GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 380
The GeForce GTX 980 pulls ahead here — in a different league, about 133% ahead of the Radeon R9 380. It also wins on performance-per-dollar, making it the cleaner choice when you can afford it.
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Comparable or lower specs
GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 380: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 380
The GeForce GTX 980 is dramatically faster, around 133% ahead of the Radeon R9 380. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Pricing has the GeForce GTX 980 at $28,966 JPY, $158,808 JPY under the Radeon R9 380's $187,774 JPY. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the GeForce GTX 980 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 1413%. The GeForce GTX 980 still sits about $28,417 JPY above its $549 JPY MSRP. The Radeon R9 380 still sits about $187,575 JPY above its $199 JPY MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
Power draw favors the GeForce GTX 980 (165W vs 190W), and it's the more efficient card too, so it's the easy pick if thermals or a smaller PSU matter.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The GeForce GTX 980 carries 4GB versus 2GB on the Radeon R9 380. The extra 2GB 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 980 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon R9 380 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 980 or Radeon R9 380?
The GeForce GTX 980 is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the Radeon R9 380 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 980 better than the Radeon R9 380?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 980 or the Radeon R9 380?
Is the Radeon R9 380 worth the extra $158,808 JPY over the GeForce GTX 980?
Does the GeForce GTX 980 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 980 or Radeon R9 380?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon R9 380 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 3.0 |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 2,048✓ | 1,792 |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon R9 380 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,126 MHz✓ | 970 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,216 MHz✓ | 970 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon R9 380 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB✓ | 2 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 7 Gbps✓ | 5.5 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 224.3 GB/s✓ | 176 GB/s |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon R9 380 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 165 W✓ | 190 W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 2x 6-pin |
| Released | Sep 2014 | Jun 2015 |