Radeon R9 M390 vs GeForce GTX 480

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 480 with Radeon R9 M390, including specs and performance data.

GTX 480
2010
1536 MB GDDR5, 250 Watt
10.64
+5.8%

GTX 480 outperforms R9 M390 by a small 6% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking431447
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.59no data
Power efficiency2.96no data
ArchitectureFermi (2010−2014)GCN (2012−2015)
GPU code nameGF100Pitcairn
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date26 March 2010 (14 years ago)9 June 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$499 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores4801024
Core clock speed700 MHzno data
Number of transistors3,100 million5000 Million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)250 Wattno data
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate42.06no data
Floating-point processing power1.345 TFLOPSno data
ROPs48no data
TMUs60no data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizeno datalarge
Bus support16x PCI-E 2.0PCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16no data
Length267 mmno data
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinno data
SLI options+-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount1536 MB2 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1848 MHz (3696 data rate)no data
Memory bandwidth177.4 GB/sno data
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsTwo Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMIno data
Multi monitor support+no data
Eyefinity-+
HDMI+-
HDCP+-
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

FreeSync-+
HD3D-+
PowerTune-+
DualGraphics-+
ZeroCore-+
Switchable graphics-+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (11_0)DirectX® 12
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.24.4
OpenCL1.1Not Listed
VulkanN/A-
Mantle-+
CUDA+-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 480 10.64
+5.8%
R9 M390 10.06

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 480 5014
R9 M390 6819
+36%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD45−50
+4.7%
43
−4.7%
4K21−24
+5%
20
−5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p11.09no data
4K23.76no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+6.5%
30−35
−6.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+5%
20−22
−5%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+8.7%
21−24
−8.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−33
+7.1%
27−30
−7.1%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+7.6%
65−70
−7.6%
Hitman 3 20−22
+5.3%
18−20
−5.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 55−60
+7.4%
50−55
−7.4%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+9.7%
30−35
−9.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−33
+11.1%
27−30
−11.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 35−40
+9.4%
30−35
−9.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 65−70
+3.2%
60−65
−3.2%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+6.5%
30−35
−6.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+5%
20−22
−5%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+8.7%
21−24
−8.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−33
+7.1%
27−30
−7.1%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+7.6%
65−70
−7.6%
Hitman 3 20−22
+5.3%
18−20
−5.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 55−60
+7.4%
50−55
−7.4%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+9.7%
30−35
−9.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−33
+11.1%
27−30
−11.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 35−40
+9.4%
30−35
−9.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30
+3.7%
27−30
−3.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 65−70
+3.2%
60−65
−3.2%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+5%
20−22
−5%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+8.7%
21−24
−8.7%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+7.6%
65−70
−7.6%
Hitman 3 20−22
+5.3%
18−20
−5.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 55−60
+7.4%
50−55
−7.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 35−40
+9.4%
30−35
−9.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30
+55.6%
18
−55.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion 65−70
+3.2%
60−65
−3.2%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 30−33
+11.1%
27−30
−11.1%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 21−24
+10.5%
18−20
−10.5%
Far Cry New Dawn 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+11.4%
40−45
−11.4%
Hitman 3 14−16
+7.7%
12−14
−7.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 21−24
+10%
20−22
−10%
Metro Exodus 16−18
+14.3%
14−16
−14.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 65−70
+6.3%
60−65
−6.3%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 18−20
+12.5%
16−18
−12.5%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Hitman 3 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 45−50
+11.9%
40−45
−11.9%
Metro Exodus 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
−50%
12
+50%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%

This is how GTX 480 and R9 M390 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 480 is 5% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 480 is 5% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 480 is 56% faster.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the R9 M390 is 50% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 480 is ahead in 65 tests (90%)
  • R9 M390 is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • there's a draw in 6 tests (8%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 10.64 10.06
Recency 26 March 2010 9 June 2015
Maximum RAM amount 1536 MB 2 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 28 nm

GTX 480 has a 5.8% higher aggregate performance score.

R9 M390, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 5 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce GTX 480 and Radeon R9 M390.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 480 is a desktop card while Radeon R9 M390 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480
GeForce GTX 480
AMD Radeon R9 M390
Radeon R9 M390

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.3 207 votes

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3.2 13 votes

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Questions & comments

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