NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 960
10,767.510% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 3080399% better
53,71351% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 3080 has 399% better performance than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
GeForce RTX 308042% better
76.8448% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 3080 has 42% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce GTX 960
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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2015 with a MSRP of $199. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM206) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 960 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 112.2 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 960 includes 1,024 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,127 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,178 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 960 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 120 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 960 has the 172nd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.29% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,767.5 score and $199 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 54.11. This is the 61st best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q3 2020 with a MSRP of $699. It is built on the Ampere GPU microarchitecture (codename GA102) and is manufactured on a 8 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory, with a 1,188 MHz memory clock and a 320 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 760.3 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 RTX 3080 includes 8,704 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,440 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,710 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 272 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 96 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 272 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 68 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 3080 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 700 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 320 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 3080 has the 23rd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 51.35% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 53,713 score and $699 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 76.84. This is the 40th 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.

InfoGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
ManufacturerNVIDIANVIDIA
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0Ampere
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2015Q3 2020
Launch Price (MSRP)$199$699
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest
Display FPS for Riders Republic
Riders Republic
Display FPS for Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6
Display FPS for The Last of Us Part 1
The Last of Us
Display FPS for Resident Evil 4 (Remake)
Resident Evil 4 (Remake)
Display FPS for Company of Heroes 3
Company of Heroes 3
Display FPS for Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart

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 Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest
GeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
Low - 1080p
--
121 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
117 FPS
High - 1080p
--
114 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
112 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
99 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
70 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:GeForce GTX 960 orGeForce RTX 3080

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:GeForce GTX 960 orGeForce RTX 3080

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 960
10,767.510% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 3080399% better
53,71351% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 3080 has 399% better performance than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960 is ranked 172nd with a score of 10,767.5, and the GeForce RTX 3080 is ranked 23rd with a score of 53,713.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
GeForce RTX 308042% better
76.8448% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 3080 has 42% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960 is ranked 61st with a performance per dollar of 54.11, and the GeForce RTX 3080 is ranked 40th with a performance per dollar of 76.84.

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:GeForce GTX 960 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 3080 (12 GB)56,634+426%
Radeon RX 680055,084+412%
GeForce RTX 308053,713+399%
Radeon RX 6800 XT52,046+383%
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti49,760+362%
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792+0%
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti9,453-12%

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:GeForce GTX 960 or

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
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
17,535.5
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
16,133.5
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
49,917.5
188,064
(+276.75%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
7,915.5
39,257
(+395.95%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
120,402
3DMark 11 Performance Score
9,875.5
35,564.5
(+260.13%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
120
--
PassMark G3D Mark
6,079
25,236
(+315.13%)
PassMark G2D Mark
682
1,024
(+50.15%)
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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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.

SpecGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
CodenameGM206GA102
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0Ampere
Process Size28 nm8 nm
Transistors2,940 million28,300 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
Memory Size2 GB10 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6X
Memory Bandwidth112.2 Gb/s760.3 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz1,188 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit320 bit
L1 Cache48 KB128 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB5 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)120 W320 W
Suggested PSU300 W700 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin1x 12-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a

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.

SpecGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
CUDA Cores1,0248,704
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--68
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)64272
Render Output Units (ROP)3296
Tensor Cores--272
Ray Tracing Cores--68
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz1,440 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,178 MHz1,710 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
Pixel Fill Rate37.7 GPixel/s164.2 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate75.39 GTexel/s465.1 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.41 TFLOPS29.77 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance75.39 GFLOPS465.1 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 960GeForce RTX 3080
DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL3.03.0
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.8

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