Radeon R9 390X vs Radeon RX 570
The Radeon RX 570 is significantly faster than the Radeon R9 390X, leading by roughly 20% in our performance index. The Radeon R9 390X, however, delivers more performance per dollar — $628 EUR cheaper.
Market Value Leader
Radeon R9 390X is the clear winner, offering 492.4% better value than Radeon RX 570.
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Radeon RX 570 vs Radeon R9 390X: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX 570 vs Radeon R9 390X
The Radeon RX 570 is significantly faster, around 20% ahead of the Radeon R9 390X. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the Radeon R9 390X starts at $103 EUR against $730 EUR for the Radeon RX 570. Despite being slower, the Radeon R9 390X offers the better performance-per-dollar (~492% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The Radeon R9 390X is trading below its $429 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal. The Radeon RX 570 still sits about $561 EUR above its $169 EUR MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
The Radeon RX 570 draws just 150W versus 275W for the Radeon R9 390X, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom. Its more modern GCN 4.0 (Polaris) architecture on a GloFo 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 8GB against 4GB, the Radeon R9 390X has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the Radeon RX 570's 4GB can fall short. The Radeon R9 390X's memory is also faster — 384 GB/s versus 224 GB/s (512-bit vs 256-bit bus) — which helps feed the GPU at 4K and with heavy textures.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 570 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon R9 390X (GCN 4.0 (Polaris) vs GCN 2.0), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Which should you buy: Radeon R9 390X or Radeon RX 570?
Choose the Radeon RX 570 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the Radeon R9 390X stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX 570 better than the Radeon R9 390X?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Radeon R9 390X or the Radeon RX 570?
Is the Radeon RX 570 worth the extra $628 EUR over the Radeon R9 390X?
Does the Radeon R9 390X have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: Radeon R9 390X or Radeon RX 570?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Radeon R9 390X | Radeon RX 570 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | GCN 4.0 (Polaris) |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (Stream Processors / Stream Processors) | 2,816✓ | 2,048 |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Radeon R9 390X | Radeon RX 570 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,168 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,244 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | Radeon R9 390X | Radeon RX 570 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 8 GB✓ | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 512-bit✓ | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 6 Gbps | 7 Gbps✓ |
| Bandwidth | 384 GB/s✓ | 224 GB/s |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Radeon R9 390X | Radeon RX 570 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 275 W | 150 W✓ |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Jun 2015 | Apr 2017 |
