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 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
43.7% HIGHER MSRP
$329 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.9 vs 37.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
❌100% higher power demand at 300W vs 150W.
❌14.6% longer card at 275mm vs 240mm.

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Delivers 38.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.3 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Draws 150W instead of 300W, a 150W reduction.
✅Measures 240mm instead of 275mm, a 35mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon R9 390

2015

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Why buy it

✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Delivers 38.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.3 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Draws 150W instead of 300W, a 150W reduction.
✅Measures 240mm instead of 275mm, a 35mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
43.7% HIGHER MSRP
$329 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.9 vs 37.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
❌100% higher power demand at 300W vs 150W.
❌14.6% longer card at 275mm vs 240mm.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 390 better than Radeon RX 480?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,855 vs 8,546 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon R9 390 is the overall package: you are getting FSR upscaling.

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

Radeon R9 390 is the safer long-term GPU choice because it gives you the stronger overall hardware and feature outlook for modern games.

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

Radeon R9 390 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon R9 390 is about 43.7% more expensive on MSRP at $329 MSRP versus $229 MSRP, and you are getting 3.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon RX 480 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon RX 480 make more sense than Radeon R9 390?

Yes. Radeon RX 480 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, lower power draw (150W vs 300W), and staying closer to $229 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 390. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 390 currently gives you 3.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon RX 480 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 390 Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 480 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	105 FPS	134 FPS
medium	89 FPS	113 FPS
high	73 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	58 FPS
1440p
low	89 FPS	114 FPS
medium	75 FPS	96 FPS
high	55 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	36 FPS	39 FPS
medium	32 FPS	36 FPS
high	20 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	17 FPS	19 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 480

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	198 FPS	156 FPS
medium	173 FPS	135 FPS
high	143 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	111 FPS	89 FPS
1440p
low	138 FPS	91 FPS
medium	110 FPS	71 FPS
high	88 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	67 FPS	44 FPS
4K
low	61 FPS	37 FPS
medium	50 FPS	29 FPS
high	45 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	18 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 480

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	398 FPS	385 FPS
medium	319 FPS	308 FPS
high	266 FPS	256 FPS
ultra	199 FPS	192 FPS
1440p
low	299 FPS	288 FPS
medium	239 FPS	231 FPS
high	199 FPS	192 FPS
ultra	149 FPS	144 FPS
4K
low	199 FPS	192 FPS
medium	159 FPS	154 FPS
high	133 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	96 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 480

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	224 FPS	290 FPS
medium	193 FPS	252 FPS
high	156 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	132 FPS	166 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	213 FPS
medium	146 FPS	190 FPS
high	113 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	118 FPS
4K
low	95 FPS	120 FPS
medium	75 FPS	98 FPS
high	59 FPS	80 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	62 FPS

Open Radeon R9 390 Open Radeon RX 480

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon R9 390 and Radeon RX 480

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.

Radeon RX 480

The Radeon RX 480 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 29 2016. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1120 MHz to 1266 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,546 points. Launch price was $229.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 390 scores 8,855 and the Radeon RX 480 reaches 8,546 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 390 is built on GCN 2.0 while the Radeon RX 480 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (Radeon R9 390) vs 2,304 (Radeon RX 480). Raw compute: 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390) vs 5.834 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 480). Boost clocks: 1000 MHz vs 1266 MHz.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
G3D Mark Score	8,855+4%	8,546
Architecture	GCN 2.0	GCN 4.0
Process Node	28 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	2560+11%	2304
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.12 TFLOPS	5.834 TFLOPS+14%
Boost Clock	1000 MHz	1266 MHz+27%
ROPs	64+100%	32
TMUs	160+11%	144
L1 Cache	640 KB+11%	576 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB	2 MB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 8 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 390) vs 256 GB/s (Radeon RX 480) — a 25% advantage for the Radeon R9 390. Bus width: 512-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 1 MB (Radeon R9 390) vs 2 MB (Radeon RX 480) — the Radeon RX 480 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	320 GB/s+25%	256 GB/s
Bus Width	512-bit+100%	256-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB	2 MB+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (Radeon R9 390) vs 12.0 (Radeon RX 480). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.3+8%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	6+50%	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390) vs VCE 3.4 (Radeon RX 480). Decoder: UVD 4.2 vs UVD 6.3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon RX 480).

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
Encoder	VCE 2.0	VCE 3.4
Decoder	UVD 4.2	UVD 6.3
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 390 draws 300W versus the Radeon RX 480's 150W — a 66.7% difference. The Radeon RX 480 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (Radeon R9 390) vs 500W (Radeon RX 480). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 275mm vs 240mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 95°C vs 85°C.

Feature	Radeon R9 390	Radeon RX 480
TDP	300W	150W-50%
Recommended PSU	750W	500W-33%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	8-pin
Length	275mm	240mm
Height	109mm	95mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	95°C	85°C-11%
Perf/Watt	29.5	57.0+93%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon R9 390 launched at $329 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 480 launched at $229. The Radeon RX 480 costs 30.4% less ($100 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) vs 37.3 (Radeon RX 480) — the Radeon RX 480 offers 38.7% better value. The Radeon RX 480 is the newer GPU (2016 vs 2015).