GeForce GTX TITAN Black vs Radeon R9 390X

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX TITAN Black

2014Core: 889 MHzBoost: 980 MHz
Similar parts
·····
VS
AMD

Radeon R9 390X

2015Boost: 1050 MHz
Similar parts
·······

GeForce GTX TITAN Black vs Radeon R9 390X 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 TITAN Black vs Radeon R9 390X 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 TITAN Black vs Radeon R9 390X: 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 TITAN Black

2014

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 390X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2014 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 132.9% HIGHER MSRP
    $999 MSRPvs$429 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 21.6 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs $429 MSRP).

Radeon R9 390X

2015

Why buy it

  • 12.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Costs $570 less on MSRP ($429 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
  • Delivers 135.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.6 vs 9.2 G3D/$ ($429 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
  • 33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 390X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 12.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (9,278 vs 9,177), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX TITAN Black 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?
Radeon R9 390X makes the most sense to buy today. It is $570 cheaper on MSRP at $429 vs $999, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 135.4% (21.6 vs 9.2), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R9 390X is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX TITAN Black has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX TITAN Black vs Radeon R9 390X Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX TITAN Black

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 18 2014. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 889 MHz to 980 MHz. It has 2880 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,177 points. Launch price was $999.

AMD

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 TITAN Black scores 9,177 and the Radeon R9 390X reaches 9,278 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX TITAN Black 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 TITAN Black) vs 2,816 (Radeon R9 390X). Raw compute: 5.645 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 5.914 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390X). Boost clocks: 980 MHz vs 1050 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon R9 390X
G3D Mark Score
9,177
9,278+1%
Architecture
Kepler
GCN 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
2880+2%
2816
Compute (TFLOPS)
5.645 TFLOPS
5.914 TFLOPS+5%
Boost Clock
980 MHz
1050 MHz+7%
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 TITAN Black gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 390X leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon 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 TITAN Black has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 390X carries 8 GB. Radeon R9 390X gives you 33.3% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 336 GB/s (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 384 GB/s (Radeon R9 390X) — a 14.3% advantage for the Radeon R9 390X. Memory bus width is 384-bit on the GeForce GTX TITAN Black and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 390X. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390X) — the GeForce GTX TITAN Black has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon R9 390X
VRAM Capacity
6 GB
8 GB+33%
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: 12.0 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) 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.

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon R9 390X
DirectX
12.0
12 (12_0)
Vulkan
1.2
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1.0 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390X). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP5 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390X).

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon R9 390X
Encoder
NVENC 1.0
VCE 2.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP5
UVD 4.2
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black draws 250W versus the Radeon R9 390X's 275W — a 9.5% difference. The GeForce GTX TITAN Black is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) 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: 80°C vs 80.

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon 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)
80°C
80
Perf/Watt
36.7+9%
33.7
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX TITAN Black came in at $999, while the Radeon R9 390X launched at $429. On MSRP, Radeon R9 390X was 57.1% cheaper ($570 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 9.2 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 21.6 (Radeon R9 390X) — the Radeon R9 390X offers 134.8% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R9 390X (2015 vs 2014).

FeatureGeForce GTX TITAN BlackRadeon R9 390X
MSRP
$999
$429-57%
Performance per Dollar
9.2
21.6+135%
Codename
GK110B
Grenada
Release
February 18 2014
June 18 2015
Ranking
#288
#287

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.