GeForce GT 1030 vs Radeon R9 380X
The Radeon R9 380X is dramatically faster than the GeForce GT 1030, leading by roughly 200% 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 380X is the clear winner, offering 1110.6% better value than GeForce GT 1030.
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Radeon R9 380X vs GeForce GT 1030: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon R9 380X vs GeForce GT 1030
The Radeon R9 380X is dramatically faster, around 200% ahead of the GeForce GT 1030. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the Radeon R9 380X starts at $19 EUR against $77 EUR for the GeForce GT 1030. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon R9 380X wins on performance-per-dollar by about 1111%. The Radeon R9 380X is trading below its $229 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GT 1030 draws just 30W versus 190W for the Radeon R9 380X, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom. Its more modern Pascal architecture on a Samsung 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 4GB against 2GB, the Radeon R9 380X has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the GeForce GT 1030's 2GB can fall short.
Generation & Longevity
The GeForce GT 1030 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon R9 380X (Pascal vs GCN 3.0), 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 380X 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 380X?
The Radeon R9 380X 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 380X better than the GeForce GT 1030?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GT 1030 or the Radeon R9 380X?
Is the GeForce GT 1030 worth the extra $58 EUR over the Radeon R9 380X?
Does the Radeon R9 380X have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GT 1030 or Radeon R9 380X?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 3.0 |
| Process Node | Samsung 14nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 384 | 2,048✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,227 MHz✓ | 970 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,468 MHz✓ | 970 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 2 GB | 4 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 64-bit | 256-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 6 Gbps✓ | 5.7 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 48 GB/s | 182.4 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GT 1030 | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 30 W✓ | 190 W |
| Power Connectors | None | 2x 6-pin |
| Released | May 2017 | Nov 2015 |