GeForce GTX 980M vs Radeon R9 280X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 280X. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 280X. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

GeForce GTX 980M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 980M 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 980M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon R9 280X
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 3 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • GeForce GTX 980M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and Radeon R9 280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 980M has 5 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 280X.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 280X - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon R9 280X - with GCN.
  • GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 280X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 35−40
ultra / 1080p 24−27 21−24
QHD / 1440p 18−20 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 60−65
medium / 1080p 45−50 40−45
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 3% more, than Radeon R9 280X.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon R9 280X
Architecture Maxwell GCN
Code name GM204 Thaiti XTL
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 7 October 2014 8 October 2013
Pipelines 1536 2048
Core clock speed 1038 MHz
Boost Clock 1127 MHz 1000 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 51.84 128.0
Floating-point performance 3,462 gflops 4,096 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 384 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth 160 GB/s 288 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.5 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.126 +
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.5 kh/s
FreeSync +
CUDA cores 1536
Bus support PCI Express 3.0 PCIe 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI + +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 383 Mh/s 494 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
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
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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