GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon R9 390
The GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 390 trade blows on raw performance, landing within a few percent of each other. But the Radeon R9 390 is the better value, undercutting it by $31 EUR for the performance you get.
Market Value Leader
Radeon R9 390 is the clear winner, offering 8.4% better value than GeForce GTX 970.
Maximum Capacity Reached. Remove a model to add another. (2/2)
GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon R9 390: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon R9 390
The GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 390 post nearly the same score in our performance index, so neither holds a meaningful raw-speed advantage. Both are best suited to entry-level 1080p gaming.
Price & Value
The Radeon R9 390 currently lists from $369 EUR, $31 EUR less than the GeForce GTX 970 at $400 EUR. Despite being slower, the Radeon R9 390 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~8% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully.
Power & Efficiency
At 145W against 275W, the GeForce GTX 970 is both the lower-power and the more efficient card, making it the easier build to cool and power.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon R9 390 carries 8GB versus 4GB on the GeForce GTX 970. The extra 4GB helps at 4K, with high-resolution texture packs, and for content-creation or local-AI workloads that exhaust smaller buffers.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 970 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 970 or Radeon R9 390?
Choose the GeForce GTX 970 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the Radeon R9 390 stretches your money further for near-identical performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 970 better than the Radeon R9 390?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 970 or the Radeon R9 390?
Is the GeForce GTX 970 worth the extra $31 EUR over the Radeon R9 390?
Does the Radeon R9 390 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 390?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 2.0 |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 1,664 | 2,560✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,050 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,178 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 512-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 7 Gbps✓ | 6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 224.3 GB/s | 384 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 145 W✓ | 275 W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Sep 2014 | Jun 2015 |