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 980 Ti vs GeForce RTX 2060 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.

GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs GeForce RTX 2060: 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 980 Ti

2015

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2060 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on Upscaling support instead.
❌2015 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌
86% HIGHER MSRP
$649 MSRPvs$349 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 21.1 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs $349 MSRP).

GeForce RTX 2060

2019

Why buy it

✅15.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $300 less on MSRP ($349 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).
✅Delivers 91.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 21.1 G3D/$ ($349 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅Better long-term bet: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce RTX 2060 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 15.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.9% in PassMark G3D (14,114 vs 13,711), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce RTX 2060 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 12nm process instead of 28nm, 30 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2019 generation instead of 2015. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce RTX 2060 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $300 cheaper on MSRP at $349 vs $649, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 91.4% (40.4 vs 21.1), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs GeForce RTX 2060 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 2 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1000 MHz to 1075 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 13,711 points. Launch price was $649.

GeForce RTX 2060

The GeForce RTX 2060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 7 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1365 MHz to 1680 MHz. It has 1920 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 160W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 30 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 14,114 points. Launch price was $349.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 13,711 and the GeForce RTX 2060 reaches 14,114 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the GeForce RTX 2060 uses Turing, both on 28 nm vs 12 nm. Shader units: 2,816 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 1,920 (GeForce RTX 2060). Raw compute: 6.06 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 6.451 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 2060). Boost clocks: 1075 MHz vs 1680 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
G3D Mark Score	13,711	14,114+3%
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	Turing
Process Node	28 nm	12 nm
Shading Units	2816+47%	1920
Compute (TFLOPS)	6.06 TFLOPS	6.451 TFLOPS+6%
Boost Clock	1075 MHz	1680 MHz+56%
ROPs	96+100%	48
TMUs	176+47%	120
L1 Cache	1 MB	1.9 MB+90%
L2 Cache	3 MB	3 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 2060 supports the newer DLSS 2 Super Resolution, whereas the GeForce GTX 980 Ti is capped at Upscaling support.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	DLSS 2 Super Resolution
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 6 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 384-bit on the GeForce GTX 980 Ti and 192-bit on the GeForce RTX 2060.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	6 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	336 GB/s	336 GB/s
Bus Width	384-bit+100%	192-bit
L2 Cache	3 MB	3 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 12 Ultimate (12_2) (GeForce RTX 2060). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
DirectX	12.1	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 3.0 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs NVENC (Turing) (GeForce RTX 2060). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs NVDEC (Turing). Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs H.264,H.265,VP9,VP8,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce RTX 2060).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
Encoder	NVENC 3.0	NVENC (Turing)
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	NVDEC (Turing)
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	H.264,H.265,VP9,VP8,MPEG-2,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti draws 250W versus the GeForce RTX 2060's 160W — a 43.9% difference. The GeForce RTX 2060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 500W (GeForce RTX 2060). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 229mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 72.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
TDP	250W	160W-36%
Recommended PSU	600W	500W-17%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	8-pin
Length	267mm	229mm
Height	111mm	113mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	85°C	72-15%
Perf/Watt	54.8	88.2+61%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti came in at $649, while the GeForce RTX 2060 launched at $349. On MSRP, GeForce RTX 2060 was 46.2% cheaper ($300 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 21.1 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 40.4 (GeForce RTX 2060) — the GeForce RTX 2060 offers 91.5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce RTX 2060 (2019 vs 2015).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce RTX 2060
MSRP	$649	$349-46%
Performance per Dollar	21.1	40.4+91%
Codename	GM200	TU106
Release	June 2 2015	January 7 2019
Ranking	#179	#168

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