GeForce GTX 280 vs GeForce GTX 965M

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 965M, 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 280 stacks up against GeForce GTX 965M, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 965M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 965M 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 965M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 GeForce GTX 965M
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors 6-pin & 8-pin None
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 280 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and GeForce GTX 965M uses MXM-B (3.0) interface.
  • GeForce GTX 965M has 3 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 280.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is used in Desktops, and GeForce GTX 965M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and GeForce GTX 965M - with Maxwell.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 280 is 352 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 965M.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and GeForce GTX 965M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 965M is 1393 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 280.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 1−2 20−22
ultra / 1080p 0−1 12−14
QHD / 1440p 0−1 6−7
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 12−14 35−40
medium / 1080p 3−4 24−27
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 965M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 366% more, than GeForce GTX 280.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 GeForce GTX 965M
Architecture Tesla 2.0 Maxwell
Code name GT200 N16E-GS, N16E-GR
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 5 January 2015
Pipelines 240 1024
Core clock speed 1296 MHz 944 MHz
Boost Clock 950 / 1151 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 2,940 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 48.2 billion/sec 73.60
Floating-point performance 622.1 gflops 2,355 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 512 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 1107 MHz 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth 141.7 GB/s 80 GB/s
Shared memory -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 11.1 (10_0) 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 4.0 6.4
OpenGL 2.1 4.5
OpenCL 1.1 1.1
Vulkan N/A 1.1
CUDA + +
CUDA cores 240 1024
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options + +
Multi monitor support +
HDMI +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI S/PDIF
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 226 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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