GeForce RTX 4070 vs Radeon R9 285 / 380

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 4070

2023Core: 1920 MHzBoost: 2475 MHz

Popular choices:

VS
AMD

Radeon R9 285 / 380

2014Core: 918 MHz

Popular choices:

RTX 4070

Performance Spectrum - GPU

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.

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 RTX 4070

2023

Why buy it

  • +385% higher PassMark G3D performance.
  • Delivers 61.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 44.9 vs 27.9 G3D/$ ($599 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • Access to a newer frame-generation stack with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
  • 500% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (12 GB vs 2 GB).
  • More future proof: Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 37.6% longer card at 304mm vs 221mm.

Radeon R9 285 / 380

2014

Why buy it

  • Costs $400 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $599 MSRP).
  • Measures 221mm instead of 304mm, a 83mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Lower PassMark G3D performance (5,550 vs 26,919).
  • Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 12 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • No equivalent frame-generation stack like DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
  • Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 27.9 vs 44.9 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $599 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce RTX 4070 better than Radeon R9 285 / 380?
Yes. GeForce RTX 4070 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 26,919 vs 5,550 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce RTX 4070 is a 2023 card with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation, while Radeon R9 285 / 380 is a 2014 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.
Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce RTX 4070 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2023 generation instead of 2014, 385.0% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 12 GB instead of 2 GB, and better frame-generation support with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023) instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.
Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?
GeForce RTX 4070 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce RTX 4070 is about 201.0% more expensive on MSRP at $599 MSRP versus $199 MSRP, and you are getting 385.0% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 285 / 380 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.
Is Radeon R9 285 / 380 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?
No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 285 / 380 is 2014 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM, 5,550 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

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.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

PresetGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
1080p
low183 FPS80 FPS
medium167 FPS65 FPS
high151 FPS52 FPS
ultra131 FPS34 FPS
1440p
low150 FPS67 FPS
medium124 FPS56 FPS
high110 FPS40 FPS
ultra101 FPS25 FPS
4K
low92 FPS25 FPS
medium78 FPS23 FPS
high65 FPS15 FPS
ultra58 FPS13 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

PresetGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
1080p
low544 FPS138 FPS
medium454 FPS105 FPS
high353 FPS83 FPS
ultra299 FPS56 FPS
1440p
low351 FPS78 FPS
medium288 FPS55 FPS
high235 FPS41 FPS
ultra197 FPS29 FPS
4K
low172 FPS28 FPS
medium144 FPS20 FPS
high125 FPS16 FPS
ultra101 FPS11 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

PresetGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
1080p
low884 FPS250 FPS
medium713 FPS200 FPS
high643 FPS166 FPS
ultra569 FPS125 FPS
1440p
low684 FPS187 FPS
medium549 FPS150 FPS
high483 FPS125 FPS
ultra424 FPS94 FPS
4K
low467 FPS125 FPS
medium373 FPS100 FPS
high326 FPS83 FPS
ultra277 FPS62 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

PresetGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
1080p
low751 FPS139 FPS
medium612 FPS113 FPS
high536 FPS97 FPS
ultra497 FPS80 FPS
1440p
low615 FPS103 FPS
medium500 FPS85 FPS
high433 FPS73 FPS
ultra395 FPS57 FPS
4K
low384 FPS61 FPS
medium324 FPS47 FPS
high301 FPS36 FPS
ultra272 FPS26 FPS

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 4070 and Radeon R9 285 / 380

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 4070

The GeForce RTX 4070 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2023. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 1920 MHz to 2475 MHz. It has 5888 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 46 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 26,919 points. Launch price was $599.

AMD

Radeon R9 285 / 380

The Radeon R9 285 / 380 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 2 2014. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 918 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 190W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,550 points. Launch price was $249.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 4070 scores 26,919 versus the Radeon R9 285 / 380's 5,550 — the GeForce RTX 4070 leads by 385%. The GeForce RTX 4070 is built on Ada Lovelace while the Radeon R9 285 / 380 uses GCN 3.0, both on 5 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 5,888 (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 285 / 380). Raw compute: 29.15 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 3.29 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 285 / 380).

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
G3D Mark Score
26,919+385%
5,550
Architecture
Ada Lovelace
GCN 3.0
Process Node
5 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
5888+229%
1792
Compute (TFLOPS)
29.15 TFLOPS+786%
3.29 TFLOPS
ROPs
64+100%
32
TMUs
184+64%
112
L1 Cache
5.8 MB+1218%
0.44 MB
L2 Cache
36 MB+7100%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

A critical advantage for the GeForce RTX 4070 is support for DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation. This allows it to generate entire frames using AI/Algorithms, essentially doubling the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios or heavy ray-tracing titles. The Radeon R9 285 / 380 lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.The GeForce RTX 4070 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 285 / 380 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
Upscaling Tech
DLSS 3.5 Super Resolution
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
Yes (DLSS 3.5)
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce RTX 4070 comes with 12 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 285 / 380 has 2 GB. The GeForce RTX 4070 offers 500% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 504 GB/s (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 176 GB/s (Radeon R9 285 / 380) — a 186.4% advantage for the GeForce RTX 4070. Bus width: 192-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 36 MB (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 285 / 380) — the GeForce RTX 4070 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
VRAM Capacity
12 GB+500%
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6X
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
504 GB/s+186%
176 GB/s
Bus Width
192-bit
256-bit+33%
L2 Cache
36 MB+7100%
0.5 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 12 (Radeon R9 285 / 380). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
DirectX
12.2+2%
12
Vulkan
1.3+8%
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: 8th Gen NVENC (2x) (GeForce RTX 4070) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 285 / 380). Decoder: 5th Gen NVDEC vs UVD 5.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (GeForce RTX 4070) vs H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon R9 285 / 380).

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
Encoder
8th Gen NVENC (2x)
VCE 3.0
Decoder
5th Gen NVDEC
UVD 5.0
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1
H.264,HEVC,VP9
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 4070 draws 200W versus the Radeon R9 285 / 380's 190W — a 5.1% difference. The Radeon R9 285 / 380 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 650W (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 500W (Radeon R9 285 / 380). Power connectors: 8-pin vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 304mm vs 221mm, occupying 3 vs 2 slots.

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
TDP
200W
190W-5%
Recommended PSU
650W
500W-23%
Power Connector
8-pin
2x 6-pin
Length
304mm
221mm
Height
137mm
111mm
Slots
3
2-33%
Temp (Load)
80°C
Perf/Watt
134.6+361%
29.2
💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce RTX 4070 launched at $599 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 285 / 380 launched at $199. The Radeon R9 285 / 380 costs 66.8% less ($400 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 44.9 (GeForce RTX 4070) vs 27.9 (Radeon R9 285 / 380) — the GeForce RTX 4070 offers 60.9% better value. The GeForce RTX 4070 is the newer GPU (2023 vs 2014).

FeatureGeForce RTX 4070Radeon R9 285 / 380
MSRP
$599
$199-67%
Performance per Dollar
44.9+61%
27.9
Codename
AD104
Tonga
Release
April 12 2023
September 2 2014
Ranking
#32
#365