Contents:HighlightsSummaryGaming PerformanceBenchmark PerformanceTechnical SpecsRelated ComparisonsRelated GPUs
Performance
GeForce GTX 980490% better
17,604.517% of 104,598
Radeon HD 8870M
2,9863% of 104,598
The GeForce GTX 980 has 490% better performance than the Radeon HD 8870M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 980
32.0720% of 161.45
Radeon HD 8870M
No data available
The GeForce GTX 980 has 20% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.
Shop GeForce GTX 980
Shop Radeon HD 8870M
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Summary
#
About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPU
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q3 2014 with a MSRP of $549. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM204) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.
Memory
The GTX 980 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 224.4 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 includes 2,048 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 1,216 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 64 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Compatibility & Power Consumption
The GTX 980 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 165 W.
Benchmark Performance & Value
The GTX 980 has the 127th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 16.83% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 17,604.5 score and $549 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 32.07. This is the 76th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
About the AMD Radeon HD 8870M GPU
The AMD Radeon HD 8870M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q2 2013. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Venus) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.
Memory
The HD 8870M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,125 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 72 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 HD 8870M includes 640 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 725 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 775 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Benchmark Performance
The HD 8870M has the 301st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 2.85% 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.
| Info | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | NVIDIA | AMD |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | GCN 1.0 |
| Market Segment | Desktop | Mobile |
| Release Date | Q3 2014 | Q2 2013 |
| Launch Price (MSRP) | $549 | -- |
| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |
| Shop | Check Price | Check Price |
Gaming Performance
#
Select a game to compare FPS metrics
Just Cause 4
Darksiders III
Battlefield V
Hitman 2
Assassin´s Creed Odyssey
Forza Horizon 4
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
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
Just Cause 4 | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Low - 720p | 109 FPS | -- |
| Medium - 1080p | 77 FPS | -- |
| High - 1080p | 67 FPS | -- |
| Ultra - 1080p | 62 FPS | -- |
| QHD - 1440p | 44 FPS | -- |
| 4K UHD - 2160p | 24 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 980 orRadeon HD 8870M
| GPU | Frames Per Second | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER | 30.6 | +30% |
| GeForce GTX 1070 | 30 | +28% |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | 29.2 | +24% |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 28.9 | +23% |
| Radeon RX 590 | 25.8 | +10% |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 23.5 | |
| GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 22.1 | -6% |
| Radeon RX 570 | 21.4 | -9% |
| Radeon RX 480 | 21 | -11% |
| GeForce GTX 970 | 19.9 | -15% |
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 980 orRadeon HD 8870M
| GPU | Cost Per Frame | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 13.53 | -42% |
| Radeon RX Vega 64 | 13.71 | -41% |
| Radeon VII | 15.3 | -35% |
| GeForce GTX 970 | 16.53 | -29% |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 22.46 | -4% |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 23.36 | |
Benchmark Performance
#
Performance
GeForce GTX 980490% better
17,604.517% of 104,598
Radeon HD 8870M
2,9863% of 104,598
The GeForce GTX 980 has 490% better performance than the Radeon HD 8870M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The GeForce GTX 980 is ranked 127th with a score of 17,604.5, and the Radeon HD 8870M is ranked 301st with a score of 2,986.
Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 980
32.0720% of 161.45
Radeon HD 8870M
No data available
The GeForce GTX 980 has 49% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
GeForce GTX 980's 32.07 performance per dollar ranks it 76th among the other benchmarked GPUs in our database.
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 980 or
| GPU | Benchmark Performance | |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon RX 480 | 17,919 | +2% |
| Radeon RX 470 | 17,624.5 | +0% |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 17,604.5 | |
| Radeon R9 FURY | 17,543 | -0% |
| GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 17,401 | -1% |
| FirePro W5130M | 3,106 | -82% |
| Quadro P500 | 3,022 | -83% |
| Radeon HD 8870M | 2,986 | -83% |
| GeForce 845M | 2,973 | -83% |
| FirePro M5100 | 2,967 | -83% |
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 980 orRadeon HD 8870M
| GPU | Performance Per Dollar | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 960 | 54.11 | +69% |
| GeForce GTX 970 | 48.73 | +52% |
| Radeon R9 390X | 41.83 | +30% |
| Radeon R9 280X | 36.09 | +13% |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 35.53 | +11% |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 32.07 | |
| Radeon R9 FURY | 31.95 | -0% |
| Radeon R9 290X | 29.45 | -8% |
| Radeon R9 Nano | 26.63 | -17% |
| GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 22.34 | -30% |
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
| Benchmark | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics | 85,374 (+442.45%) | 15,738.5 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics | 12,938 (+496.63%) | 2,168.5 |
| 3DMark 11 Performance Score | 14,169 (+330.41%) | 3,292 |
| Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit | 109.6 | -- |
| PassMark G3D Mark | 11,101 (+577.72%) | 1,638 |
| PassMark G2D Mark | 791 (+26.76%) | 624 |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 | 129.7 (+400.77%) | 25.9 |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL | -- | 19.4 |
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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | GM204 | Venus |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | GCN 1.0 |
| Process Size | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 5,200 million | 1,500 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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Memory Size | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 224.4 Gb/s | 72 Gb/s |
| Memory Clock | 1,753 MHz | 1,125 MHz |
| Memory Interface | 256 bit | 128 bit |
| L1 Cache | 48 KB | 16 KB |
| L2 Cache | 2 MB | 256 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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | 2 slots | -- |
| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Thermal Design Power (TDP) | 165 W | -- |
| Suggested PSU | 450 W | -- |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | -- |
| Outputs | DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 | Device 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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Stream Processors (SP) | -- | 640 |
| CUDA Cores | 2,048 | -- |
| Compute Units (CU) | -- | 10 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMU) | 128 | 40 |
| Render Output Units (ROP) | 64 | 16 |
| Core Clock Speed | 1,127 MHz | 725 MHz |
| Core Clock Speed (Boost) | 1,216 MHz | 775 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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Fill Rate | 77.82 GPixel/s | 12.4 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 155.6 GTexel/s | 31 GTexel/s |
| FP32 Performance | 4.98 TFLOPS | 992 GFLOPS |
| FP64 Performance | 155.6 GFLOPS | 62 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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon HD 8870M |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |
| OpenCL | 3.0 | 2.1 (1.2) |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Shader Model | 6.8 | 6.5 (5.1) |
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.