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 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 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
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Battlefield 5
Call of Duty: Warzone
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Cyberpunk 2077
Dota 2
Far Cry 5
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4
Grand Theft Auto V
Metro Exodus
Minecraft
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
World of Tanks
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
+
Check Price
Check Price