GeForce GT 1030 vs Radeon R9 390
On raw speed the Radeon R9 390 comes out dramatically faster — about 400% ahead of the GeForce GT 1030. It also wins on performance-per-dollar, making it the cleaner choice when you can afford it.
Market Value Leader
Radeon R9 390 is the clear winner, offering 17.4% better value than GeForce GT 1030.
Maximum Capacity Reached. Remove a model to add another. (2/2)
Radeon R9 390 vs GeForce GT 1030: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon R9 390 vs GeForce GT 1030
The Radeon R9 390 is dramatically faster, around 400% ahead of the GeForce GT 1030. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
The GeForce GT 1030 currently lists from $87 EUR, $282 EUR less than the Radeon R9 390 at $369 EUR. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon R9 390 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 17%.
Power & Efficiency
At 30W against 275W, the GeForce GT 1030 is both the lower-power and the more efficient card, making it the easier build to cool and power. Its more modern Pascal architecture on a Samsung 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon R9 390 carries 8GB versus 2GB on the GeForce GT 1030. The extra 6GB helps at 4K, with high-resolution texture packs, and for content-creation or local-AI workloads that exhaust smaller buffers.
Generation & Longevity
The GeForce GT 1030 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon R9 390 (Pascal vs GCN 2.0), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GT 1030 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon R9 390 offers AMD FSR upscaling and strong rasterization value. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: GeForce GT 1030 or Radeon R9 390?
The Radeon R9 390 is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the GeForce GT 1030 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon R9 390 better than the GeForce GT 1030?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GT 1030 or the Radeon R9 390?
Is the Radeon R9 390 worth the extra $282 EUR over the GeForce GT 1030?
Does the Radeon R9 390 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GT 1030 or Radeon R9 390?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 2.0 |
| Process Node | Samsung 14nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 384 | 2,560✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,227 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,468 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 2 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 64-bit | 512-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 6 Gbps | 6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 48 GB/s | 384 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 30 W✓ | 275 W |
| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Released | May 2017 | Jun 2015 |