GPU Comparison
Select up to 2 GPUs to analyze their pricing, performance, and specifications side-by-side.
The Radeon R9 380X is dramatically faster than the GeForce GT 1030, leading by roughly 200% in our performance index. The GeForce GT 1030, however, delivers more performance per dollar — $264 USD cheaper.
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Radeon R9 380X vs GeForce GT 1030: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon R9 380X vs GeForce GT 1030
The Radeon R9 380X is dramatically faster, around 200% ahead of the GeForce GT 1030. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the GeForce GT 1030 starts at $85 USD against $349 USD for the Radeon R9 380X. Despite being slower, the GeForce GT 1030 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~37% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The Radeon R9 380X still sits about $120 USD above its $229 USD MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GT 1030 draws just 30W versus 190W for the Radeon R9 380X, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom. Its more modern Pascal architecture on a Samsung 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 4GB against 2GB, the Radeon R9 380X has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the GeForce GT 1030's 2GB can fall short.
Generation & Longevity
The GeForce GT 1030 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon R9 380X (Pascal vs GCN 3.0), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GT 1030 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 GT 1030 or Radeon R9 380X?
Choose the Radeon R9 380X if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the GeForce GT 1030 stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.