GeForce GTX 980M SLI vs RTX A3000 Mobile

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 RTX A3000 Mobile 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 RTX A3000 Mobile: 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 RTX A3000 Mobile across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2014 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌185.7% higher power demand at 200W vs 70W.

RTX A3000 Mobile

2021

Why buy it

✅100.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Better long-term bet: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 70W instead of 200W, a 130W 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?

RTX A3000 Mobile is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 100.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.6% in PassMark G3D (12,720 vs 12,523), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

RTX A3000 Mobile is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 8nm process instead of 28nm, 32 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2021 generation instead of 2014. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

RTX A3000 Mobile makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce GTX 980M SLI vs RTX A3000 Mobile 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.

RTX A3000 Mobile

The RTX A3000 Mobile is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 600 MHz to 1230 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 70W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 32 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,720 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980M SLI scores 12,523 and the RTX A3000 Mobile reaches 12,720 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980M SLI is built on Maxwell while the RTX A3000 Mobile uses Ampere, both on 28 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 3,072 (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 4,096 (RTX A3000 Mobile). Boost clocks: 1127 MHz vs 1230 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	RTX A3000 Mobile
G3D Mark Score	12,523	12,720+2%
Architecture	Maxwell	Ampere
Process Node	28 nm	8 nm
Shading Units	3072	4096+33%
Boost Clock	1127 MHz	1230 MHz+9%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	RTX A3000 Mobile
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 8 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 980M SLI and 128-bit on the RTX A3000 Mobile.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	RTX A3000 Mobile
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Bus Width	256-bit+100%	128-bit

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Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 12.2 (RTX A3000 Mobile). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	RTX A3000 Mobile
DirectX	12.1	12.2
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.4	4.6+5%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (2x) (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 7th Gen NVENC (RTX A3000 Mobile). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 (2x) vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (RTX A3000 Mobile).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	RTX A3000 Mobile
Encoder	NVENC 4.0 (2x)	7th Gen NVENC
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6 (2x)	5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980M SLI draws 200W versus the RTX A3000 Mobile's 70W — a 96.3% difference. The RTX A3000 Mobile is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 980M SLI) vs 500W (RTX A3000 Mobile). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 80°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M SLI	RTX A3000 Mobile
TDP	200W	70W-65%
Recommended PSU	500W	500W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	267mm	0mm
Height	111mm	0mm
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	85°C	80°C-6%
Perf/Watt	62.6	181.7+190%