Geforce GTX 1050 vs Radeon R9 380X

Quick Verdict

On performance, the Geforce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 380X are effectively a dead heat — under a few percent apart.

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NVIDIA

Geforce GTX 1050

Price

Reference GPU

Performance

3/100✓

VRAM

2 GB GDDR5

Key Specs Advantage

+50% Boost Clock (1,455 MHz vs 970 MHz)

Reference GPUNo Listing Available

AMD Radeon

R9 380X

Price

Reference GPU

Performance

3/100✓

VRAM

4 GB GDDR5✓

Key Specs Advantage

+220% Stream Processors (2,048 vs 640)

+100% Memory Bus (256-bit vs 128-bit)

+63% Bandwidth (182.4 GB/s vs 112 GB/s)

Reference GPUNo Listing Available

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Geforce GTX 1050 vs Radeon R9 380X: In-Depth Breakdown

Performance: Geforce GTX 1050 vs Radeon R9 380X

The Geforce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 380X post nearly the same score in our performance index, so neither holds a meaningful raw-speed advantage. Both are best suited to entry-level 1080p gaming.

Power & Efficiency

The Geforce GTX 1050 sips power at 75W next to the Radeon R9 380X's 190W, and still leads on performance-per-watt — quieter, cooler, and gentler on your PSU. Its more modern Pascal architecture on a Samsung 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.

VRAM & Future-Proofing

The Radeon R9 380X's 4GB (vs 2GB on the Geforce GTX 1050) gives it more room for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative or AI workloads.

Features & Ecosystem

Beyond raw numbers, the Geforce GTX 1050 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 GTX 1050 or Radeon R9 380X?

The Geforce GTX 1050 is the faster card. With live pricing limited for this pair, base your decision on the spec differences above — particularly VRAM and power draw — and check current stock before buying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Geforce GTX 1050 better than the Radeon R9 380X?

They're very close on raw performance. Pick based on price, VRAM, and power draw rather than speed.

Which is better for 4K gaming, the Geforce GTX 1050 or the Radeon R9 380X?

Neither is a dedicated 4K card; both are best at entry-level 1080p. For 4K you'd want a faster GPU, or lean on upscaling.

Does the Radeon R9 380X have enough VRAM advantage to matter?

Its 4GB (vs 2GB) gives real headroom for 4K, heavy texture mods, and creative/AI work. At 1080p the gap matters less.

Which should you buy: Geforce GTX 1050 or Radeon R9 380X?

Technical Specifications Comparison

Architecture & Cores

Architecture & Cores specifications comparison between Geforce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 380X
Specification	Geforce GTX 1050	Radeon R9 380X
Architecture	Pascal	GCN 3.0
Process Node	Samsung 14nm	TSMC 28nm
CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors)	640	2,048✓

Clock Speeds

Clock Speeds specifications comparison between Geforce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 380X
Specification	Geforce GTX 1050	Radeon R9 380X
Base Clock	1,354 MHz✓	970 MHz
Boost Clock	1,455 MHz✓	970 MHz

Memory

Memory specifications comparison between Geforce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 380X
Specification	Geforce GTX 1050	Radeon R9 380X
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	4 GB✓
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bus	128-bit	256-bit✓
Memory Speed	7 Gbps✓	5.7 Gbps
Bandwidth	112 GB/s	182.4 GB/s✓

Connectivity & Power

Connectivity & Power specifications comparison between Geforce GTX 1050 and Radeon R9 380X
Specification	Geforce GTX 1050	Radeon R9 380X
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
TDP	75 W✓	190 W
Power Connectors	None	2x 6-pin
Released	Oct 2016	Nov 2015