AMD Radeon R9 M380 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one directly comparable benchmark between the AMD Radeon R9 M380 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER: the Geekbench OpenCL test. The results are decisively one-sided. The GTX 1660 SUPER scores 52,490 points, while the R9 M380 manages 12,565 points. That represents a delta of -76.1% for the AMD part, meaning the NVIDIA card is roughly four times faster in this specific compute workload. The margin is so large that it dwarfs any other comparison between the two cards.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the R9 M380 posts an average score of 15,521 across all recorded tests. That places it just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (15,548), a statistical tie, and 1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15,679). It also edges out the RTX 2060 by 1.5% and the GTX 580 by 1.6%. These rival scores show that the R9 M380, despite its age, clusters with mid-range and older high-end parts from its era. The GTX 1660 SUPER, by contrast, averages 12,986 points across its suite, sitting 0.4% above the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the RX 580, while trailing the Tesla M2090 by 0.7% and leading the Radeon 740M by 0.9%. The average scores tell different stories: the R9 M380's average is inflated by its Geekbench Metal result of 18,476, while the GTX 1660 SUPER's average includes a wider mix of DirectX and compute tests.

The head-to-head OpenCL result is the only direct measurement, and it is unambiguous. The GTX 1660 SUPER's 52,490 versus the R9 M380's 12,565 is a gap that no other metric can bridge. The R9 M380's Metal score of 18,476 does not appear in the head-to-head list, so it cannot be compared directly, but the OpenCL delta alone establishes the NVIDIA card as the clear winner in raw compute throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The data shows exactly one head-to-head victory, and it belongs to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA card wins outright with a 76.1% advantage. There are no recorded tests where the AMD Radeon R9 M380 comes out ahead in a direct comparison. For the R9 M380, the only bright spot is its Geekbench Metal score of 18,476, which is a strong result for that API, but no corresponding Metal score exists for the GTX 1660 SUPER in the database, so a direct comparison is not possible.

The GTX 1660 SUPER also shows versatility across multiple benchmark types. Its PassMark G3D score of 12,699 indicates solid DirectX 11 performance, while its PassMark DirectX 9 score of 189 and DirectX 10 score of 65 show compatibility with older APIs. The DirectX 11 score of 104 and DirectX 12 score of 50 round out its legacy API coverage. The GPU compute score of 5,076 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,278 further demonstrate its capability in modern workloads. The Vulkan score of 57,102 is particularly strong, showing excellent cross-platform compute performance.

The R9 M380's benchmark profile is much thinner. It has only two recorded scores: the Geekbench Metal result and the Geekbench OpenCL result. The Metal score of 18,476 is respectable for a 2015 mobile GPU, but without a wider test suite, the database cannot confirm strengths in DirectX or Vulkan workloads. The OpenCL score of 12,565 is the only point of direct comparison, and it is decidedly weak against the NVIDIA part.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the superior GPU in every measurable way. The 76.1% lead in OpenCL is not a narrow margin; it is a generational gap. The GTX 1660 SUPER also offers a higher average benchmark score profile across a broader set of tests, while the R9 M380's average is built on just two data points.

For users prioritizing compute performance, the GTX 1660 SUPER is the clear choice. Its 52,490 OpenCL score places it in a different tier entirely from the R9 M380's 12,565. The NVIDIA card also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card is limited to Vulkan 1.2.170, and the GTX 1660 SUPER supports DirectX 12_1 features, whereas the R9 M380 only reaches DirectX 12_0. These API differences matter for modern games and applications.

For users who specifically need Metal performance, the R9 M380's 18,476 score is the only data point available, but the GTX 1660 SUPER does not have a Metal score in the database, so no direct comparison exists. However, given the OpenCL margin, it is reasonable to expect the NVIDIA card would also dominate in Metal, though the database does not confirm this.

The GTX 1660 SUPER also carries a launch MSRP of 229 USD, which can be stated once for reference. The R9 M380 has no recorded launch MSRP. In terms of production status, both are end-of-life, so neither is a current purchase recommendation, but among the two, the data overwhelmingly favors the NVIDIA part.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 52,490 versus the AMD Radeon R9 M380's 12,565, a delta of -76.1% for the AMD card.

