Radeon R9 390 vs Radeon RX 580
The Radeon RX 580 pulls ahead here — substantially quicker, about 20% ahead of the Radeon R9 390. But the Radeon R9 390 is the better value, undercutting it by $30 USD for the performance you get.
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Radeon RX 580 vs Radeon R9 390: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX 580 vs Radeon R9 390
The Radeon RX 580 is significantly faster, around 20% ahead of the Radeon R9 390. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Pricing has the Radeon R9 390 at $80 USD, $30 USD under the Radeon RX 580's $110 USD. Despite being slower, the Radeon R9 390 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~15% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The Radeon R9 390 is trading below its $329 USD MSRP — a genuine deal. The Radeon RX 580 is trading below its $229 USD MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
Power draw favors the Radeon RX 580 (185W vs 275W), and it's the more efficient card too, so it's the easy pick if thermals or a smaller PSU matter. Its more modern GCN 4.0 (Polaris) architecture on a GloFo 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
Memory & Bandwidth
The Radeon R9 390's memory is faster — 384 GB/s versus 256 GB/s (512-bit vs 256-bit bus) — which helps feed the GPU at 4K and with heavy textures.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 580 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon R9 390 (GCN 4.0 (Polaris) vs GCN 2.0), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Which should you buy: Radeon R9 390 or Radeon RX 580?
Choose the Radeon RX 580 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the Radeon R9 390 stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX 580 better than the Radeon R9 390?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Radeon R9 390 or the Radeon RX 580?
Is the Radeon RX 580 worth the extra $30 USD over the Radeon R9 390?
Which should you buy: Radeon R9 390 or Radeon RX 580?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | GCN 4.0 (Polaris) |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (Stream Processors / Stream Processors) | 2,560✓ | 2,304 |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,000 MHz | 1,257 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,000 MHz | 1,340 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 512-bit✓ | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 6 Gbps | 8 Gbps✓ |
| Bandwidth | 384 GB/s✓ | 256 GB/s |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Radeon R9 390 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 275 W | 185 W✓ |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Jun 2015 | Apr 2017 |
