 FPS
medium116 FPS
high95 FPS
ultra69 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low276 FPS
medium221 FPS
high184 FPS
ultra138 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low274 FPS
medium220 FPS
high183 FPS
ultra137 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low141 FPS
medium115 FPS
high100 FPS
ultra86 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low145 FPS
medium118 FPS
high102 FPS
ultra87 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low65 FPS
medium47 FPS
high32 FPS
ultra19 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low141 FPS
medium124 FPS
high101 FPS
ultra80 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low61 FPS
medium47 FPS
high36 FPS
ultra21 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low65 FPS
medium50 FPS
high41 FPS
ultra29 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low52 FPS
medium36 FPS
high29 FPS
ultra20 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low56 FPS
medium39 FPS
high31 FPS
ultra24 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low76 FPS
medium58 FPS
high47 FPS
ultra31 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low78 FPS
medium60 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra39 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce GTX 960
low71 FPS
medium55 FPS
high43 FPS
ultra32 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 280X
low71 FPS
medium55 FPS
high44 FPS
ultra32 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 280X: 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 960

2015

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 51.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.8 vs 20.4 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • ✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 3 GB).
  • ✅Draws 100W instead of 200W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 280X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

Radeon R9 280X

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅20.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 3 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2013 hardware with 3 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • ❌
    50.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $299 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 20.4 vs 30.8 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • ❌100% higher power demand at 200W vs 100W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 280X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 20.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 960 instead at 6,133 vs 6,100, 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 GTX 960 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 4 GB vs 3 GB of VRAM and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2013. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GTX 960 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $100 cheaper on MSRP at $199 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 51.1% (30.8 vs 20.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 280X still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 280X Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 960

The GeForce GTX 960 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 22 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1127 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,133 points. Launch price was $199.

AMD

Radeon R9 280X

The Radeon R9 280X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in October 8 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,100 points. Launch price was $299.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 960 scores 6,133 and the Radeon R9 280X reaches 6,100 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 960 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon R9 280X uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,024 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 2,048 (Radeon R9 280X). Raw compute: 2.413 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 960) vs 4.096 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 280X). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
G3D Mark Score
6,133
6,100
Architecture
Maxwell 2.0
GCN 1.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1024
2048+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.413 TFLOPS
4.096 TFLOPS+70%
Boost Clock
1178 MHz+18%
1000 MHz
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
64
128+100%
L1 Cache
384 KB
512 KB+33%
L2 Cache
1 MB+33%
0.75 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 960 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 280X leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
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 960 has 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 280X carries 3 GB. GeForce GTX 960 gives you 33.3% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 112 GB/s (GeForce GTX 960) vs 288 GB/s (Radeon R9 280X) — a 157.1% advantage for the Radeon R9 280X. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 960 and 384-bit on the Radeon R9 280X. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce GTX 960) vs 0.75 MB (Radeon R9 280X) — the GeForce GTX 960 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
VRAM Capacity
4 GB+33%
3 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
112 GB/s
288 GB/s+157%
Bus Width
128-bit
384-bit+200%
L2 Cache
1 MB+33%
0.75 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 960) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon R9 280X). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 3.

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
DirectX
12 (12_1)
12 (11_1)
Vulkan
1.3+8%
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4+33%
3
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (5th Gen) (GeForce GTX 960) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 280X). Decoder: NVDEC (2nd Gen) vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon R9 280X).

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
Encoder
NVENC (5th Gen)
VCE 2.0
Decoder
NVDEC (2nd Gen)
UVD 4.2
Codecs
HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 960 draws 100W versus the Radeon R9 280X's 200W — a 66.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 960 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 960) vs 500W (Radeon R9 280X). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Typical load temperature: 75 C vs 75°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
TDP
100W-50%
200W
Recommended PSU
400W-20%
500W
Power Connector
6-pin
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
241mm
—
Height
111mm
—
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
75 C
75°C
Perf/Watt
61.3+101%
30.5
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 960 came in at $199, while the Radeon R9 280X launched at $299. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 960 was 33.4% cheaper ($100 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 30.8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 20.4 (Radeon R9 280X) — the GeForce GTX 960 offers 51% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTX 960 (2015 vs 2013).

FeatureGeForce GTX 960Radeon R9 280X
MSRP
$199-33%
$299
Performance per Dollar
30.8+51%
20.4
Codename
GM206
Tahiti
Release
January 22 2015
October 8 2013
Ranking
#393
#404
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