NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Review | 118 Data compared

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 980, built on the Maxwell graphics architecture, delivers excellent single-GPU performance while establishing a new standard for power efficiency. Originally designed with mobile hardware in mind, this architecture reorganises cores into smaller execution units and expands the level two cache to 2MB to drastically reduce power consumption. In testing, the card draws nearly 100 watts less under full load than the preceding GTX 780 Ti, allowing it to operate remarkably quietly at just 39.1 decibels. While its raw specifications—such as a reduced 2,048 CUDA cores and a narrower 256-bit memory interface—appear compromised on paper, its higher base clock speed of 1,126MHz keeps it slightly ahead of older models in real-world gaming benchmarks like Battlefield 4 and Total War: Rome II. Additionally, it upgrades connectivity by introducing an HDMI 2.0 port alongside three DisplayPorts, enabling 4K video playback at 60 frames per second. The main advantages (pros) of the GTX 980 include its top-tier single-GPU performance, highly efficient power draw, exceptionally quiet fan operation, and a robust, modern port selection. It enters the market at a lower...

The PCMag review highlights the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 as an Editors' Choice winner and the fastest single-chip consumer graphics card at launch, powered by the highly efficient Maxwell architecture. Offering impressive performance benchmarks, the card operates with a remarkably low 165-watt TDP, significantly lowering power consumption compared to the GTX 780 Ti and AMD’s Radeon R9 290X. Key advantages include superior cooling, quiet operation, and features like Dynamic Super Resolution, though the reference design requires two six-pin power connectors. While delivering immense power, the card is noted for being unable to handle single-card 4K gaming at maximum settings, requiring SLI for such tasks.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 review highlights the card as a groundbreaking release for the Maxwell architecture, offering exceptional performance-per-watt efficiency by delivering class-leading power reductions without compromising hardware capability. Built on a 28nm process with 2,048 CUDA cores and 4GB of GDDR5 memory, the reference model operates at a base clock of 1126 MHz and a boost clock of 1216 MHz. In raw benchmarks like 3DMark and real-world gaming titles including Grid Autosport, Thief, and Metro Last Light Redux, the GTX 980 routinely beats or closely matches heavily overclocked previous-generation cards like the GTX 780 Ti. Furthermore, the card demonstrates immense overclocking potential, safely hitting a stable peak boost speed of 1,418 MHz (an 18% core clock increase), making it the first single GPU card to break 20,000 points in the 3DMark 11 graphics test. The review heavily praises the graphics card for several distinct pros, most notably its unmatched power efficiency—drawing only 158 watts during heavy gaming compared to over 225 watts on competing AMD setups. Additional pros include its massive overclocking headroom, quiet industrial design reference cooler,...

The TechPowerUp review highlights the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 as a major milestone for high-end, single-GPU performance, driven by the highly efficient 28 nm "Maxwell" GM204 architecture and a $549 MSRP. It outperforms the older GTX 780 Ti, offering exceptional power efficiency (165W TDP), quieter operation, a metal backplate, and features like HDMI 2.0 and DSR. However, the review notes the performance increase over the 780 Ti is relatively small, and while raw overclocking headroom exists, it does not translate linearly to real-world gaming gains. Additionally, NVIDIA removed the complex vapor-chamber cooler to cut costs, reducing thermal capacity, while the 4 GB frame buffer relies on a 256-bit bus and heavy compression.

Digital Foundry's review details the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980, a flagship GPU built on the 28nm Maxwell architecture (GM204 chip) to replace the older GTX 780 Ti. Pros include its outstanding power efficiency, boasting a low 165W TDP that draws 80W less than the 780 Ti and 100W less than AMD's R9 290X, allowing for cooler, quieter operation ideal for small form factor PCs. It features updated connectivity (one DVI, one HDMI 2.0 supporting 4K at 60Hz, and three DisplayPorts) to facilitate easier surround G-Sync configurations. The card introduces innovative features like Voxel-Based Global Illumination (VXGI) and Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), which brings high-quality super-sampling down to 1080p displays. Cons center on a lack of a groundbreaking performance leap over preexisting top-end hardware, tracking only an incremental 5% average frame-rate increase over the outgoing GTX 780 Ti at 1080p. At higher resolutions, performance is bottlenecked by its narrower 256-bit memory bus, which causes its 15% lead over the R9 290X at 1080p to shrink to just 5% at 1440p. Furthermore, at a premium price of £430 / $549, Digital Foundry...