Q: How does the R9 M380 compare to its nearest rivals in average score?

A: The R9 M380's average score of 15,521 is 0.2% below the GTX 1080 Ti (15,548), 1% below the Radeon Pro W5500 (15,679), 1.5% above the RTX 2060 (15,290), and 1.6% above the GTX 580 (15,283).

Q: What is the GTX 1660 SUPER's best recorded benchmark result?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER's highest score in the database is 57,102 in Geekbench Vulkan, followed by 52,490 in Geekbench OpenCL and 12,699 in PassMark G3D.

Q: Does the R9 M380 have any benchmark where it outperforms the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: No. The only head-to-head benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL, which the GTX 1660 SUPER wins. The R9 M380's Metal score of 18,476 has no corresponding GTX 1660 SUPER result in the database.

Q: What are the API level differences between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M380 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare between the two cards?

A: The R9 M380 has an average score of 15,521, while the GTX 1660 SUPER has an average of 12,986. However, these averages are not directly comparable because they are derived from different test sets.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and manufacturers. The AMD Radeon R9 M380 uses the Strato chip based on GCN 2.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.0 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER uses the TU116 chip based on Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. It packs 6,600 million transistors on a 284 mm² die, with a density of 23.2 million per mm². The NVIDIA chip has more than three times the transistor count and nearly double the die area, with a significantly higher transistor density.

The R9 M380 is a mobile-oriented GPU from the Gem System (R9 M300) generation, released in 2015. Its predecessor is listed as Solar System and its successor as Polaris Mobile. The GTX 1660 SUPER belongs to the GeForce 16 generation, released in 2019, with a predecessor of GeForce 10 and a successor of GeForce 20. The architectural gap of four years is reflected in the feature set and performance.

In terms of compute resources, the R9 M380 has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. The GTX 1660 SUPER has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. That is roughly 83% more shading units, 83% more TMUs, and three times the ROPs. Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

The clock speeds differ substantially. The R9 M380 runs at a base of 900 MHz and a boost of 1000 MHz. The GTX 1660 SUPER runs at 1530 MHz base and 1785 MHz boost. The memory clocks also differ: the AMD card uses 1500 MHz memory with 6 Gbps effective speed, while the NVIDIA card uses 1750 MHz memory with 14 Gbps effective speed. The NVIDIA card's memory is GDDR6, while the AMD card uses GDDR5.

The pixel rate and texture rate reflect the hardware differences. The R9 M380 achieves 16.00 GPixel/s and 48.00 GTexel/s, while the GTX 1660 SUPER achieves 85.68 GPixel/s and 157.1 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 1.536 TFLOPS for the AMD card versus 5.027 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card. The GTX 1660 SUPER also lists FP16 at 10.05 TFLOPS (2:1), while the R9 M380 has no FP16 figure recorded.

Specification Differences

The most obvious specification difference is memory. The R9 M380 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1660 SUPER has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. That is 3.5 times the bandwidth and 50% more memory capacity.

The physical specifications also differ. The GTX 1660 SUPER has a TDP of 125 W, a dual-slot design, and a 1x 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 300 W. It measures 229 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 35 mm in width. The R9 M380 has no recorded TDP, slot width, power connector, or dimensions in the database.

The GTX 1660 SUPER's display outputs are listed as 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. The R9 M380 has no display outputs recorded. Both use a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface.

The process node differs: 28 nm for the AMD card versus 12 nm for the NVIDIA card. The transistor count is 2,080 million versus 6,600 million, and the die size is 160 mm² versus 284 mm². The transistor density is 13.0M per mm² versus 23.2M per mm².

The release dates are 2015-05-04 for the R9 M380 and 2019-10-28 for the GTX 1660 SUPER. Both are end-of-life. The GTX 1660 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 229 USD, while the R9 M380 has no launch MSRP recorded. The API support differs as noted: DirectX 12_0 versus 12_1, and Vulkan 1.2.170 versus 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6.