GPUBoss Review Our evaluation of R9 270 vs 960 among Desktop GPUs

Gaming

Radeon R9 270
7.7
GeForce GTX 960
6.7
GeForce GTX 970
7.5
Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Bioshock Infinite and 21 more

Graphics

Radeon R9 270
6.2
GeForce GTX 960
8.0
GeForce GTX 970
6.5
T-Rex, Manhattan, Cloud Gate Factor, Sky Diver Factor and 1 more

Computing

Radeon R9 270
6.6
GeForce GTX 960
6.4
GeForce GTX 970
8.2
Face Detection, Ocean Surface Simulation and 3 more

Performance per Watt

Radeon R9 270
7.6
GeForce GTX 960
8.1
GeForce GTX 970
8.2
Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Bioshock Infinite and 32 more

Value

Radeon R9 270
n.d.
GeForce GTX 960
n.d.
GeForce GTX 970
7.0
Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Bioshock Infinite and 32 more

Noise and Power

Radeon R9 270
8.8
GeForce GTX 960
9.1
GeForce GTX 970
8.9
TDP, Idle Power Consumption, Load Power Consumption and 2 more
7.4

Overall Score

Radeon R9 270
7.2
GeForce GTX 960
7.4
GeForce GTX 970
7.6

Winner
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 

GPUBoss recommends the Nvidia GeForce GTX 960  based on its benchmarks, compute performance and noise and power.

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VS

AMD Radeon R9 270

Front view of Radeon R9 270
Front view of GeForce GTX 960

Nvidia GeForce GTX 960

GPUBoss Winner
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Differences What are the advantages of each

Front view of Radeon R9 270

Reasons to consider the
AMD Radeon R9 270

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Significantly higher memory bandwidth 179.2 GB/s vs 112.2 GB/s Around 60% higher memory bandwidth
Significantly better video composition score 75.59 frames/s vs 25.99 frames/s Around 3x better video composition score
Significantly higher metro: last light framerate 90 vs 56.8 Around 60% higher metro: last light framerate
Wider memory bus 256 bit vs 128 bit 2x wider memory bus
More shading units 1,280 vs 1,024 256 more shading units
More texture mapping units 80 vs 64 16 more texture mapping units
Front view of GeForce GTX 960

Reasons to consider the
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960

Report a correction
Higher clock speed 1,127 MHz vs 900 MHz More than 25% higher clock speed
Better PassMark score 5,813 vs 4,261 More than 35% better PassMark score
Higher effective memory clock speed 7,012 MHz vs 5,600 MHz More than 25% higher effective memory clock speed
Higher turbo clock speed 1,178 MHz vs 925 MHz More than 25% higher turbo clock speed
Significantly higher memory clock speed 1,753 MHz vs 1,400 MHz More than 25% higher memory clock speed
Better PassMark direct compute score 3,046 vs 2,223 More than 35% better PassMark direct compute score
Slightly better cloud gate factor score 20.16 vs 19.21 Around 5% better cloud gate factor score
Lower TDP 120W vs 150W 20% lower TDP

Benchmarks Real world tests of Radeon R9 270 vs GeForce GTX 960

Bitcoin mining Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 270
293.29 mHash/s
GeForce GTX 960
111.95 mHash/s

Face detection Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 270
48.58 mPixels/s
GeForce GTX 960
69.13 mPixels/s

Ocean surface simulation Data courtesy CompuBench

Radeon R9 270
1,000.39 frames/s
GeForce GTX 960
780.9 frames/s

Fire Strike Factor Data courtesy FutureMark

Radeon R9 270
49.6
GeForce GTX 960
57.4

Sky Diver Factor Data courtesy FutureMark

Radeon R9 270
312.65
GeForce GTX 960
358.69

Cloud Gate Factor Data courtesy FutureMark

Radeon R9 270
19.21
GeForce GTX 960
20.16

Battlefield 4

Radeon R9 270
65
GeForce GTX 960
58

Crysis 3

Radeon R9 270
74
GeForce GTX 960
36.1

Reviews Word on the street

Radeon R9 270  vs GeForce GTX 960 
9.2
read review
9.0
read review
With a retail price of $185, the card is just $5 more expensive than the AMD reference design.
Radeon R9 270

Comments

Showing 14 comments.
Mr Hat (07:10 PM, March 9, 2016)
Wow, you do not know anything about how GPUs work....
GroundHound 101 (05:24 PM, July 20, 2015)
AMD, that freaking TDP tho... Nice cards, heat and tdp issuez...
Valdo (05:27 AM, July 20, 2015)
That's the most irrelevant comment I've read for a very long time...
Meridian (07:50 PM, April 13, 2015)
Upgraded from this exact r9 270 card version to the 960 ftw version. The 960 FTW beats the furmark score of an overclocked R9 270. Every game I play has a better frame rate with higher settings and Evolve has zero issues - although Evolve seems to cater to NVIDIA so that may be why. Anyone looking to upgrade for around $220 can't go wrong with the 960 FTW. If you can still find it at that price. Seems the 4GB versions is what I see everywhere. I just got the 2GB since the local best buy had a good price on it. I think amazon has the SSC version also, but it should work just as well. Does the memory size make that much of a difference? I've read about people getting high fps with 1GB cards o.0 I mean its the internet so they could be lieing, but wondering if it can really make that much of a difference.
heart attak joe (05:50 PM, March 15, 2015)
yes it makes a very budget orientated crossfire/multi monitor set up
Brian Blair (06:09 AM, March 15, 2015)
But a 4GB R9 270 is pointless, It is a mid range card. Unless you are crossfiring.
Brian Blair (06:09 AM, March 15, 2015)
a stupid GT 610 can run minecraft, Besides minecraft died 4 years ago, Nobody even liked minecraft when it was new.
Brian Blair (06:07 AM, March 15, 2015)
I know it is not as fast, But what is the point in a 2GB GPU being any faster than a R9 270 or a GTX 660 or 7870? There is no point! Because at 900p or 1080p you are going to get very playable FPS up to the 2GB V-Ram limit, Which is most 1080p games, And having a 1080p card at the price of the 960 is just stupid! It is like buying a Corvette with a Geo Metro 3cyl engine in it! It makes no sense!
heart attak joe (06:12 PM, March 1, 2015)
4gb 270x's are available. very well priced too
kicker2222 (06:29 AM, March 1, 2015)
Yep, you got that right :)
CJDOOD (05:51 AM, March 1, 2015)
uh, no. This card kicks the shit out of everything in its class, unless you don't mind the 280x heating up your room for an extra 15% cost and almost identical performance (280x is slightly better performance but costs more and you get all the ati negatives) nobody cares if your Minecraft runs at 1000fps. 60 is good. This card is priced and tuned perfect for new gen games for years to come while giving you a huge break on power usage / heat generation
007agentHP (01:14 AM, February 27, 2015)
2gb good for 1080p? i can fill more than 3 with minecraft alone
Nick (05:11 PM, February 5, 2015)
and what cheaper lower powered card might you be referring to? R9 270 is a great budget card but it by no means beats the new 960 at anything. Also, 2gb memory is fine for 1080p gaming, that is what this card is for...1080p gaming.
Brian Blair (08:09 AM, January 25, 2015)
So the R9 270 is not looking so bad now hu? Wow the 960 really is a flop! The 960 is a powerful card but crippled by having only 2GB, And they even crippled the memory bandwidth just in case they come up with a 4GB version! The 960 could have been a great card! But Nvidia said F you budget gamers. So basically it is worthless as a 2Gb card when you can buy a cheaper lower powered one, and get the same results.
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