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 TITAN Black

2014

Why buy it

✅Draws 250W instead of 300W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
203.6% HIGHER MSRP
$999 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $670 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅Delivers 193% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 9.2 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌20% higher power demand at 300W vs 250W.

GeForce GTX TITAN Black

2014

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Draws 250W instead of 300W, a 50W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Costs $670 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅Delivers 193% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 9.2 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
203.6% HIGHER MSRP
$999 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌20% higher power demand at 300W vs 250W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX TITAN Black better than Radeon R9 390?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 9,177 vs 8,855 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX TITAN Black is the overall package: you are getting no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (250W vs 300W).

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

GeForce GTX TITAN Black 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 TITAN Black is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX TITAN Black is about 203.6% more expensive on MSRP at $999 MSRP versus $329 MSRP, and you are getting 3.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 390 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon R9 390 make more sense than GeForce GTX TITAN Black?

Yes. Radeon R9 390 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 newer architecture and staying closer to $329 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of GeForce GTX TITAN Black. The trade-off is that GeForce GTX TITAN Black currently gives you 3.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 390 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.

GeForce GTX TITAN Black Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 390 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	90 FPS	135 FPS
medium	78 FPS	115 FPS
high	64 FPS	94 FPS
ultra	44 FPS	57 FPS
1440p
low	75 FPS	113 FPS
medium	65 FPS	96 FPS
high	48 FPS	70 FPS
ultra	33 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	30 FPS	39 FPS
medium	27 FPS	36 FPS
high	20 FPS	22 FPS
ultra	18 FPS	19 FPS

Open GeForce GTX TITAN Black Open Radeon R9 390

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	172 FPS	198 FPS
medium	150 FPS	173 FPS
high	118 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	111 FPS
1440p
low	115 FPS	138 FPS
medium	89 FPS	110 FPS
high	67 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	47 FPS	67 FPS
4K
low	50 FPS	61 FPS
medium	40 FPS	50 FPS
high	36 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	36 FPS

Open GeForce GTX TITAN Black Open Radeon R9 390

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	413 FPS	398 FPS
medium	330 FPS	319 FPS
high	275 FPS	266 FPS
ultra	206 FPS	199 FPS
1440p
low	310 FPS	299 FPS
medium	248 FPS	239 FPS
high	206 FPS	199 FPS
ultra	155 FPS	149 FPS
4K
low	206 FPS	199 FPS
medium	165 FPS	159 FPS
high	138 FPS	133 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	100 FPS

Open GeForce GTX TITAN Black Open Radeon R9 390

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	226 FPS	224 FPS
medium	189 FPS	193 FPS
high	151 FPS	156 FPS
ultra	126 FPS	132 FPS
1440p
low	171 FPS	170 FPS
medium	146 FPS	146 FPS
high	113 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	91 FPS	92 FPS
4K
low	98 FPS	95 FPS
medium	76 FPS	75 FPS
high	61 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	47 FPS	45 FPS

Open GeForce GTX TITAN Black Open Radeon R9 390

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX TITAN Black and Radeon R9 390

GeForce GTX TITAN Black

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 18 2014. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 889 MHz to 980 MHz. It has 2880 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,177 points. Launch price was $999.

Radeon R9 390

The Radeon R9 390 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,855 points. Launch price was $329.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black scores 9,177 and the Radeon R9 390 reaches 8,855 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX TITAN Black is built on Kepler while the Radeon R9 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,880 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 390). Raw compute: 5.645 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390). Boost clocks: 980 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
G3D Mark Score	9,177+4%	8,855
Architecture	Kepler	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2880+13%	2560
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.645 TFLOPS+10%	5.12 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	980 MHz	1000 MHz+2%
ROPs	48	64+33%
TMUs	240+50%	160
L1 Cache	240 KB	640 KB+167%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 390 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
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)

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black comes with 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 390 has 8 GB. The Radeon R9 390 offers 33.3% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 336 GB/s (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 390) — a 5% advantage for the GeForce GTX TITAN Black. Bus width: 384-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390) — the GeForce GTX TITAN Black has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	8 GB+33%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	336 GB/s+5%	320 GB/s
Bus Width	384-bit	512-bit+33%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+50%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 390). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1.0 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP5 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390).

Feature	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
Encoder	NVENC 1.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP5	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black draws 250W versus the Radeon R9 390's 300W — a 18.2% difference. The GeForce GTX TITAN Black is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 95°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX TITAN Black	Radeon R9 390
TDP	250W-17%	300W
Recommended PSU	600W-20%	750W
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	267mm	275mm
Height	111mm	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	80°C-16%	95°C
Perf/Watt	36.7+24%	29.5

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX TITAN Black launched at $999 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 390 launched at $329. The Radeon R9 390 costs 67.1% less ($670 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 9.2 (GeForce GTX TITAN Black) vs 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon R9 390 offers 192.4% better value. The Radeon R9 390 is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2014).