GeForce GTX 980M SLI vs Radeon RX 6850M

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 980M SLI vs Radeon RX 6850M 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 980M SLI vs Radeon RX 6850M: 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 980M SLI

2014

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon RX 6850M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
❌2014 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌66.7% higher power demand at 200W vs 120W.

Radeon RX 6850M

2022

Why buy it

✅112.1% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 7nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 120W instead of 200W, a 80W reduction.

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?

Radeon RX 6850M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 112.1% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 980M SLI instead at 12,523 vs 12,274, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

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

Radeon RX 6850M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer feature stack, with FSR 3 (2023) and FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023), while GeForce GTX 980M SLI is limited to no meaningful modern upscaling stack and no comparable frame-generation support, a 7nm process instead of 28nm, 28 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2014. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon RX 6850M makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce GTX 980M SLI vs Radeon RX 6850M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 980M SLI

The GeForce GTX 980M SLI is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 7 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1038 MHz to 1127 MHz. It has 3072 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,523 points.

Radeon RX 6850M

The Radeon RX 6850M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2068 MHz to 2416 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 120W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. It features 28 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,274 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980M SLI scores 12,523 and the Radeon RX 6850M reaches 12,274 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980M SLI is built on Maxwell while the Radeon RX 6850M uses RDNA 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 7 nm. Shader units: 3,072 (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 1,792 (Radeon RX 6850M). Boost clocks: 1127 MHz vs 2416 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	Radeon RX 6850M
G3D Mark Score	12,523+2%	12,274
Architecture	Maxwell	RDNA 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	7 nm
Shading Units	3072+71%	1792
Boost Clock	1127 MHz	2416 MHz+114%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The clearest feature edge for the Radeon RX 6850M is support for FSR Frame Generation + AFMF. In games that support it, that can smooth out motion and lift perceived FPS. The GeForce GTX 980M SLI does not have comparable native support in the same tier.The GeForce GTX 980M SLI gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon RX 6850M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	Radeon RX 6850M
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR 3
Frame Generation	Not Supported	FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 8 GB of video memory. Memory bandwidth: 160 GB/s (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 432 GB/s (Radeon RX 6850M) — a 170% advantage for the Radeon RX 6850M. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 980M SLI and 192-bit on the Radeon RX 6850M.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	Radeon RX 6850M
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	160 GB/s	432 GB/s+170%
Bus Width	256-bit+33%	192-bit

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6850M). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.4. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	Radeon RX 6850M
DirectX	12.1	12.2
Vulkan	1.1	1.4+27%
OpenGL	4.4	4.6+5%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (2x) (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs VCN 3.0 (Radeon RX 6850M). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 (2x) vs VCN 3.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon RX 6850M).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	Radeon RX 6850M
Encoder	NVENC 4.0 (2x)	VCN 3.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6 (2x)	VCN 3.0
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980M SLI draws 200W versus the Radeon RX 6850M's 120W — a 50% difference. The Radeon RX 6850M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 500W (Radeon RX 6850M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs Mobile. Card length: 267mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 85°C.