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GeForce GTX 580 vs Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 580

2010Core: 772 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280

2012Boost: 1250 MHz
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GeForce GTX 580 vs Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 580
3 GB 244
4,634
0.0%
brand logoGeForce GTX 950M
brand logoGeForce GTX 860M
brand logoGeForce GTX 765M SLI
brand logoGeForce GTX 880M SLI
brand logoGeForce GTX 1060 5GB
brand logoGeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
brand logoGeForce RTX 5060 Mobile
brand logoGeForce RTX 2080 Ti
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
3 GB 200
4,765
+2.8%
brand logoRadeon HD 8770
brand logoRadeon R7 360
brand logoRadeon RX 560
brand logoRadeon RX 460 (móvel)
brand logoRadeon RX 5500 XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6800M
brand logoRadeon RX 6850M XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6800

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GTX 580 vs Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low80 FPS
medium65 FPS
high52 FPS
ultra34 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low78 FPS
medium64 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra33 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low132 FPS
medium103 FPS
high81 FPS
ultra59 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low131 FPS
medium101 FPS
high80 FPS
ultra54 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low209 FPS
medium167 FPS
high139 FPS
ultra104 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low214 FPS
medium172 FPS
high143 FPS
ultra107 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low157 FPS
medium116 FPS
high100 FPS
ultra84 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low142 FPS
medium117 FPS
high100 FPS
ultra85 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low127 FPS
medium107 FPS
high86 FPS
ultra68 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low141 FPS
medium123 FPS
high100 FPS
ultra79 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low84 FPS
medium65 FPS
high52 FPS
ultra36 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low53 FPS
medium41 FPS
high30 FPS
ultra18 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low58 FPS
medium40 FPS
high33 FPS
ultra24 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low56 FPS
medium40 FPS
high31 FPS
ultra23 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low79 FPS
medium62 FPS
high49 FPS
ultra37 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low78 FPS
medium60 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra39 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce GTX 580
low71 FPS
medium54 FPS
high42 FPS
ultra30 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
low71 FPS
medium55 FPS
high44 FPS
ultra32 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce GTX 580 vs Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GTX 580

2010

Why buy it

  • ✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌2010 hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    78.9% HIGHER MSRP
    $499 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 9.3 vs 17.1 G3D/$ ($499 MSRP vs $279 MSRP).
  • ❌22% higher power demand at 244W vs 200W.

Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280

2012

Why buy it

  • ✅5.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ✅Costs $220 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 83.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 17.1 vs 9.3 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
  • ✅Draws 200W instead of 244W, a 44W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2012 hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 5.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.8% in PassMark G3D (4,765 vs 4,634), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 580 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $220 cheaper on MSRP at $279 vs $499, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 83.9% (17.1 vs 9.3), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 580 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 580 vs Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 580

The GeForce GTX 580 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in November 9 2010. It features the Fermi 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 772 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 244W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,634 points. Launch price was $499.

AMD

Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280

The Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 31 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1250 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,765 points. Launch price was $449.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 580 scores 4,634 and the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 reaches 4,765 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 580 is built on Fermi 2.0 while the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 512 (GeForce GTX 580) vs 1,792 (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280). Raw compute: 1.581 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 580) vs 2.867 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280).

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
G3D Mark Score
4,634
4,765+3%
Architecture
Fermi 2.0
GCN 1.0
Process Node
40 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
512
1792+250%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.581 TFLOPS
2.867 TFLOPS+81%
ROPs
48+50%
32
TMUs
64
112+75%
L1 Cache
1 MB+127%
0.44 MB
L2 Cache
768 KB
768 KB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 580 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 3 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 580) vs 240 GB/s (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280) — a 25% advantage for the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280. Memory bus width is 384-bit on the GeForce GTX 580 and 384-bit on the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280.

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
VRAM Capacity
3 GB
3 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
192 GB/s
240 GB/s+25%
Bus Width
384-bit
384-bit
L2 Cache
768 KB
768 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce GTX 580) vs 12 (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280). Vulkan: N/A vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
DirectX
12 (11_0)
12
Vulkan
N/A
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
2
4+100%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce GTX 580) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 3.2. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce GTX 580) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,MVC (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280).

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
Encoder
None
VCE 1.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP4
UVD 3.2
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,MVC
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 580 draws 244W versus the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280's 200W — a 19.8% difference. The Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce GTX 580) vs 500W (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 278mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85 C vs 80°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
TDP
244W
200W-18%
Recommended PSU
550W
500W-9%
Power Connector
6-pin + 8-pin
2x 6-pin
Length
267mm
278mm
Height
111mm
111mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
85 C
80°C-6%
Perf/Watt
19.0
23.8+25%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 580 came in at $499, while the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 launched at $279. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 was 44.1% cheaper ($220 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 9.3 (GeForce GTX 580) vs 17.1 (Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280) — the Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 offers 83.9% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 (2012 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce GTX 580Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280
MSRP
$499
$279-44%
Performance per Dollar
9.3
17.1+84%
Codename
GF110
Tahiti
Release
November 9 2010
January 31 2012
Ranking
#458
#454
Search GeForce GTX 580 on AmazonSearch Radeon HD 7950 / R9 280 on Amazon

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