GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q vs Radeon R9 280X

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q and Radeon R9 280X, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q stacks up against Radeon R9 280X, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q Radeon R9 280X
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 250 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5X GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 3 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon R9 280X has 66% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q has 5 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 280X.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 280X - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is build with Pascal architecture, and Radeon R9 280X - with GCN.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is manufactured by 16 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 280X - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 50−55 35−40
ultra / 1080p 35−40 21−24
QHD / 1440p 27−30 16−18
4K / 2160p 16−18 10−11
low / 720p 80−85 60−65
medium / 1080p 60−65 40−45
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 43% more, than Radeon R9 280X.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q Radeon R9 280X
Architecture Pascal GCN
Code name N17E-G3 Max-Q Thaiti XTL
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 30 May 2017 8 October 2013
Pipelines 2560 2048
Core clock speed 1101 - 1290 MHz
Boost Clock 1278 - 1468 MHz 1000 MHz
Transistor count 7,200 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 16 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 234.9 128.0
Floating-point performance 7,516 gflops 4,096 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 384 Bit
Memory clock speed 10000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 320.3 GB/s 288 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
VR Ready +
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131 +
CUDA 6.1
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.5 kh/s
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 494 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
DisplayPort support +
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.42 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 285 Sol/s
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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