GeForce GTX 980M vs Radeon R9 290X

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X, 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 980M stacks up against Radeon R9 290X, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 980M Check Price

Radeon R9 290X Check Price

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:

GeForce GTX 980M Laptops

Main Specs

	GeForce GTX 980M	Radeon R9 290X
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	4 GB
Display Connectors	No outputs	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
	Check Price	Check Price

GeForce GTX 980M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and Radeon R9 290X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
GeForce GTX 980M has 4 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 290X.
GeForce GTX 980M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 290X - in Desktops.
GeForce GTX 980M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon R9 290X - with GCN.
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 980M is 1250 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 290X.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	35−40	35−40
ultra / 1080p	24−27	24−27
QHD / 1440p	18−20	18−20
4K / 2160p	10−11	10−11
low / 720p	60−65	60−65
medium / 1080p	45−50	45−50
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
high / 1080p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	50−55	50−55
QHD / 1440p	35−40	35−40
4K / 2160p	18−20	18−20
low / 720p	110−120	110−120
medium / 1080p	65−70	65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Battlefield 5 is 1% more, than GeForce GTX 980M.
low / 768p	50−55	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone.
low / 768p	250−260	250−260
medium / 768p	220−230	220−230
ultra / 1080p	180−190	190−200
QHD / 1440p	110−120	110−120
4K / 2160p	70−75	70−75
high / 768p	210−220	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 1% more, than GeForce GTX 980M.
low / 768p	60−65	60−65
medium / 1080p	55−60	55−60
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Cyberpunk 2077.
low / 768p	120−130	120−130
medium / 768p	110−120	110−120
ultra / 1080p	100−110	100−110
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Dota 2.
high / 1080p	45−50	45−50
ultra / 1080p	45−50	45−50
QHD / 1440p	30−35	30−35
4K / 2160p	16−18	16−18
low / 720p	85−90	85−90
medium / 1080p	50−55	50−55
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Far Cry 5.
high / 1080p	65−70	65−70
ultra / 1080p	50−55	50−55
QHD / 1440p	30−33	30−35
4K / 2160p	27−30	27−30
low / 720p	180−190	180−190
medium / 1080p	120−130	120−130
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Fortnite.
high / 1080p	60−65	65−70
ultra / 1080p	45−50	45−50
QHD / 1440p	35−40	35−40
4K / 2160p	24−27	24−27
low / 720p	110−120	110−120
medium / 1080p	70−75	70−75
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Forza Horizon 4.
low / 768p	140−150	140−150
medium / 768p	130−140	130−140
high / 1080p	75−80	75−80
ultra / 1080p	30−35	30−35
QHD / 1440p	24−27	24−27
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Grand Theft Auto V.
high / 1080p	27−30	27−30
ultra / 1080p	21−24	21−24
QHD / 1440p	18−20	18−20
4K / 2160p	9−10	9−10
low / 720p	70−75	70−75
medium / 1080p	35−40	35−40
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Metro Exodus.
low / 768p	130−140	130−140
medium / 1080p	120−130	120−130
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Minecraft.
ultra / 1080p	14−16	14−16
low / 720p	100−110	100−110
medium / 1080p	18−20	18−20
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS.
high / 1080p	27−30	27−30
ultra / 1080p	16−18	18−20
QHD / 1440p	12−14	12−14
4K / 2160p	8−9	8−9
low / 720p	70−75	70−75
medium / 1080p	35−40	35−40
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2.
low / 768p	140−150	140−150
medium / 768p	90−95	90−95
high / 1080p	50−55	50−55
ultra / 1080p	27−30	27−30
4K / 2160p	16−18	16−18
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
low / 768p	90−95	90−95
medium / 768p	60−65	60−65
ultra / 1080p	55−60	55−60
GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon R9 290X have the same average FPS in World of Tanks.

Full Specs

	GeForce GTX 980M	Radeon R9 290X
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN
Code name	GM204	Hawaii XT
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	7 October 2014	24 October 2013
Pipelines	1536	2816
Core clock speed	1038 MHz
Boost Clock	1127 MHz	947 MHz
Transistor count	5,200 million	6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	51.84	176.0
Floating-point performance	3,462 gflops	5,632 gflops
Length		275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	512 Bit
Memory clock speed	2500 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	160 GB/s	320 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-
G-SYNC support	+
DirectX	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	6.3
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	2.0
Vulkan	1.1.126	+
CUDA	+
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight)		0.76 kh/s
FreeSync		+
CUDA cores	1536
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCIe 3.0
SLI options	+
HDMI	+	+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)	383 Mh/s	623 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)		25.75 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash)		350 Sol/s
GameStream	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	+
GPU Boost	2.0
GameWorks	+
BatteryBoost	+
AppAcceleration		+
LiquidVR		+
TressFX		+
UVD		+
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GeForce GTX 980M vs Radeon R9 290X

GeForce GTX 980M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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