GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs Radeon RX 5600 XT

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

2015Core: 1000 MHzBoost: 1075 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon RX 5600 XT

2020Core: 1130 MHzBoost: 1560 MHz
RX family
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GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs Radeon RX 5600 XT Performance Spectrum

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 980 Ti vs Radeon RX 5600 XT 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 Radeon RX 5600 XT: 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

  • 12.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation (2023).
  • 2015 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 132.6% HIGHER MSRP
    $649 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 21.1 vs 48.2 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs $279 MSRP).
  • 66.7% higher power demand at 250W vs 150W.

Radeon RX 5600 XT

2020

Why buy it

  • Costs $370 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).
  • Delivers 128.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.2 vs 21.1 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).
  • Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation (2023).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 150W instead of 250W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 980 Ti across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX 980 Ti is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 12.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.9% in PassMark G3D (13,711 vs 13,453), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon RX 5600 XT is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer feature stack, with FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) and FSR Frame Generation (2023), while GeForce GTX 980 Ti is limited to no meaningful modern upscaling stack and no comparable frame-generation support, a 7nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2020 generation instead of 2015. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon RX 5600 XT makes the most sense to buy today. It is $370 cheaper on MSRP at $279 vs $649, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 128.2% (48.2 vs 21.1), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. GeForce GTX 980 Ti still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs Radeon RX 5600 XT Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

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.

AMD

Radeon RX 5600 XT

The Radeon RX 5600 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 21 2020. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1130 MHz to 1560 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 13,453 points. Launch price was $279.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 13,711 and the Radeon RX 5600 XT reaches 13,453 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon RX 5600 XT uses RDNA 1.0, both on 28 nm vs 7 nm. Shader units: 2,816 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 2,304 (Radeon RX 5600 XT). Raw compute: 6.06 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 7.188 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 5600 XT). Boost clocks: 1075 MHz vs 1560 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
G3D Mark Score
13,711+2%
13,453
Architecture
Maxwell 2.0
RDNA 1.0
Process Node
28 nm
7 nm
Shading Units
2816+22%
2304
Compute (TFLOPS)
6.06 TFLOPS
7.188 TFLOPS+19%
Boost Clock
1075 MHz
1560 MHz+45%
ROPs
96+50%
64
TMUs
176+22%
144
L2 Cache
3 MB
3 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The clearest feature edge for the Radeon RX 5600 XT is support for FSR Frame Generation. In games that support it, that can smooth out motion and lift perceived FPS. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti does not have comparable native support in the same tier.The GeForce GTX 980 Ti gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon RX 5600 XT leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
FSR Frame Generation
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

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 Radeon RX 5600 XT.

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
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 (Radeon RX 5600 XT). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
DirectX
12.1
12
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 VCN 2.0 (Radeon RX 5600 XT). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs VCN 2.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs H.264,H.265/HEVC,VP9 (Radeon RX 5600 XT).

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
Encoder
NVENC 3.0
VCN 2.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP6
VCN 2.0
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC
H.264,H.265/HEVC,VP9
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti draws 250W versus the Radeon RX 5600 XT's 150W — a 50% difference. The Radeon RX 5600 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 450W (Radeon RX 5600 XT). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 75°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
TDP
250W
150W-40%
Recommended PSU
600W
450W-25%
Power Connector
6-pin + 8-pin
8-pin
Length
267mm
267mm
Height
111mm
111mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
85°C
75°C-12%
Perf/Watt
54.8
89.7+64%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti came in at $649, while the Radeon RX 5600 XT launched at $279. On MSRP, Radeon RX 5600 XT was 57% cheaper ($370 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 21.1 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 48.2 (Radeon RX 5600 XT) — the Radeon RX 5600 XT offers 128.4% better value. The newer card here is Radeon RX 5600 XT (2020 vs 2015).

FeatureGeForce GTX 980 TiRadeon RX 5600 XT
MSRP
$649
$279-57%
Performance per Dollar
21.1
48.2+128%
Codename
GM200
Navi 10
Release
June 2 2015
January 21 2020
Ranking
#179
#187

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