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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 vs AMD Radeon R9 390X

NVIDIA
VS
AMD
Performance
GeForce GTX 108063% better
29,26328% of 104,937
Radeon R9 390X
17,94417% of 104,937

The GeForce GTX 1080 has 63% better performance than the Radeon R9 390X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 108017% better
48.8530% of 161.45
Radeon R9 390X
41.8326% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 1080 has 17% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 390X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 GPU

The GeForce GTX 1080 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card by NVIDIA. It launched in Q2 2016 with a suggested retail price of $599. Its GP104 chip that powers the GPU uses the Pascal architecture and is fabricated on the 16 nm process.

Memory

This GPU is paired with 8 GB of GDDR5X VRAM. Its 1,251 MHz memory clock and 256 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 320.3 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

Compatibility

The GTX 1080 is a dual slot graphics card, taking up 2 PCIe slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 180 W. NVIDIA recommends using a power supply of at least 450 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GeForce GTX 1080 has the 78th highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 27.89% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 29,263 score and $599 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 48.85. This is the 65th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon R9 390X GPU

The Radeon R9 390X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card by AMD. It launched in Q2 2015 with a suggested retail price of $429. Its Grenada chip that powers the GPU uses the GCN 2.0 architecture and is fabricated on the 28 nm process.

Memory

This GPU is paired with 8 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Its 1,500 MHz memory clock and 512 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 384 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

Compatibility

The R9 390X is a dual slot graphics card, taking up 2 PCIe slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 275 W. AMD recommends using a power supply of at least 600 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The Radeon R9 390X has the 121st highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 17.10% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 17,944 score and $429 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 41.83. This is the 68th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitecturePascalGCN 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ2 2016Q2 2015
Launch Price (MSRP)$599$429
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Display FPS for Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3
Display FPS for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Display FPS for Flight Simulator 2020
Flight Simulator 2020
Display FPS for F1 2020
F1 2020
Display FPS for Gears Tactics
Gears Tactics
Display FPS for Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
GeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
Low - 1080p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
47 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
28 FPS
--
4K UHD - 2160p
11 FPS
--
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 1080 orRadeon R9 390X

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 1080 orRadeon R9 390X
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 570025.47-53%
Radeon RX 5700 XT25.58-53%
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER28.77-47%
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti42.88-21%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER47.32-13%
GeForce GTX 108054.45

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 108063% better
29,26328% of 104,937
Radeon R9 390X
17,94417% of 104,937

The GeForce GTX 1080 has 63% better performance than the Radeon R9 390X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 1080 is ranked 78th with a score of 29,263, and the Radeon R9 390X is ranked 121st with a score of 17,944.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 108017% better
48.8530% of 161.45
Radeon R9 390X
41.8326% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 1080 has 17% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 390X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 1080 is ranked 65th with a performance per dollar of 48.85, and the Radeon R9 390X is ranked 68th with a performance per dollar of 41.83.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 1080 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
Radeon RX Vega 6430,823.5+5%
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER29,636.5+1%
GeForce GTX 108029,263
Radeon RX Vega 5629,086-1%
GeForce RTX 306028,375-3%
Radeon RX 57018,967-35%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER18,218-38%
Radeon R9 390X17,944-39%
Radeon RX 48017,919-39%
Radeon RX 47017,624.5-40%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 1080 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Radeon VII54.19+11%
GeForce GTX 96054.11+11%
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti53.89+10%
GeForce GTX 108048.85
GeForce GTX 97048.73-0%
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti47.21-3%
Radeon R9 390X41.83-14%
Radeon R9 280X36.09-26%
GeForce GTX 980 Ti35.53-27%
GeForce GTX 98032.07-34%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
7,185
--
3DMark Time Spy Score
6,902
--
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
119,971
(+61.36%)
74,351
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
21,408.5
(+72.8%)
12,389
3DMark 11 Performance Score
21,289.5
(+48.6%)
14,327
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
121.8
130.9
(+7.47%)
PassMark G3D Mark
15,539
(+64.61%)
9,440
PassMark G2D Mark
885
(+6.5%)
831
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
269
--
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
CodenameGP104Grenada
ArchitecturePascalGCN 2.0
Process Size16 nm28 nm
Transistors7,200 million6,200 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
Memory Size8 GB8 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5XGDDR5
Memory Bandwidth320.3 Gb/s384 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,251 MHz1,500 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit512 bit
L1 Cache48 KB16 KB
L2 Cache2 MB1,024 KB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)180 W275 W
Suggested PSU450 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 8-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4aDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
Stream Processors (SP)--2,816
CUDA Cores2,560--
Compute Units (CU)--44
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)20--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)160176
Render Output Units (ROP)6464
Core Clock Speed1,607 MHz1,050 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,733 MHz--

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
Pixel Fill Rate110.9 GPixel/s67.2 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate277.3 GTexel/s184.8 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance8.87 TFLOPS5.91 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance277.3 GFLOPS739.2 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecGeForce GTX 1080Radeon R9 390X
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_0)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.76.5

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.