GeForce GTX 960 vs Radeon R9 390
The Radeon R9 390 is dramatically faster than the GeForce GTX 960, leading by roughly 67% in our performance index. It is also the stronger value pick here, so it's the easy recommendation if your budget allows.
Market Value Leader
Radeon R9 390 is the clear winner, offering 223.7% better value than GeForce GTX 960.
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Radeon R9 390 vs GeForce GTX 960: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon R9 390 vs GeForce GTX 960
The Radeon R9 390 is dramatically faster, around 67% ahead of the GeForce GTX 960. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the Radeon R9 390 starts at $369 EUR against $717 EUR for the GeForce GTX 960. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon R9 390 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 224%. The GeForce GTX 960 still sits about $518 EUR above its $199 EUR MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GTX 960 draws just 120W versus 275W for the Radeon R9 390, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 8GB against 2GB, the Radeon R9 390 has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the GeForce GTX 960's 2GB can fall short.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 960 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 GTX 960 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 GTX 960 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon R9 390 better than the GeForce GTX 960?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 960 or the Radeon R9 390?
Is the GeForce GTX 960 worth the extra $348 EUR over the Radeon R9 390?
Does the Radeon R9 390 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R9 390?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 2.0 |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 1,024 | 2,560✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,127 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,178 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 2 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 128-bit | 512-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 7 Gbps✓ | 6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 112 GB/s | 384 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 960 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 120 W✓ | 275 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Jan 2015 | Jun 2015 |