GeForce GTX 860M vs GeForce GTX 980M

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 860M and GeForce GTX 980M, 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 860M stacks up against GeForce GTX 980M, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 860M and GeForce GTX 980M are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 860M and GeForce GTX 980M are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 860M or GeForce GTX 980M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 860M GeForce GTX 980M
Power consumption (TDP) 75 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors None None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 8 GB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • Both video cards are using MXM-B (3.0) interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce GTX 980M has 4 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 860M.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 860M and GeForce GTX 980M are build with Maxwell architecture.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 980M is 241 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 860M.
  • GeForce GTX 860M and GeForce GTX 980M are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 16−18 35−40
ultra / 1080p 10−11 24−27
QHD / 1440p 5−6 18−20
4K / 2160p 4−5 10−11
low / 720p 30−35 60−65
medium / 1080p 21−24 45−50
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 120% more, than GeForce GTX 860M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 860M GeForce GTX 980M
Architecture Maxwell Maxwell
Code name N15P-GX GM204
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 12 March 2014 7 October 2014
Pipelines 640 1536
Core clock speed 797 MHz 1038 MHz
Boost Clock 915 MHz 1127 MHz
Transistor count 1,870 million 5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 43.40 51.84
Floating-point performance 1,389 gflops 3,462 gflops
Memory bus width 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth 80.0 GB/s 160 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (11_0) 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 5.1 6.4
OpenGL 4.5 4.5
OpenCL 1.1 1.1
Vulkan 1.1.126 1.1.126
CUDA + +
CUDA cores 1152 or 640 1536
Bus support PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0 PCI Express 3.0
SLI options + +
HDMI + +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 163 Mh/s 383 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized large
Standard memory configuration GDDR5
eDP 1.2 signal support Up to 3840x2160
LVDS signal support Up to 1920x1200
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support Up to 3840x2160 +
HDCP content protection +
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI +
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder + +
Optimus + +
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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