AMD Radeon R9 280X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 980 Ti114% better
23,05722% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti has 114% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X2% better
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 980 Ti
35.5322% of 161.45

The Radeon R9 280X has 2% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 980 Ti for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon R9 280X
Shop GeForce GTX 980 Ti
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Summary

#

About the AMD Radeon R9 280X GPU

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The R9 280X has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 288 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The R9 280X includes 2,048 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 850 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The R9 280X occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The R9 280X has the 171st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.32% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,792 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 36.09. This is the 73rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q2 2015 with a MSRP of $649. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM200) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 980 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 336.6 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GTX 980 Ti includes 2,816 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,000 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,076 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 176 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 96 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 980 Ti occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 980 Ti has the 101st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 22.04% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 23,057 score and $649 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 35.53. This is the 74th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Maxwell 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2013Q2 2015
Launch Price (MSRP)$299$649
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

#

Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3
Display FPS for Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)
Display FPS for Control
Control
Display FPS for Dirt Rally 2.0
Dirt Rally 2.0
Display FPS for Apex Legends
Apex Legends
Display FPS for Just Cause 4
Just Cause 4
Display FPS for Darksiders III
Darksiders III

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3
Radeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
Low - 720p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
53 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
38 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
20 FPS
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce GTX 980 Ti

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce GTX 980 Ti
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX Vega 6421.32-34%
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)21.36-34%
Radeon VII21.98-32%
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti22.2-31%
GeForce GTX 108022.6-30%
GeForce GTX 980 Ti32.13

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 980 Ti114% better
23,05722% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti has 114% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792, and the GeForce GTX 980 Ti is ranked 101st with a score of 23,057.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X2% better
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 980 Ti
35.5322% of 161.45

The Radeon R9 280X has 2% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 980 Ti for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 73rd with a performance per dollar of 36.09, and the GeForce GTX 980 Ti is ranked 74th with a performance per dollar of 35.53.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 107024,652+128%
Radeon RX 59023,362.5+116%
GeForce GTX 980 Ti23,057+114%
Radeon RX 6500 XT22,954+113%
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti22,891.5+112%
GeForce GTX 165013,645+26%
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5-0%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti47.21+31%
Radeon R9 390X41.83+16%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti36.09+0%
Radeon R9 280X36.09
GeForce GTX 980 Ti35.53-2%
GeForce GTX 98032.07-11%
GeForce GTX 76031.98-11%
Radeon R9 FURY31.95-11%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
2,210
5,058
(+128.87%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
2,393
5,026
(+110.03%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
52,117
98,958
(+89.88%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
8,343
16,961
(+103.3%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
10,241
18,303
(+78.72%)
PassMark G3D Mark
6,178
13,809
(+123.52%)
PassMark G2D Mark
686
861
(+25.51%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
95.2
--
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
CodenameTahitiGM200
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Maxwell 2.0
Process Size28 nm28 nm
Transistors4,313 million8,000 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
Memory Size3 GB6 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth288 Gb/s336.6 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,500 MHz1,753 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit384 bit
L1 Cache16 KB48 KB
L2 Cache768 KB3 MB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W250 W
Suggested PSU600 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
Stream Processors (SP)2,048--
CUDA Cores--2,816
Compute Units (CU)32--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128176
Render Output Units (ROP)3296
Core Clock Speed850 MHz1,000 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,000 MHz1,076 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
Pixel Fill Rate32 GPixel/s103.3 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate128 GTexel/s189.4 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.1 TFLOPS6.06 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,024 GFLOPS189.4 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce GTX 980 Ti
DirectX12 (11_1)12 (12_1)
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)3.0
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.5 (5.1)6.8

Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:

Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:

* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.