NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 vs AMD Radeon RX 480

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 980
17,604.517% of 104,737
Radeon RX 4802% better
17,91917% of 104,737

The Radeon RX 480 has 2% better performance than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 980
32.0720% of 161.45
Radeon RX 480144% better
78.2548% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 480 has 144% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce GTX 980
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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 16.81% 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 RX 480 GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 480 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q2 2016 with a MSRP of $229. It is built on the GCN 4.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Ellesmere) and is manufactured on a 14 nm process.

Memory

The RX 480 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 2,000 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 256 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 RX 480 includes 2,304 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,120 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,266 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 144 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 480 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 150 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 480 has the 124th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 17.11% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 17,919 score and $229 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 78.25. This is the 38th 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 980Radeon RX 480
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 4.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2014Q2 2016
Launch Price (MSRP)$549$229
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Display FPS for Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3
Display FPS for Outriders
Outriders
Display FPS for Flight Simulator 2020
Flight Simulator 2020
Display FPS for Valorant
Valorant
Display FPS for Gears Tactics
Gears Tactics
Display FPS for Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2

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 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
GeForce GTX 980Radeon RX 480
Low - 1080p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
29 FPS
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 980 orRadeon RX 480
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER59.2+108%
GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER47.5+67%
GeForce GTX 166043.1+51%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER35.2+24%
Radeon RX 5500 XT34.5+21%
Radeon RX 48028.5
Radeon RX 6500 XT23.5-18%

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 RX 480

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 980
17,604.517% of 104,737
Radeon RX 4802% better
17,91917% of 104,737

The Radeon RX 480 has 2% better performance than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 980 is ranked 127th with a score of 17,604.5, and the Radeon RX 480 is ranked 124th with a score of 17,919.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 980
32.0720% of 161.45
Radeon RX 480144% better
78.2548% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 480 has 144% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 980 is ranked 76th with a performance per dollar of 32.07, and the Radeon RX 480 is ranked 38th with a performance per dollar of 78.25.

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
GPUBenchmark Performance
Radeon RX 5500 XT19,499+11%
Radeon RX 57018,967+8%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER18,224.5+4%
Radeon R9 390X17,944+2%
Radeon RX 48017,919+2%
Radeon RX 47017,624.5+0%
GeForce GTX 98017,604.5
Radeon R9 FURY17,543-0%
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)17,401-1%
Radeon R9 Nano17,282-2%

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 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti82.05+156%
GeForce GTX 105078.63+145%
Radeon RX 48078.25+144%
GeForce RTX 206077.83+143%
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER74.36+132%
Radeon R9 280X36.09+13%
GeForce GTX 980 Ti35.53+11%
GeForce GTX 98032.07
Radeon R9 FURY31.95-0%
Radeon R9 290X29.45-8%

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 980Radeon RX 480
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
3,882
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
4,001
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
85,374
(+18.23%)
72,213
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
12,938
(+6.17%)
12,186
3DMark 11 Performance Score
14,169
15,476
(+9.22%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
109.6
166
(+51.46%)
PassMark G3D Mark
11,098
(+28.7%)
8,623
PassMark G2D Mark
798
(+2.05%)
782
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
129.7
132
(+1.77%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL
--
105
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.

SpecGeForce GTX 980Radeon RX 480
CodenameGM204Ellesmere
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 4.0
Process Size28 nm14 nm
Transistors5,200 million5,700 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 980Radeon RX 480
Memory Size4 GB8 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth224.4 Gb/s256 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz2,000 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit256 bit
L1 Cache48 KB16 KB
L2 Cache2 MB2 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 980Radeon RX 480
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)165 W150 W
Suggested PSU450 W450 W
Power Connectors2x 6-pin1x 6-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.0b, 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 980Radeon RX 480
Stream Processors (SP)--2,304
CUDA Cores2,048--
Compute Units (CU)--36
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128144
Render Output Units (ROP)6432
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz1,120 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,216 MHz1,266 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 980Radeon RX 480
Pixel Fill Rate77.82 GPixel/s40.51 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate155.6 GTexel/s182.3 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.98 TFLOPS5.83 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance155.6 GFLOPS364.6 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 980Radeon RX 480
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_0)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.7

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