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.

Radeon R9 380X

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $771 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $1,000 MSRP).
✅Delivers 330.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.8 vs 6.2 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $1,000 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌150% higher power demand at 250W vs 100W.
❌22000% longer card at 221mm vs 1mm.

Tesla M6

2015

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 250W, a 150W reduction.
✅Measures 1mm instead of 221mm, a 220mm 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.
❌
336.7% HIGHER MSRP
$1,000 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 6.2 vs 26.8 G3D/$ ($1,000 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).

Radeon R9 380X

2015

Tesla M6

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $771 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $1,000 MSRP).
✅Delivers 330.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.8 vs 6.2 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $1,000 MSRP).

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 250W, a 150W reduction.
✅Measures 1mm instead of 221mm, a 220mm 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.
❌150% higher power demand at 250W vs 100W.
❌22000% longer card at 221mm vs 1mm.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
336.7% HIGHER MSRP
$1,000 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 6.2 vs 26.8 G3D/$ ($1,000 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is Tesla M6 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 6,131 vs 6,225 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Tesla M6 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?

Radeon R9 380X is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting better upscaling support with FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack. 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?

Tesla M6 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Tesla M6 is about 336.7% more expensive on MSRP at $1,000 MSRP versus $229 MSRP, and you are getting 1.5% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 380X really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon R9 380X make more sense than Tesla M6?

Yes. Radeon R9 380X is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is future-proofing and staying closer to $229 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Tesla M6. The trade-off is that Tesla M6 currently gives you 1.5% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 380X still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

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.

Radeon R9 380X Benchmark Check

Tesla M6 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
1080p
low	78 FPS	104 FPS
medium	67 FPS	90 FPS
high	54 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	35 FPS	43 FPS
1440p
low	68 FPS	91 FPS
medium	60 FPS	80 FPS
high	43 FPS	58 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	33 FPS
4K
low	25 FPS	29 FPS
medium	23 FPS	27 FPS
high	15 FPS	18 FPS
ultra	13 FPS	16 FPS

Open Radeon R9 380X Open Tesla M6

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
1080p
low	133 FPS	213 FPS
medium	105 FPS	175 FPS
high	86 FPS	130 FPS
ultra	61 FPS	101 FPS
1440p
low	78 FPS	159 FPS
medium	58 FPS	126 FPS
high	44 FPS	100 FPS
ultra	31 FPS	75 FPS
4K
low	31 FPS	86 FPS
medium	23 FPS	69 FPS
high	18 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	13 FPS	42 FPS

Open Radeon R9 380X Open Tesla M6

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
1080p
low	276 FPS	280 FPS
medium	221 FPS	224 FPS
high	184 FPS	187 FPS
ultra	138 FPS	140 FPS
1440p
low	207 FPS	210 FPS
medium	166 FPS	168 FPS
high	138 FPS	140 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	105 FPS
4K
low	138 FPS	140 FPS
medium	110 FPS	112 FPS
high	92 FPS	93 FPS
ultra	69 FPS	70 FPS

Open Radeon R9 380X Open Tesla M6

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
1080p
low	135 FPS	182 FPS
medium	112 FPS	148 FPS
high	97 FPS	132 FPS
ultra	83 FPS	103 FPS
1440p
low	100 FPS	131 FPS
medium	83 FPS	109 FPS
high	72 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	58 FPS	76 FPS
4K
low	60 FPS	77 FPS
medium	47 FPS	60 FPS
high	37 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	36 FPS

Open Radeon R9 380X Open Tesla M6

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 380X and Tesla M6

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.

Tesla M6

The Tesla M6 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 30 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 930 MHz to 1180 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,225 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 380X scores 6,131 and the Tesla M6 reaches 6,225 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 380X is built on GCN 3.0 while the Tesla M6 uses Maxwell 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,048 (Radeon R9 380X) vs 1,536 (Tesla M6). Raw compute: 3.973 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 380X) vs 3.625 TFLOPS (Tesla M6). Boost clocks: 970 MHz vs 1180 MHz.

Feature	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
G3D Mark Score	6,131	6,225+2%
Architecture	GCN 3.0	Maxwell 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2048+33%	1536
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.973 TFLOPS+10%	3.625 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	970 MHz	1180 MHz+22%
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	128+33%	96
L1 Cache	512 KB	576 KB+13%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	2 MB+300%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	Standard

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: 128-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 380X) vs 2 MB (Tesla M6) — the Tesla M6 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Bus Width	128-bit	256-bit+100%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	2 MB+300%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_0) (Radeon R9 380X) vs 12 (Tesla M6). Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.

Feature	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
DirectX	12 (12_0)	12
Max Displays	4	0

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 380X) vs NVENC 5th Gen (Tesla M6). Decoder: UVD 6.0 vs NVDEC 2nd Gen.

Feature	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
Encoder	VCE 3.0	NVENC 5th Gen
Decoder	UVD 6.0	NVDEC 2nd Gen
Codecs	H.264,H.265,MPEG-2,MPEG-4,VC-1	—

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 380X draws 250W versus the Tesla M6's 100W — a 85.7% difference. The Tesla M6 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon R9 380X) vs 350W (Tesla M6). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 221mm vs 1mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots.

Feature	Radeon R9 380X	Tesla M6
TDP	250W	100W-60%
Recommended PSU	500W	350W-30%
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	221mm	1mm
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	75	—
Perf/Watt	24.5	62.3+154%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 380X launched at $229 MSRP, while the Tesla M6 launched at $1000. The Radeon R9 380X costs 77.1% less ($771 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 26.8 (Radeon R9 380X) vs 6.2 (Tesla M6) — the Radeon R9 380X offers 332.3% better value.