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    GeForce GTX 960 vs GeForce GTX 980

    If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce GTX 980, 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 960 stacks up against GeForce GTX 980, check out specs charts below.
    GeForce GTX 960 Check Price
    GeForce GTX 980 Check Price

    Main Specs

      GeForce GTX 960 GeForce GTX 980
    Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 165 Watt
    Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
    Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pins 2x 6-pins
    Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
    Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
    Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
    Recommended system power (PSU) 400 Watt 500 Watt
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    • GeForce GTX 980 has 37% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 960.
    • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
    • GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce GTX 980 have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
    • Both cards are used in Desktops.
    • GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce GTX 980 are build with Maxwell architecture.
    • GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce GTX 980 are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
    • GeForce GTX 980 is 1 mm longer, than GeForce GTX 960.
    • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce GTX 980 is 7 MHz.

    Game benchmarks

    high / 1080p 35−40 55−60
    ultra / 1080p 21−24 35−40
    QHD / 1440p 16−18 30−35
    4K / 2160p 10−11 18−20
    low / 720p 60−65 80−85
    medium / 1080p 40−45 65−70
    The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 53% more, than GeForce GTX 960.

    Full Specs

      GeForce GTX 960 GeForce GTX 980
    Architecture Maxwell Maxwell
    Code name GM206 GM204
    Type Desktop Desktop
    Release date 22 January 2015 19 September 2014
    Pipelines 1024 2048
    Core clock speed 1127 MHz
    Boost Clock 1178 MHz 1216 MHz
    Transistor count 2,940 million 5,200 million
    Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
    Texture fill rate 72 billion/sec 144 billion/sec
    Floating-point performance 2,413 gflops 4,981 gflops
    Length 9.5" (24.1 cm) 10.5" (26.7 cm)
    Memory bus width 128 Bit 256 Bit
    Memory clock speed 7.0 GB/s 7.0 GB/s
    Memory bandwidth 112 GB/s 224 GB/s
    Shared memory - -
    G-SYNC support + +
    DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (12_1)
    Shader Model 6.4 6.4
    OpenGL 4.4 4.5
    OpenCL 1.2 1.2
    Vulkan 1.1.126 1.1.126
    CUDA + +
    Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.27 kh/s 0.54 kh/s
    CUDA cores 1024 2048
    Bus support PCI Express 3.0 PCI Express 3.0
    Height 4.376" (11.1 cm) 4.376" (11.1 cm)
    SLI options + +
    Multi monitor support 4 displays 4 displays
    HDMI +
    HDCP + +
    Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536 2048x1536
    Audio input for HDMI Internal Internal
    Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 318 Mh/s 579 Mh/s
    DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
    H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
    Optimus +
    Decred / DCR (Decred) 0.92 Gh/s 1.74 Gh/s
    Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 8 Mh/s 20.28 Mh/s
    Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 141.47 Sol/s 312.12 Sol/s
    GameStream + +
    GeForce ShadowPlay + +
    GPU Boost 2.0 2.0
    GameWorks + +
    BatteryBoost +
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