GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 290X

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

GeForce GTX 980 Check Price

Radeon R9 290X Check Price

Main Specs

	GeForce GTX 980	Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	250 Watt
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pins	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	4 GB
Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Recommended system power (PSU)	500 Watt
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Radeon R9 290X has 51% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 980.
Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon R9 290X have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
GeForce GTX 980 is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon R9 290X - with GCN.
GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon R9 290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
Radeon R9 290X is 265 mm longer, than GeForce GTX 980.
Memory clock speed of Radeon R9 290X is 1243 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	55−60	35−40
ultra / 1080p	35−40	24−27
QHD / 1440p	30−35	18−20
4K / 2160p	18−20	10−11
low / 720p	80−85	60−65
medium / 1080p	65−70	45−50
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 48% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
high / 1080p	85−90	60−65
ultra / 1080p	75−80	50−55
QHD / 1440p	60−65	35−40
4K / 2160p	30−35	18−20
low / 720p	140−150	110−120
medium / 1080p	95−100	65−70
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Battlefield 5 is 40% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	−	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than GeForce GTX 980.
low / 768p	250−260	250−260
medium / 768p	230−240	220−230
ultra / 1080p	−	190−200
QHD / 1440p	150−160	110−120
4K / 2160p	100−110	70−75
high / 768p	220−230	210−220
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 10% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	70−75	60−65
medium / 1080p	50−55	55−60
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 3% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	120−130	120−130
medium / 768p	110−120	110−120
ultra / 1080p	110−120	100−110
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Dota 2 is 2% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
high / 1080p	70−75	45−50
ultra / 1080p	65−70	45−50
QHD / 1440p	45−50	30−35
4K / 2160p	24−27	16−18
low / 720p	100−110	85−90
medium / 1080p	75−80	50−55
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Far Cry 5 is 38% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
high / 1080p	100−110	65−70
ultra / 1080p	80−85	50−55
QHD / 1440p	50−55	30−35
4K / 2160p	21−24	27−30
low / 720p	230−240	180−190
medium / 1080p	150−160	120−130
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Fortnite is 33% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
high / 1080p	95−100	65−70
ultra / 1080p	75−80	45−50
QHD / 1440p	55−60	35−40
4K / 2160p	35−40	24−27
low / 720p	140−150	110−120
medium / 1080p	100−110	70−75
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Forza Horizon 4 is 43% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	160−170	140−150
medium / 768p	150−160	130−140
high / 1080p	100−110	75−80
ultra / 1080p	55−60	30−35
QHD / 1440p	45−50	24−27
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Grand Theft Auto V is 27% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
high / 1080p	40−45	27−30
ultra / 1080p	35−40	21−24
QHD / 1440p	27−30	18−20
4K / 2160p	16−18	9−10
low / 720p	100−110	70−75
medium / 1080p	60−65	35−40
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Metro Exodus is 54% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	120−130	130−140
medium / 1080p	−	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Minecraft is 8% more, than GeForce GTX 980.
high / 1080p	90−95	−
ultra / 1080p	65−70	14−16
4K / 2160p	18−20	−
low / 720p	130−140	100−110
medium / 1080p	100−110	18−20
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 121% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
high / 1080p	40−45	27−30
ultra / 1080p	27−30	18−20
QHD / 1440p	21−24	12−14
4K / 2160p	14−16	8−9
low / 720p	100−110	70−75
medium / 1080p	60−65	35−40
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 58% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	210−220	140−150
medium / 768p	140−150	90−95
high / 1080p	80−85	50−55
ultra / 1080p	45−50	27−30
4K / 2160p	30−33	16−18
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 55% more, than Radeon R9 290X.
low / 768p	140−150	90−95
medium / 768p	−	60−65
ultra / 1080p	70−75	55−60
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in World of Tanks is 44% more, than Radeon R9 290X.

Full Specs

	GeForce GTX 980	Radeon R9 290X
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN
Code name	GM204	Hawaii XT
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	19 September 2014	24 October 2013
Pipelines	2048	2816
Boost Clock	1216 MHz	947 MHz
Transistor count	5,200 million	6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	144 billion/sec	176.0
Floating-point performance	4,981 gflops	5,632 gflops
Length	10.5" (26.7 cm)	275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	512 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224 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	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	1.1.126	+
CUDA	+
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight)	0.54 kh/s	0.76 kh/s
FreeSync		+
CUDA cores	2048
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)
SLI options	+
Multi monitor support	4 displays
HDMI	+	+
HDCP	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)	579 Mh/s	623 Mh/s
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)	1.74 Gh/s	1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)	20.28 Mh/s	25.75 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash)	312.12 Sol/s	350 Sol/s
GameStream	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	+
GPU Boost	2.0
GameWorks	+
BatteryBoost	+
AppAcceleration		+
LiquidVR		+
TressFX		+
UVD		+
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GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon R9 290X

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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