GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 390
The GeForce GTX 980 is dramatically faster than the Radeon R9 390, leading by roughly 40% 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
GeForce GTX 980 is the clear winner, offering 60.3% better value than Radeon R9 390.
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GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 390: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 390
The GeForce GTX 980 is dramatically faster, around 40% ahead of the Radeon R9 390. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the GeForce GTX 980 starts at $798 EUR against $914 EUR for the Radeon R9 390. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the GeForce GTX 980 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 60%. The GeForce GTX 980 still sits about $249 EUR above its $549 EUR MSRP. The Radeon R9 390 still sits about $585 EUR above its $329 EUR MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GTX 980 draws just 165W versus 275W for the Radeon R9 390, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 8GB against 4GB, the Radeon R9 390 has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the GeForce GTX 980's 4GB can fall short.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 980 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 980 or Radeon R9 390?
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 390 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 980 better than the Radeon R9 390?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 980 or the Radeon R9 390?
Is the Radeon R9 390 worth the extra $116 EUR over the GeForce GTX 980?
Does the Radeon R9 390 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 980 or Radeon R9 390?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 2.0 |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 2,048 | 2,560✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,126 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,216 MHz✓ | 1,000 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | 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 980 | Radeon R9 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 165 W✓ | 275 W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Sep 2014 | Jun 2015 |