The ASUS STRIX GTX 980 OC 4 GB is a Maxwell-based card featuring a 5% factory overclock, delivering exceptional power efficiency and a 0 dB passive cooling mode that remains nearly inaudible under load. Key advantages include robust build quality with a metal backplate, high GPU core overclocking potential, and excellent connectivity with HDMI 2.0 and triple DisplayPort, according to TechPowerUp. Drawbacks highlighted in the review include the lack of factory-overclocked memory and limited memory overclocking headroom due to missing dedicated heatsinks. Additionally, the card's 14.5 cm height may cause case clearance issues, and a structural metal tab can make PCIe power cable installation difficult.

The TechPowerUp review rates the MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4 GB as an excellent custom card, highlighting its 10% factory-overclocked performance boost and the silent, highly effective TwinFrozr cooler. It features superb overclocking capacity, notably exceeding 2 GHz on the memory, all while maintaining a competitive $580 price point, just $30 above the reference model. Conversely, the review notes the lack of a protective backplate as a downside compared to competitors. It also criticizes the use of two 8-pin power connectors, which are deemed unnecessary for the actual power draw and lead to higher energy consumption compared to the stock card.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 review by Allan 'Zardon' Campbell on KitGuru highlights the exceptional architectural leap of the 28nm GM204 Maxwell platform, which earned a highly impressive 9.5 out of 10 rating. A major pro of this hardware is its incredible power efficiency, designed to deliver twice the performance per watt compared to previous-generation Kepler hardware. The reference card drops thermal design power (TDP) down to 165 watts (from the GTX 680’s 195W) while scaling up to 2,048 CUDA cores, a 1,126 MHz base clock, and 5 TFLOPS of processing power under boost. Performance is further enhanced by a rebalanced Streaming Multiprocessor framework, a 4MB L2 cache (quadruple the size of the GK104), and an advanced memory compression engine that drastically reduces the demand on DRAM bandwidth. On the downside, early consumer consensus and benchmarks point out specific performance constraints regarding high-resolution configurations. While the inclusion of 4GB of GDDR5 memory (running at 7Gbps over a 224 GB/s bandwidth) was an upgrade over standard 3GB models, critics note that the card remains relatively incapable of seamlessly driving multi-display arrays...

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 4GB reference graphics card is a premium, dual-slot GPU built on the power-efficient Maxwell (GM204) architecture. Measuring 267mm in length, it features a high-quality aluminum frame, a magnesium alloy fan housing, an iconic green LED backlit GeForce logo, and a highly innovative partially removable backplate designed to optimize airflow in multi-GPU SLI configurations. Equipped with one HDMI 2.0 port, three DisplayPort 1.2 connections, and a dual-link DVI-I output, it supports robust display flexibility. Internally, the card utilizes a 4 phase power arrangement and an onboard power balancing circuit that dynamically distributes power across its two 6-pin PCI-E connectors and the PCI-Express bus to sustain stable clock speeds during intense workloads. Bit-Tech Pros: Exceptional Efficiency: Features a remarkably low 165W TDP that delivers unmatched performance-per-watt metrics compared to preceding flagships and competitor models. Premium Thermal and Acoustic Engineering: Employs an enclosed cooling system with three high-purity water-filled copper heat pipes, an anodized black fin stack, and a quiet radial fan that efficiently exhausts heat entirely out of the rear I/O. Strong Overclocking Headroom: Supports high stability...

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 introduced the top-tier, super-efficient Maxwell architecture using the brand new GM 204 GPU. It provides high-end gaming performance that outpaces even overclocked previous-generation GTX 780 Ti cards, all while running quieter than older Kepler models. This model builds on the thermal and energy-efficient strategy first seen with lower-end Maxwell cards earlier in the year. Reviewer Dave James labels it an exceptional piece of hardware that caps off an excellent year for the "green team". The review highlights several core advantages and disadvantages for the graphics card. The major pros include top-notch performance, superb overclocking capabilities, a great minimum frame rate, mid-range pricing, and significantly lower power consumption. However, a notable con is that the card is still built using an older 28nm manufacturing process. Despite this technical limitation, its impressive power efficiency makes it an incredibly solid upgrade choice for high-end setups.

