AMD Radeon R9 390 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970: real performance and FPS — which is better? Full comparison
Detailed gaming performance comparison
Reference CPU: Intel Core i5-13400
We compare the R9 390 and the GTX 970 with real FPS across the most popular games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K, plus specs, launch price and AI upscaling support (DLSS/FSR/XeSS). See at a glance which is better for your resolution and budget.
The R9 390 and the GTX 970 perform almost identically; price and features make the difference.
R9 390
- Index (1080p)
- 17/100
- VRAM
- 8 GB
- Price (MSRP)
- $329 · ≈ €303
- $/FPS (value)
- $18.28 · ≈ €16.82
- Upscaling
- FSR
GTX 970
- Index (1080p)
- 17/100
- VRAM
- 4 GB
- Price (MSRP)
- $329 · ≈ €303
- $/FPS (value)
- $18.28 · ≈ €16.82
- Upscaling
- FSR
Average FPS by resolution
Estimated average FPS for each graphics card across the most popular games. The gap usually shows at 1080p and 1440p; at 4K both lose smoothness and upscaling (DLSS/FSR) helps.
| Resolution | R9 390 | GTX 970 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 18 | 18 | = |
| 1440p | 11 | 12 | +9% |
| 4K | 5 | 5 | = |
Which one for your resolution?
Tie
GTX 970 (+9%)
Tie
Specifications
Side-by-side specs of the R9 390 and GTX 970: VRAM, power draw (TDP), performance index and launch price. The better value in each row is highlighted in blue.
| Spec | R9 390 | GTX 970 |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | AMD | NVIDIA |
| VRAM | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| TDP | 275W | 145W |
| Tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Score 1080p | 17 | 17 |
| Score 1440p | 12 | 13 |
| Score 4K | 6 | 6 |
| Price (MSRP) | $329 | $329 |
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | Maxwell |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | TSMC 28nm |
| Shading Units (CUDA/Stream) | 2560 | 1664 |
| RT Cores | — | — |
| Texture Units (TMUs) | 160 | 104 |
| ROPs | 64 | 64 |
| Base Clock | 1000 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1000 MHz | 1178 MHz |
| FP32 Performance (Teraflops) | 5.12 TFLOPS | 3.92 TFLOPS |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Clock | 6000 MHz | 7000 MHz |
| Memory Bus | 512-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 384 GB/s | 224 GB/s |
| PCIe Version | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 |
| Transistor Count | 6.2B | 5.2B |
| Release Date | 2015-06-18 | 2014-09-18 |
Power & efficiency
TDP doesn't tell the whole story: here's how much each GPU delivers per watt it draws.
R9 390
- TDP
- 275W
- FPS/W
- 0.07
GTX 970
- TDP
- 145W
- FPS/W
- 0.12
The GTX 970 is more efficient: it draws 130W less and delivers more per watt, though the R9 390 is still the faster card overall.
What FPS do these GPUs get in your game?
Pick the GPU and the game, and we'll take you straight to its real FPS.
Pick the GPU
Gaming Performance
Per-game FPS detail at 1080p Ultra. The graphics card that wins each title is highlighted in blue.
| Game | R9 390 | GTX 970 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 20 | 20 | Tie |
 | 18 | 18 | Tie |
 | 15 | 15 | Tie |
 | 15 | 15 | Tie |
 | 16 | 16 | Tie |
| 15 | 15 | Tie | |
 | 19 | 19 | Tie |
 | 20 | 20 | Tie |
 | 22 | 22 | Tie |
 | 18 | 18 | Tie |
Verdict
It's a tie: both GPUs win in 0 out of 10 games
At CheckFPS we measured both cards across 10 popular games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K on a reference CPU. Performance is practically tied at every resolution, so the decision comes down to price and current availability.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions when comparing the R9 390 with the GTX 970.
Which is better, the R9 390 or the GTX 970?
On average at 1080p, the R9 390 is 0% faster than the GTX 970. The best one for you depends on your resolution, budget and whether you prioritise ray tracing or price.
Which is better at 4K?
At 4K Ultra, the R9 390 averages 5 FPS and the GTX 970 5 FPS across the most popular games. For smooth 4K, enabling upscaling (DLSS/FSR) helps on both.
Is it worth paying more for the faster one?
At 1080p or 1440p the FPS gap may not justify the extra cost; at 4K or with ray tracing the faster card matters more. Check the by-resolution table to decide.
Which has better ray tracing and upscaling?
AI upscaling (DLSS on NVIDIA, FSR on AMD, XeSS on Intel) raises FPS on both; for ray tracing, GeForce RTX cards usually lead. See each card’s support above.
How big is the FPS difference between them?
On average across top games, the gap is around 0% at 1080p. At higher resolutions (1440p and 4K) the relative difference usually stays similar.
R9 390 vs 970: what's the real difference?
In performance, the R9 390 beats the GTX 970 by around 0% more FPS on average at 1080p — the gap shifts a bit by resolution, as shown in the table above. If you're torn between the R9 390 and the 970 on price, the price and $/FPS section above can help you decide.
