G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 960

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $30 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
✅Delivers 15.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.8 vs 26.8 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
✅Draws 100W instead of 250W, a 150W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon R9 380X

2015

Why buy it

✅Measures 221mm instead of 241mm, a 20mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
15.1% HIGHER MSRP
$229 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.8 vs 30.8 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌150% higher power demand at 250W vs 100W.

GeForce GTX 960

2015

Radeon R9 380X

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $30 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
✅Delivers 15.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.8 vs 26.8 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
✅Draws 100W instead of 250W, a 150W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Measures 221mm instead of 241mm, a 20mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
15.1% HIGHER MSRP
$229 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.8 vs 30.8 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌150% higher power demand at 250W vs 100W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 960 better than Radeon R9 380X?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 6,133 vs 6,131 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 960 is the overall package: you are getting no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (100W vs 250W).

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 960 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 960 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $199 MSRP. GeForce GTX 960 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GTX 960 is about $30 cheaper on MSRP at $199 MSRP versus $229 MSRP, and you are getting 0.0% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $199 MSRP gets you lower power draw (100W vs 250W), and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Is Radeon R9 380X still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon R9 380X is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $229 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. GeForce GTX 960 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 960 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 380X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
1080p
low	103 FPS	78 FPS
medium	87 FPS	67 FPS
high	72 FPS	54 FPS
ultra	42 FPS	35 FPS
1440p
low	90 FPS	68 FPS
medium	77 FPS	60 FPS
high	56 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	27 FPS
4K
low	28 FPS	25 FPS
medium	26 FPS	23 FPS
high	18 FPS	15 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	13 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960 Open Radeon R9 380X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
1080p
low	139 FPS	133 FPS
medium	109 FPS	105 FPS
high	88 FPS	86 FPS
ultra	53 FPS	61 FPS
1440p
low	77 FPS	78 FPS
medium	57 FPS	58 FPS
high	42 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	28 FPS	31 FPS
4K
low	27 FPS	31 FPS
medium	19 FPS	23 FPS
high	16 FPS	18 FPS
ultra	11 FPS	13 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960 Open Radeon R9 380X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
1080p
low	276 FPS	276 FPS
medium	221 FPS	221 FPS
high	184 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	138 FPS	138 FPS
1440p
low	207 FPS	207 FPS
medium	166 FPS	166 FPS
high	138 FPS	138 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	103 FPS
4K
low	138 FPS	138 FPS
medium	110 FPS	110 FPS
high	92 FPS	92 FPS
ultra	69 FPS	69 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960 Open Radeon R9 380X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
1080p
low	168 FPS	135 FPS
medium	139 FPS	112 FPS
high	125 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	101 FPS	83 FPS
1440p
low	117 FPS	100 FPS
medium	99 FPS	83 FPS
high	89 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	70 FPS	58 FPS
4K
low	68 FPS	60 FPS
medium	55 FPS	47 FPS
high	45 FPS	37 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	26 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960 Open Radeon R9 380X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 960 and Radeon R9 380X

GeForce GTX 960

The GeForce GTX 960 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 22 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1127 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,133 points. Launch price was $199.

Radeon R9 380X

The Radeon R9 380X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 19 2015. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 970 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,131 points. Launch price was $229.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 960 scores 6,133 and the Radeon R9 380X reaches 6,131 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 960 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon R9 380X uses GCN 3.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,024 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 2,048 (Radeon R9 380X). Raw compute: 2.413 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 960) vs 3.973 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 380X). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 970 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
G3D Mark Score	6,133	6,131
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	GCN 3.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1024	2048+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.413 TFLOPS	3.973 TFLOPS+65%
Boost Clock	1178 MHz+21%	970 MHz
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	64	128+100%
L1 Cache	384 KB	512 KB+33%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 960 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 380X relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 112 GB/s (GeForce GTX 960) vs 106 GB/s (Radeon R9 380X) — a 5.7% advantage for the GeForce GTX 960. Bus width: 128-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce GTX 960) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 380X) — the GeForce GTX 960 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	112 GB/s+6%	106 GB/s
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 960) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R9 380X). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (12_0)
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (5th Gen) (GeForce GTX 960) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 380X). Decoder: NVDEC (2nd Gen) vs UVD 6.0. Supported codecs: HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs H.264,H.265,MPEG-2,MPEG-4,VC-1 (Radeon R9 380X).

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
Encoder	NVENC (5th Gen)	VCE 3.0
Decoder	NVDEC (2nd Gen)	UVD 6.0
Codecs	HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8	H.264,H.265,MPEG-2,MPEG-4,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 960 draws 100W versus the Radeon R9 380X's 250W — a 85.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 960 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 960) vs 500W (Radeon R9 380X). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 221mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75 C vs 75.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960	Radeon R9 380X
TDP	100W-60%	250W
Recommended PSU	400W-20%	500W
Power Connector	6-pin	2x 6-pin
Length	241mm	221mm
Height	111mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	75 C	75
Perf/Watt	61.3+150%	24.5

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 960 launched at $199 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 380X launched at $229. The GeForce GTX 960 costs 13.1% less ($30 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 30.8 (GeForce GTX 960) vs 26.8 (Radeon R9 380X) — the GeForce GTX 960 offers 14.9% better value.