R9 280X vs R9 380X

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Combined performance score

R9 380X
16.07
+6.7%

R9 380X outperforms R9 280X by 7% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking306324
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money7.0811.93
ArchitectureGCN 3.0 (2014−2017)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code nameAntiguaThaiti XTL
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferencereference
Release date19 November 2015 (8 years old)8 October 2013 (10 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$229 $299
Current price$11.81 (0.1x MSRP)$11.99 (0x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

R9 280X has 69% better value for money than R9 380X.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores20482048
Compute units32no data
Boost clock speed970 MHz1000 MHz
Number of transistors5,000 million4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)190 Watt250 Watt
Texture fill rate124.2128.0
Floating-point performance3,973 gflops4,096 gflops

Size and 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).

Bus supportPCIe 3.0PCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length221 mm275 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Form factorfull height / full lengthno data
Supplementary power connectors​2 x 6-pin1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Bridgeless CrossFire1no data

Memory

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
High bandwidth memory (HBM)-no data
Maximum RAM amount4 GB3 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed970 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth182.4 GB/s288 GB/s
Shared memoryno data-

Video outputs and ports

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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity1+
Number of Eyefinity displays6no data
HDMI++
DisplayPort support++

Technologies

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

AppAcceleration-+
CrossFire11
Enduro--
FRTC1no data
FreeSync11
HD3D++
LiquidVR11
PowerTune+-
TressFXno data1
TrueAudio++
ZeroCore+-
UVDno data+
VCE+no data
DDMA audio++

API support

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

DirectXDirectX® 12DirectX® 12
Shader Model6.35.1
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan++
Mantle+-

Synthetic benchmark performance

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


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance 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.

R9 380X 16.07
+6.7%
R9 280X 15.06

R9 380X outperforms R9 280X by 7% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

R9 380X 6229
+6.7%
R9 280X 5837

R9 380X outperforms R9 280X by 7% in Passmark.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

R9 380X 9510
+14%
R9 280X 8343

R9 380X outperforms R9 280X by 14% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

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 HD65−70
+0%
65
+0%
4K30−35
−3.3%
31
+3.3%

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 16.07 15.06
Recency 19 November 2015 8 October 2013
Cost $229 $299
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 3 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 190 Watt 250 Watt

We couldn't decide between Radeon R9 380X and Radeon R9 280X. The differences in performance seem too small.


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

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


AMD Radeon R9 380X
Radeon R9 380X
AMD Radeon R9 280X
Radeon R9 280X

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3.8 166 votes

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Questions and comments

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