Executive Summary: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 and 980 Review The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 and 970 review introduces the GM204 Maxwell architecture, which scales up the extreme energy efficiency previously seen in the mid-range GTX 750 Ti to high-end gaming rigs. Built on a 28 nm process node, the flagship GTX 980 features 2048 CUDA cores, 64 full-color ROPs, and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 256-bit bus, achieving a massive 72 Gpixels/s pixel fill rate to aggressively compete with older Kepler-based heavyweights like the GTX 780 Ti. Key architectural pros include a staggering reduction in power consumption, with the GTX 980 sporting a low 165 W TDP (and the GTX 970 at an even lower 145 W) alongside future-proof feature additions like native HDMI 2.0 support for 4K at 60 Hz, third-generation delta color compression to maximise bandwidth, and H.265 (HEVC) hardware encoding. However, the review outlines several prominent cons and structural limitations, most notably an official post-launch addendum clarifying that the GTX 970 possesses strictly crippled specifications compared to NVIDIA's initial public disclosure. While initially reported to...

The PCMag UK review awards the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 a rating of 4.0 Excellent, highlighting it as the most powerful consumer-class card at its launch and the first high-end GPU built on the efficient Maxwell architecture. In benchmark testing, its raw performance significantly outpaced previous leaders like the Nvidia GTX 780 Ti and the power-hungry AMD Radeon R9 290X. A core pro of the card is its exceptional power efficiency, pulling a thermal design power (TDP) of just 165 watts—which is 85 watts lower than the GTX 780 Ti. Furthermore, additional pros include its ability to run cooler and quieter than its AMD competition, alongside support for forward-looking feature sets like Dynamic Super Resolution and advanced anti-aliasing methods. Despite these architectural triumphs, the review notes a few notable cons regarding real-world performance expectations and hardware requirements. It is a bit disappointing that the performance gains over the older, higher-priced GTX 780 Ti and GTX Titan Black are not massive. It is also criticized because uncompromised, maximum-setting 4K gaming still requires multiple cards in SLI configuration, meaning it falls short...

The Legit Reviews review of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 highlights the flagship video card's debut on the 28nm GM204 Maxwell architecture, which targeted elite gaming performance across 4K displays and emerging virtual reality setups. Priced at launch at $549, the reference card features 2,048 CUDA cores, a base clock speed of 1126MHz, a boost clock of 1216MHz, and 4GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus. Architecturally, Maxwell heavily improves upon the preceding Kepler architecture by restructuring its data path to 128 CUDA cores per Streaming Multiprocessor (SM), driving total computing performance up to 5 TFLOPS. In benchmark testing, the GTX 980 demonstrated strong gains over older hardware, successfully maintaining playable frame rates above 30 FPS at 4K Ultra settings in demanding modern games like Battlefield 4 and Metro: Last Light. The review underscores several key pros and cons that define the card's overall value. On the positive side, pros include its extraordinary energy efficiency, achieving an impressive 30 GFLOPS/Watt ratio and pulling a modest 165W TDP compared to previous generation flagships. It also delivers cutting-edge graphical features like...

The Nvidia GTX 980 officially marks a major architectural shift to "Maxwell," focusing heavily on power efficiency while skipping the 800 series naming convention to align desktop and mobile lines. Built on a 28 nm process with a smaller die size than the previous generation, the card features 2,048 CUDA cores, a base clock of 1126 MHz, a boost clock of 1216 MHz, and 4GB of GDDR5 memory across a 256-bit bus. In performance testing, the GTX 980 decisively outperforms the older flagship GTX 780 Ti across synthetic benchmarks and in 1080p and 1440p gaming configurations, effectively doing more with fewer cores. Furthermore, it introduces driver-level features like Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) to enhance visual detail by rendering games at higher resolutions before downscaling them. The card features notable strengths and weaknesses: Pros Excellent Efficiency: Features an impressive, low 165W TDP that pulled only 393W under a full system load, matching the lower-tier GTX 760 and beating the GTX 680. Premium Build and Aesthetics: Retains the high-quality all-metal shroud of the 700 series and introduces a protective, sturdy backplate with...

