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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M vs AMD Radeon R9 M280X

NVIDIA
VS
AMD
Performance
GeForce GTX 960M12% better
5,2785% of 104,937
Radeon R9 M280X
4,6984% of 104,937

The GeForce GTX 960M has 12% better performance than the Radeon R9 M280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960M
No data available
Radeon R9 M280X
No data available

We do not have any performance per dollar data for the GeForce GTX 960M and the Radeon R9 M280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M GPU

The GeForce GTX 960M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card by NVIDIA. It launched in Q1 2015. Its GM107 chip that powers the GPU uses the Maxwell architecture and is fabricated on the 28 nm process.

This GPU is paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Its 1,253 MHz memory clock and 128 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 80.19 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

This mobile card has a TDP of 75 W.

The GeForce GTX 960M has the 240th highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 5.03% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

About the AMD Radeon R9 M280X GPU

The Radeon R9 M280X is an end-of-life mobile graphics card by AMD. It launched in Q1 2015. Its Saturn chip that powers the GPU uses the GCN 2.0 architecture and is fabricated on the 28 nm process.

This GPU is paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Its 1,375 MHz memory clock and 128 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 88 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

This mobile card has a TDP of 75 W.

The Radeon R9 M280X has the 253rd highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 4.48% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

General Info

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

InfoGeForce GTX 960MRadeon R9 M280X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwellGCN 2.0
Market SegmentMobileMobile
Release DateQ1 2015Q1 2015
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for FIFA 20
FIFA 20
Display FPS for Rage 2
Rage 2
Display FPS for Anno 1800
Anno 1800
Display FPS for Tom Clancy's The Division 2
The Division 2
Display FPS for Dirt Rally 2.0
Dirt Rally 2.0
Display FPS for Anthem
Anthem
Display FPS for Far Cry New Dawn
Far Cry New Dawn
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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 FIFA 20
FIFA 20
GeForce GTX 960MRadeon R9 M280X
Low - 720p
--
66 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
--
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
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 960M orRadeon R9 M280X
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce MX250122+85%
Radeon 540X113.5+72%
GeForce MX350104+58%
GeForce 930MX94+43%
GeForce MX23073.1+11%
Radeon R9 M280X65.9

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 960M orRadeon R9 M280X
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 960M12% better
5,2785% of 104,937
Radeon R9 M280X
4,6984% of 104,937

The GeForce GTX 960M has 12% better performance than the Radeon R9 M280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960M is ranked 240th with a score of 5,278, and the Radeon R9 M280X is ranked 253rd with a score of 4,698.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960M
No data available
Radeon R9 M280X
No data available

We do not have any performance per dollar data for the GeForce GTX 960M and the Radeon R9 M280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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 960M or
GPUBenchmark Performance
Quadro M12005,310+1%
Radeon Pro 5605,305+1%
GeForce GTX 960M5,278
Radeon Pro 5555,185-2%
Quadro M2000M5,143-3%
GeForce GTX 770M4,889-7%
GeForce MX3304,834-8%
Radeon R9 M280X4,698-11%
Radeon RX 540 (Mobile)4,646-12%
GeForce MX2504,633-12%

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 960M orRadeon R9 M280X
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Our database does not have enough data to compare the benchmark performance per dollar with other GPUs.

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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
1,148
(+13.44%)
1,012
3DMark Time Spy Score
1,202
(+15.47%)
1,041
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
30,085.5
(+29.67%)
23,201
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
4,318
(+23.44%)
3,498
3DMark 11 Performance Score
5,535.5
(+44.79%)
3,823
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
81.4
(+60.55%)
50.7
PassMark G3D Mark
3,395
(+317.08%)
814
PassMark G2D Mark
243
248
(+2.06%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
56.2
--
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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
CodenameGM107Saturn
ArchitectureMaxwellGCN 2.0
Process Size28 nm28 nm
Transistors1,870 million2,080 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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
Memory Size4 GB4 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth80.19 Gb/s88 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,253 MHz1,375 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit128 bit
L1 Cache64 KB16 KB
L2 Cache2 MB256 KB

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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
Bus InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)75 W75 W
OutputsDevice DependentDevice Dependent

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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
Stream Processors (SP)--896
CUDA Cores640--
Compute Units (CU)--14
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)4056
Render Output Units (ROP)1616
Core Clock Speed1,097 MHz900 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,176 MHz1,000 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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
Pixel Fill Rate18.82 GPixel/s16 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate47.04 GTexel/s56 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance1.51 TFLOPS1.79 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance47.04 GFLOPS112 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 960MRadeon R9 M280X
DirectX12 (11_0)12 (12_0)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.7 (5.1)6.5

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