NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 vs AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 980
17,604.517% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6850M XT139% better
42,015.540% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6850M XT has 139% 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 6850M XT
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.

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Summary

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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 RX 6850M XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is a mobile graphics card that launched in Q1 2022. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 22) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,250 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 432 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 6850M XT includes 2,560 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 2,321 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,581 MHz. It usually operates at 2,463 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 160 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 64 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 40 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 165 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The RX 6850M XT has the 35th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 40.17% 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 980Radeon RX 6850M XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ3 2014Q1 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$549--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6
Display FPS for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Display FPS for Cyberpunk 2077 (1.6)
Cyberpunk 2077 (1.6)
Display FPS for EA Sports F1 22
EA Sports F1 22
Display FPS for Dying Light 2 Stay Human
Dying Light 2
Display FPS for God of War
God of War
Display FPS for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy

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 Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6
GeForce GTX 980Radeon RX 6850M XT
Low - 720p
--
123 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
112 FPS
High - 1080p
--
100 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
99 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
87 FPS
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 6850M XT

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 6850M XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 980
17,604.517% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6850M XT139% better
42,015.540% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6850M XT has 139% 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 6850M XT is ranked 35th with a score of 42,015.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 980
32.0720% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6850M XT
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
GPUBenchmark Performance
RTX 5000 Ada Generation Mobile53,052.5+201%
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile42,275+140%
Radeon RX 6850M XT42,015.5+139%
GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile41,027+133%
Radeon RX 6800M40,390.5+129%
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%

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 RX 6850M XT
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 96054.11+69%
GeForce GTX 97048.73+52%
Radeon R9 390X41.83+30%
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%
Radeon R9 Nano26.63-17%
GeForce GTX 780 Ti22.34-30%

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
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 980Radeon RX 6850M XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
11,837
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
11,649.5
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
85,374
172,972
(+102.61%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
12,938
33,900.5
(+162.02%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
14,169
30,854.5
(+117.76%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
109.6
200.8
(+83.21%)
PassMark G3D Mark
11,101
17,474
(+57.41%)
PassMark G2D Mark
791
(+26.97%)
623
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
129.7
--
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 980Radeon RX 6850M XT
CodenameGM204Navi 22
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Process Size28 nm7 nm
Transistors5,200 million17,200 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 6850M XT
Memory Size4 GB12 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth224.4 Gb/s432 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz2,250 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit192 bit
L1 Cache48 KB128 KB
L2 Cache2 MB3 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 6850M XT
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)165 W165 W
Suggested PSU450 W--
Power Connectors2x 6-pin--
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2Device 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 980Radeon RX 6850M XT
Stream Processors (SP)--2,560
CUDA Cores2,048--
Compute Units (CU)--40
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128160
Render Output Units (ROP)6464
Ray Accelerators--40
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz2,321 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,216 MHz2,581 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,463 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 6850M XT
Pixel Fill Rate77.82 GPixel/s165.2 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate155.6 GTexel/s413 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.98 TFLOPS13.21 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance155.6 GFLOPS825.9 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 6850M XT
DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL3.02.1
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.