GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 380

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 380 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 GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 380: 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

✅Draws 100W instead of 220W, a 120W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 380 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 380

2015

Why buy it

✅15.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌120% higher power demand at 220W vs 100W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 380 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 15.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 960 instead at 6,133 vs 6,000, 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 because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce GTX 960 makes the most sense to buy today. It is priced the same on MSRP at $199 vs $199, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 2.2% (30.8 vs 30.2), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 380 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 380 Technical Specifications

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

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.

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

The GeForce GTX 960 scores 6,133 and the Radeon R9 380 reaches 6,000 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 960 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon R9 380 uses GCN 3.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,024 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 380). Raw compute: 2.413 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 960) vs 3.476 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 380). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 970 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380
G3D Mark Score	6,133+2%	6,000
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	GCN 3.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1024	1792+75%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.413 TFLOPS	3.476 TFLOPS+44%
Boost Clock	1178 MHz+21%	970 MHz
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	64	112+75%
L1 Cache	384 KB	448 KB+17%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 960 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 380 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	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)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 112 GB/s (GeForce GTX 960) vs 182.4 GB/s (Radeon R9 380) — a 62.9% advantage for the Radeon R9 380. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 960 and 256-bit on the Radeon R9 380. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce GTX 960) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 380) — the GeForce GTX 960 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	112 GB/s	182.4 GB/s+63%
Bus Width	128-bit	256-bit+100%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs H.264,H.265 (Radeon R9 380).

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380
Encoder	NVENC (5th Gen)	—
Decoder	NVDEC (2nd Gen)	—
Codecs	HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8	H.264,H.265

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 960 draws 100W versus the Radeon R9 380's 220W — a 75% difference. The GeForce GTX 960 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 960) vs 500W (Radeon R9 380). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380
TDP	100W-55%	220W
Recommended PSU	400W-20%	500W
Power Connector	6-pin	2x 6-pin
Length	241mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Temp (Load)	75 C	—
Perf/Watt	61.3+125%	27.3

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 960 came in at $199, while the Radeon R9 380 launched at $199. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 30.8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 30.2 (Radeon R9 380) — the GeForce GTX 960 offers 2% better value.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380
MSRP	$199	$199
Performance per Dollar	30.8+2%	30.2
Codename	GM206	Antigua
Release	January 22 2015	June 18 2015
Ranking	#393	#396

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