NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 vs AMD Radeon VII

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 980
17,604.517% of 104,598
Radeon VII115% better
37,88136% of 104,598

The Radeon VII has 115% 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 VII69% better
54.1934% of 161.45

The Radeon VII has 69% 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

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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 VII GPU

The AMD Radeon VII is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q1 2019 with a MSRP of $699. It is built on the GCN 5.1 GPU microarchitecture (codename Vega 20) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The VII has 16 GB of HBM2 memory, with a 1,000 MHz memory clock and a 4,096 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 1.02 Tb/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 VII includes 3,840 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,400 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,750 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 240 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 64 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The VII occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 295 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The VII has the 46th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 36.22% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 37,881 score and $699 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 54.19. This is the 60th 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 VII
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 5.1
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2014Q1 2019
Launch Price (MSRP)$549$699
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Crysis Remastered
Crysis Remastered
Display FPS for Cyberpunk 2077 (1.0)
Cyberpunk 2077 (1.0)
Display FPS for Immortals Fenyx Rising
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Display FPS for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Display FPS for Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Display FPS for Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Display FPS for DIRT 5
DIRT 5

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 Crysis Remastered
Crysis Remastered
GeForce GTX 980Radeon VII
Low - 720p
--
230 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
152 FPS
High - 1080p
--
80 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
64 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
49 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
31 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 VII

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 VII
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER17.51-23%
Radeon RX 680019.3-15%
GeForce RTX 206019.83-13%
Radeon RX Vega 6421.32-6%
GeForce RTX 207022.28-2%
Radeon VII22.77
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER22.84+0%
Radeon RX 6600 XT24.29+7%
GeForce RTX 208024.61+8%
Radeon RX 660024.92+9%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 980
17,604.517% of 104,598
Radeon VII115% better
37,88136% of 104,598

The Radeon VII has 115% 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 VII is ranked 46th with a score of 37,881.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 980
32.0720% of 161.45
Radeon VII69% better
54.1934% of 161.45

The Radeon VII has 69% 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 VII is ranked 60th with a performance per dollar of 54.19.

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
GeForce RTX 406038,191+117%
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti37,941+116%
Radeon VII37,881+115%
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti37,671.5+114%
Arc A75037,288+112%
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 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER58.6+83%
GeForce RTX 208057.62+80%
Radeon VII54.19+69%
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti53.89+68%
GeForce GTX 108048.85+52%
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 VII
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
8,779.5
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
8,985
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
85,374
146,094
(+71.12%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
12,938
27,448.5
(+112.15%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
101,955
3DMark 11 Performance Score
14,169
26,565
(+87.49%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
109.6
--
PassMark G3D Mark
11,101
16,660
(+50.08%)
PassMark G2D Mark
791
(+2.33%)
773
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 VII
CodenameGM204Vega 20
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 5.1
Process Size28 nm7 nm
Transistors5,200 million13,230 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 VII
Memory Size4 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5HBM2
Memory Bandwidth224.4 Gb/s1.02 Tb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz1,000 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit4,096 bit
L1 Cache48 KB16 KB
L2 Cache2 MB4 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 VII
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)165 W295 W
Suggested PSU450 W600 W
Power Connectors2x 6-pin2x 8-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 VII
Stream Processors (SP)--3,840
CUDA Cores2,048--
Compute Units (CU)--60
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128240
Render Output Units (ROP)6464
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz1,400 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,216 MHz1,750 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 VII
Pixel Fill Rate77.82 GPixel/s112 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate155.6 GTexel/s420 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.98 TFLOPS13.44 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance155.6 GFLOPS3.36 TFLOPS

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 VII
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_1)
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.