GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 380
On raw speed the GeForce GTX 980 comes out dramatically faster — about 133% ahead of the Radeon R9 380. But the Radeon R9 380 is the better value, undercutting it by $770 EUR for the performance you get.
Market Value Leader
Radeon R9 380 is the clear winner, offering 1125.8% better value than GeForce GTX 980.
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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
The Radeon R9 380 currently lists from $28 EUR, $770 EUR less than the GeForce GTX 980 at $798 EUR. Despite being slower, the Radeon R9 380 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~1126% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The Radeon R9 380 is trading below its $199 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal. The GeForce GTX 980 still sits about $249 EUR above its $549 EUR MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
At 165W against 190W, the GeForce GTX 980 is both the lower-power and the more efficient card, making it the easier build to cool and power.
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?
Choose the GeForce GTX 980 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the Radeon R9 380 stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
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 GeForce GTX 980 worth the extra $770 EUR over the Radeon R9 380?
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 |