NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 vs AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT
The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 30% better performance than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 260% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
Summary
About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPU
The GeForce GTX 980 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card by NVIDIA. It launched in Q3 2014 with a suggested retail price of $549. Its GM204 chip that powers the GPU uses the Maxwell 2.0 architecture and is fabricated on the 28 nm process.
This GPU is paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Its 1,753 MHz memory clock and 256 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 224.4 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.
The GTX 980 is a dual slot graphics card, taking up 2 PCIe slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 165 W. NVIDIA recommends using a power supply of at least 450 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
The GeForce GTX 980 has the 125th highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 16.78% 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 74th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
About the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT GPU
The Radeon RX 6500 XT is a desktop graphics card by AMD. It launched in Q1 2022 with a suggested retail price of $199. Its Navi 24 chip that powers the GPU uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture and is fabricated on the 6 nm process.
This GPU is paired with 4 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Its 2,248 MHz memory clock and 64 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 143.9 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.
The RX 6500 XT is a dual slot graphics card, taking up 2 PCIe slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 107 W. AMD recommends using a power supply of at least 300 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
The Radeon RX 6500 XT has the 102nd highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 21.87% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 22,954 score and $199 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 115.35. This is the 9th 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.
| Info | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | NVIDIA | AMD |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | RDNA 2.0 |
| Market Segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release Date | Q3 2014 | Q1 2022 |
| Launch Price (MSRP) | $549 | $199 |
| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |
| Shop | Check Price | Check Price |
Gaming Performance
Select a game to compare FPS metrics
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
F1 24 | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Low - 1080p | -- | 86 FPS |
| Medium - 1080p | -- | 57 FPS |
| High - 1080p | -- | 37 FPS |
| Ultra - 1080p | -- | 10 FPS |
| QHD - 1440p | -- | 7 FPS |
| 4K UHD - 2160p | -- | -- |
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.
| GPU | Frames Per Second | |
|---|---|---|
| Arc A770 | 42 | +518% |
| Arc A750 | 37.1 | +446% |
| GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER | 34.8 | +412% |
| GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER | 28.8 | +324% |
| Radeon RX 6600 | 20.1 | +196% |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | 6.8 | |
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.
| GPU | Cost Per Frame | |
|---|---|---|
| Arc A750 | 7.79 | -73% |
| Arc A770 | 7.83 | -73% |
| GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER | 13.85 | -53% |
| GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER | 14.34 | -51% |
| Radeon RX 6600 | 16.37 | -44% |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | 29.26 | |
Benchmark Performance
The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 30% better performance than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The GeForce GTX 980 is ranked 125th with a score of 17,604.5, and the Radeon RX 6500 XT is ranked 102nd with a score of 22,954.
The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 260% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 980 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The GeForce GTX 980 is ranked 74th with a performance per dollar of 32.07, and the Radeon RX 6500 XT is ranked 9th with a performance per dollar of 115.35.
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.
| GPU | Benchmark Performance | |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon RX 590 | 23,362.5 | +33% |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 23,057 | +31% |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | 22,954 | +30% |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | 22,891.5 | +30% |
| GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER | 21,982 | +25% |
| 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% |
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.
| GPU | Performance Per Dollar | |
|---|---|---|
| Arc A770 | 125.54 | +292% |
| Radeon RX 5500 XT | 115.38 | +260% |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | 115.35 | +260% |
| GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER | 114.58 | +257% |
| Radeon RX 570 | 112.23 | +250% |
| 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% |
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 RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy Graphics | -- | 4,967 |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | -- | 5,536 |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics | 85,374 | 91,909 (+7.65%) |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics | 12,938 | 15,712 (+21.44%) |
| 3DMark Night Raid Graphics | -- | 64,682 |
| 3DMark 11 Performance Score | 14,169 | 22,899 (+61.61%) |
| Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit | 109.6 | -- |
| PassMark G3D Mark | 11,123 (+16.65%) | 9,535 |
| PassMark G2D Mark | 789 | 816 (+3.42%) |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 | 129.7 | -- |
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 RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | GM204 | Navi 24 |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | RDNA 2.0 |
| Process Size | 28 nm | 6 nm |
| Transistors | 5,200 million | 5,400 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 RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Memory Size | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 224.4 Gb/s | 143.9 Gb/s |
| Memory Clock | 1,753 MHz | 2,248 MHz |
| Memory Interface | 256 bit | 64 bit |
| L1 Cache | 48 KB | 128 KB |
| L2 Cache | 2 MB | 1,024 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 RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | 2 slots | 2 slots |
| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Thermal Design Power (TDP) | 165 W | 107 W |
| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 300 W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| Outputs | DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 | HDMI 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.
| Spec | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Stream Processors (SP) | -- | 1,024 |
| CUDA Cores | 2,048 | -- |
| Compute Units (CU) | -- | 16 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMU) | 128 | 64 |
| Render Output Units (ROP) | 64 | 32 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | -- | 16 |
| Core Clock Speed | 1,127 MHz | 2,310 MHz |
| Core Clock Speed (Boost) | 1,216 MHz | 2,815 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 RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Fill Rate | 77.82 GPixel/s | 90.08 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 155.6 GTexel/s | 180.2 GTexel/s |
| FP32 Performance | 4.98 TFLOPS | 5.77 TFLOPS |
| FP64 Performance | 155.6 GFLOPS | 360.3 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 RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| OpenCL | 3.0 | 2.2 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Shader Model | 6.7 (6.4) | 6.7 |
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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.