GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 380

Quick Verdict

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.

Maximum Capacity Reached. Remove a model to add another. (2/2)

NVIDIA GeForce

GTX 980

Price

$80 USD

Performance

7/100✓

VRAM

4 GB GDDR5✓

Key Specs Advantage

+27% Bandwidth (224.3 GB/s vs 176 GB/s)

+25% Boost Clock (1,216 MHz vs 970 MHz)

+14% CUDA Cores (2,048 vs 1,792)

$248 USDPNY GeForce GTX 980 4GB CG EDITION Graphics Card

$80 USDGIGABYTE GeForce GTX 980 4GB GDDR5 PCiE Graphics Cards GV-N980WF3-4GD (Renewed)

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AMD Radeon

R9 380

Price

$42 USD✓

Performance

3/100

VRAM

2 GB GDDR5

Key Specs Advantage

Comparable or lower specs

$349 USDSAPPHIRE NITRO Radeon R9 380 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Graphics Card 100384NT4GOC-2L

$42 USDXFX Black Edition DD Radeon R9 380 1030MHZ 4GB D5 DP HDMI 2XDVI Graphics Cards R9-380P-D24M (Renewed)

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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 Radeon R9 380 at $42 USD, $38 USD under the GeForce GTX 980's $80 USD. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the GeForce GTX 980 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 24%. The Radeon R9 380 is trading below its $199 USD MSRP — a genuine deal. The GeForce GTX 980 is trading below its $549 USD MSRP — a genuine deal.

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?

The GeForce GTX 980 is dramatically faster, roughly 133% ahead. If your budget allows, it's the stronger pick.

Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 980 or the Radeon R9 380?

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.

Is the GeForce GTX 980 worth the extra $38 USD over the Radeon R9 380?

Often yes — despite the higher price the GeForce GTX 980 delivers better performance-per-dollar here.

Does the GeForce GTX 980 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 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.

Technical Specifications Comparison

Architecture & Cores

Architecture & Cores specifications comparison between GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon R9 380
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

Clock Speeds specifications comparison between GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon R9 380
Specification	GeForce GTX 980	Radeon R9 380
Base Clock	1,126 MHz✓	970 MHz
Boost Clock	1,216 MHz✓	970 MHz

Memory

Memory specifications comparison between GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon R9 380
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

Connectivity & Power specifications comparison between GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon R9 380
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