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 introduced the flagship Maxwell GM204 architecture, prioritizing power efficiency alongside high-end performance. Built on a 28nm process, it delivers a massive architectural leap by achieving a very low 165W TDP—which is 30W lower than the older GTX 680 despite offering a 33% higher core count and faster clock speeds. The card is packed with modern display features, making it the first GPU to support HDMI 2.0 for 4K streaming at 60Hz, while also expanding display capabilities to support 5K resolution, up to four concurrent 4K displays, and multi-monitor G-Sync Surround setups. Video editors and streamers benefit from an upgraded NVENC encoder that runs H.264 up to 2.5 times faster than Kepler and introduces native hardware support for H.265 (HEVC) video encoding. In terms of pros, the GTX 980 stands out for its class-leading performance-per-watt efficiency, offering roughly twice the GFLOPS per watt of the GTX 680. It delivers a performance increase over previous-generation powerhouses like the GTX 780 and GTX 780 Ti. Additionally, it offers comprehensive DirectX 12 hardware support for advanced rendering techniques like...

The Phoronix review of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 highlights the Maxwell-based GPU as a dominant force in Linux OpenGL and OpenCL performance, offering significant power efficiency with a 165W TDP and superior performance-per-watt compared to previous generations. The card, utilizing the proprietary 343.22 driver, showed stability on Ubuntu 14.04 and outperformed the Radeon R9 290 by 33% in tests like CS:GO at 4K. Conversely, the review notes the poor state of the open-source Nouveau driver, which lacks re-clocking and requires proprietary firmware for adequate functionality. Additionally, initial driver limitations included a lack of VP8/VP9 hardware decoding and VPUA-exposed H.265 encoding, along with a high entry price point over $500.

The HEXUS review of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 highlights the flagship graphics card as a major milestone for the highly efficient 28nm Maxwell architecture (GM204). Despite having fewer on-paper raw specifications than its predecessor—including 11% fewer shading cores, 33% fewer texturing units, and a narrower 256-bit memory bus—the card introduces architectural enhancements like doubled ROPs (64), quadrupled L2 cache (2,048KB), and advanced delta colour memory compression. These improvements allow it to easily outperform the older GTX 780 Ti across almost all benchmarks, delivering over 25% faster overall performance than a standard GTX 780 while significantly lowering the Thermal Design Power (TDP) to just 165W. Additional features like built-in HDMI 2.0 (enabling 4K at 60Hz) and strong overclocking potential add to its initial market appeal. However, the review details notable drawbacks regarding its positioning and maximum performance thresholds. The primary cons identified include its inability to maintain a smooth 60fps in demanding AAA games at high-quality 4K resolutions and an inherited texture fillrate limitation that hurts performance in texture-heavy titles like Tomb Raider and Crysis 3. Furthermore, because it is...

summary of the SlashGear NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 review: SlashGear Review Summary The SlashGear review outlines the launch of NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture, highlighting the 10.5-inch reference GeForce GTX 980 as a powerhouse optimized for maximum settings at a 2560 x 1600 resolution. Author Chris Burns emphasizes several cutting-edge visual technologies, including Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) for downscaling 4K clarity, Multi-Frame sampled AA (MFAA) for low-cost anti-aliasing, and Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI) for hyper-realistic dynamic lighting. Backed by 2048 CUDA cores and 4GB of GDDR5 memory, the card routinely outperforms the more expensive 6GB GTX TITAN in 1600p benchmarks. For example, in Metro Last Light at 2560 x 1600, it achieves a stellar 54.91 FPS average compared to the TITAN’s 37.35 FPS. Additionally, its physical execution is highly praised, providing exceptionally low power consumption (300 Watts under full load / 71 Watts idle) and near-silent operation inside a gaming chassis. SlashGear Despite these performance victories, the review exposes distinct shortcomings when pushing the card past its targeted 1600p resolution. The prominent con is its weak standalone performance in 4K resolution (3840...

The Trusted Reviews evaluation of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 highlights an impressive high-end graphics card, driven by the Maxwell architecture, which excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming while offering superior power efficiency and quiet operation. Key advantages include its robust, future-proof performance, support for 4K display outputs, and versatile design suited for various PC configurations. Conversely, the review notes the card struggles to provide fully playable frame rates at native 4K resolutions and faces intense competition, as rival cards like the AMD Radeon R9 390X and R9 Fury offer superior, or closely matched, performance for similar prices. Consequently, while efficient, gamers seeking maximum value may find better performance in alternatives like the cheaper GTX 970.