Graphics card comparison
Radeon R9 280X vs Radeon R9 380X
AMD
Radeon R9 280X
3072 Mb GDDR5
Released 8 Oct 2013
DESKTOP
VS
AMD
Radeon R9 380X
4096 Mb GDDR5
Released 19 Nov 2015
DESKTOP
Summary
Synthetic performance index
- Radeon R9 280X100%
- Radeon R9 380X122%
Relative performance
Gaming performance index
- Radeon R9 280X100%
- Radeon R9 380X113%
Relative performance
Reasons to consider the Radeon R9 280X
- Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute
- Supports ReLive (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
- Supports Mantle
- Based on an outdated architecture (AMD GCN), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications
Reasons to consider the Radeon R9 380X
- 13% higher gaming performance.
- 60 watts lower power draw. This might be a strong point if your current power supply is not enough to handle the Radeon R9 280X .
- This is a much newer product, it might have better long term support.
- Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute
- Supports FreeSync
- Supports ReLive (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
- Supports TrueAudio
- Based on an outdated architecture (AMD GCN), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications
Our verdict
HWSpot recommends the Radeon R9 380X
The Radeon R9 380X is the better performing card based on the game benchmark suite used (24 combinations of games and resolutions).
Specifications
Core configuration
| Radeon R9 280X | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|
| GPU Name | Tahiti (Tahiti XTL) | Antigua (Antigua XT) |
| Fab Process | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Die Size | 352 mm² | 366 mm² |
| Transistors | 4,313 million | 5,000 million |
| Shaders | 2048 | 2048 |
| Compute Units | 32 | 32 |
| Core clock | 850 MHz | 970 MHz |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 |
| TMUs | 128 | 128 |
Memory configuration
| Radeon R9 280X | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Bus Width | 384 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory Speed | 1500 MHz
6000 MHz effective | 1425 MHz
5700 MHz effective |
| Memory Size | 3072 Mb | 4096 Mb |
Additional details
| Radeon R9 280X | Radeon R9 380X |
|---|
| TDP | 250 watts | 190 watts |
| Release Date | 8 Oct 2013 | 19 Nov 2015 |
Raw performance comparison
Pixel Rate
- Radeon R9 280X27.20 GP/s
- Radeon R9 380X31.04 GP/s
GigaPixels - higher is better
Texel Rate
- Radeon R9 280X109.00 GT/s
- Radeon R9 380X124.20 GT/s
GigaTexels - higher is better
Memory bandwidth
- Radeon R9 280X288.00 GB/s
- Radeon R9 380X182.40 GB/s
GB/s - higher is better
Single precision performance
- Radeon R9 280X3482.00 GFLOPs
- Radeon R9 380X3973.00 GFLOPs
GFLOPs - higher is better
Synthetic benchmarks
3DMark 11
- Radeon R9 280X10960
- Radeon R9 380X13410
Points (higher is better)
Game benchmarks
Anno 2205
DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA
- Radeon R9 280X40
- Radeon R9 380X41
FPS (higher is better)
Battlefield Hardline
DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait
- Radeon R9 280X40
- Radeon R9 380X43
FPS (higher is better)
Far Cry Primal
DX11, Very High Settings
- Radeon R9 280X49
- Radeon R9 380X49
FPS (higher is better)
Gears of War 4
Ultra Quality, DirectX 12, Windows 10 x64
- Radeon R9 280X48
- Radeon R9 380X61
FPS (higher is better)
Grand Theft Auto V
DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA
- Radeon R9 280X63
- Radeon R9 380X60
FPS (higher is better)
Sniper Elite 4
DX12 , Ultra Quality,16x AF,Ambient Occlusion,Tessellation
- Radeon R9 280X42
- Radeon R9 380X56
FPS (higher is better)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA
- Radeon R9 280X30
- Radeon R9 380X39
FPS (higher is better)
Thief 2014
DX11, Very High Details
- Radeon R9 280X47
- Radeon R9 380X59
FPS (higher is better)
Anno 2205
DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA
- Radeon R9 280X30
- Radeon R9 380X31
FPS (higher is better)
Battlefield Hardline
DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait
- Radeon R9 280X33
- Radeon R9 380X30
FPS (higher is better)
Bioshock Infinite
DX11, Ultra, DDOD, FXAA
- Radeon R9 280X48
- Radeon R9 380X56
FPS (higher is better)
Far Cry Primal
DX11, Very High Settings
- Radeon R9 280X35
- Radeon R9 380X35
FPS (higher is better)
Gears of War 4
Ultra Quality, DirectX 12, Windows 10 x64
- Radeon R9 280X32
- Radeon R9 380X41
FPS (higher is better)
Grand Theft Auto V
DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA
- Radeon R9 280X47
- Radeon R9 380X42
FPS (higher is better)
Hitman Absolution
DX11, High Quality, 2x MSAA, 16x AF
- Radeon R9 280X51
- Radeon R9 380X56
FPS (higher is better)
Sniper Elite 4
DX12 , Ultra Quality,16x AF,Ambient Occlusion,Tessellation
- Radeon R9 280X32
- Radeon R9 380X40
FPS (higher is better)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA
- Radeon R9 280X25
- Radeon R9 380X29
FPS (higher is better)
Thief 2014
DX11, Very High Details
- Radeon R9 280X36
- Radeon R9 380X43
FPS (higher is better)
Anno 2205
DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA
- Radeon R9 280X18
- Radeon R9 380X18
FPS (higher is better)
Far Cry Primal
DX11, Very High Settings
- Radeon R9 280X13
- Radeon R9 380X14
FPS (higher is better)
Gears of War 4
Ultra Quality, DirectX 12, Windows 10 x64
- Radeon R9 280X14
- Radeon R9 380X20
FPS (higher is better)
Sniper Elite 4
DX12 , Ultra Quality,16x AF,Ambient Occlusion,Tessellation
- Radeon R9 280X22
- Radeon R9 380X25
FPS (higher is better)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA
- Radeon R9 280X16
- Radeon R9 380X17
FPS (higher is better)
Thief 2014
DX11, Very High Details
- Radeon R9 280X18
- Radeon R9 380X23
FPS (higher is better)