NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 vs AMD Radeon R9 280X

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 950
8,3518% of 104,598
Radeon R9 280X29% better
10,79210% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 280X has 29% better performance than the GeForce GTX 950 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 95046% better
52.5233% of 161.45
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 950 has 46% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q3 2015 with a MSRP of $159. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM206) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 950 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,653 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 105.8 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GTX 950 includes 768 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,024 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,188 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 48 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 950 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 250 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 90 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 950 has the 199th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 7.98% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 8,351 score and $159 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 52.52. This is the 63rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon R9 280X GPU

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The R9 280X has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 288 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The R9 280X includes 2,048 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 850 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The R9 280X occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The R9 280X has the 171st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.32% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,792 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 36.09. This is the 73rd 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 950Radeon R9 280X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2015Q4 2013
Launch Price (MSRP)$159$299
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

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Fortnite
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The Witcher 3
Display FPS for Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V

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 Fortnite
Fortnite
GeForce GTX 950Radeon R9 280X
Low - 720p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
158 FPS
High - 1080p
--
60 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
48 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
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 950 orRadeon R9 280X
GPUFrames Per Second
Radeon RX 57072+52%
Radeon RX 48064.5+36%
GeForce GTX 165061+28%
GeForce GTX 97060+26%
Radeon RX 47058.9+24%
Radeon R9 280X47.5
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti44.8-6%
GeForce GTX 105042-12%
Radeon R7 37030.2-36%
GeForce GT 103024.5-48%

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 950 orRadeon R9 280X
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)3.29-48%
Radeon RX 4803.55-44%
Radeon R7 3704.93-22%
GeForce GTX 9705.48-13%
GeForce GTX 9806.01-5%
Radeon R9 280X6.29
Radeon R9 FURY7.63+21%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 950
8,3518% of 104,598
Radeon R9 280X29% better
10,79210% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 280X has 29% better performance than the GeForce GTX 950 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 950 is ranked 199th with a score of 8,351, and the Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 95046% better
52.5233% of 161.45
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 950 has 46% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 950 is ranked 63rd with a performance per dollar of 52.52, and the Radeon R9 280X is ranked 73rd with a performance per dollar of 36.09.

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 950 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 165013,645+63%
Radeon R9 38012,191+46%
Radeon R9 280X10,792+29%
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5+29%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5+22%
Radeon R7 3708,518.5+2%
GeForce GTX 660 Ti8,415+1%
GeForce GTX 9508,351
GeForce GTX 7607,962-5%
Radeon HD 79707,770-7%

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 950 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)58.2+11%
Radeon R7 37057.17+9%
GeForce GTX 96054.11+3%
GeForce GTX 95052.52
GeForce GTX 97048.73-7%
Radeon R9 390X41.83-20%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti36.09-31%
Radeon R9 280X36.09-31%
GeForce GTX 98032.07-39%
GeForce GTX 76031.98-39%

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 950Radeon R9 280X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
2,210
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
2,393
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
37,454
52,117
(+39.15%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
6,207.5
8,343
(+34.4%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
8,520
10,241
(+20.2%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
96.6
--
PassMark G3D Mark
5,336
6,178
(+15.78%)
PassMark G2D Mark
634
686
(+8.2%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
--
95.2
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

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 950Radeon R9 280X
CodenameGM206Tahiti
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 1.0
Process Size28 nm28 nm
Transistors2,940 million4,313 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 950Radeon R9 280X
Memory Size2 GB3 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth105.8 Gb/s288 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,653 MHz1,500 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit384 bit
L1 Cache48 KB16 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB768 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 950Radeon R9 280X
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)90 W250 W
Suggested PSU250 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2DVI, 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 950Radeon R9 280X
Stream Processors (SP)--2,048
CUDA Cores768--
Compute Units (CU)--32
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)48128
Render Output Units (ROP)3232
Core Clock Speed1,024 MHz850 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,188 MHz1,000 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 950Radeon R9 280X
Pixel Fill Rate38.02 GPixel/s32 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate57.02 GTexel/s128 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance1.83 TFLOPS4.1 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance57.02 GFLOPS1,024 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 950Radeon R9 280X
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (11_1)
OpenCL3.02.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.5 (5.1)

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