GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
Radeon Vega Frontier Edition
GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Vega Frontier Edition 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 RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Vega Frontier Edition 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
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Vega Frontier Edition: 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 RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
2019Why buy it
- ✅17.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
- ✅100+% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs Unknown).
- ✅Better long-term bet: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
- ✅Draws 80W instead of 300W, a 220W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 12.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
Radeon Vega Frontier Edition
2017Why buy it
- ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 12.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌Less VRAM, with Unknown vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
- ❌2017 hardware with Unknown of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌275% higher power demand at 300W vs 80W.
Quick Answers
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GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Vega Frontier Edition Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 29 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 735 MHz to 1095 MHz. It has 2944 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 46 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,766 points.
Radeon Vega Frontier Edition
The Radeon Vega Frontier Edition is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 27 2017. It features the GCN 5.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1382 MHz to 1600 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,753 points. Launch price was $999.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design scores 12,766 and the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition reaches 12,753 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is built on Turing while the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition uses GCN 5.0, both on 12 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 2,944 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 4,096 (Radeon Vega Frontier Edition). Raw compute: 6.447 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 13.11 TFLOPS (Radeon Vega Frontier Edition). Boost clocks: 1095 MHz vs 1600 MHz.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 12,766 | 12,753 |
| Architecture | Turing | GCN 5.0 |
| Process Node | 12 nm | 14 nm |
| Shading Units | 2944 | 4096+39% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 6.447 TFLOPS | 13.11 TFLOPS+103% |
| Boost Clock | 1095 MHz | 1600 MHz+46% |
| ROPs | 64 | 64 |
| TMUs | 184 | 256+39% |
| L1 Cache | 2.9 MB+190% | 1 MB |
| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon Vega Frontier Edition leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | DLSS 2 Super Resolution | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 |
| Frame Generation | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Ray Reconstruction | No | No |
| Low Latency | NVIDIA Reflex | AMD Anti-Lag |
Video Memory (VRAM)
The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design has 8 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition carries 0 MB. GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design gives you 100+% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design and System on the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 8 GB | Shared System RAM |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | Shared |
| Memory Bandwidth | 384 GB/s | System |
| Bus Width | 256-bit | System |
| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (12_2) (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.1 (Radeon Vega Frontier Edition). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (12_2) | 12.1 |
| Vulkan | 1.3+18% | 1.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Max Displays | 4 | 4 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC 6 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs VCE 4.0 (Radeon Vega Frontier Edition). Decoder: NVDEC 4 vs UVD 7.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon Vega Frontier Edition).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC 6 | VCE 4.0 |
| Decoder | NVDEC 4 | UVD 7.0 |
| Codecs | H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 | MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design draws 80W versus the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition's 300W — a 115.8% difference. The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 0W (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 1W (Radeon Vega Frontier Edition). Power connectors: None vs Integrated. Card length: 0mm vs 268mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80 vs 85°C.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 80W-73% | 300W |
| Recommended PSU | 0W-100% | 1W |
| Power Connector | None | Integrated |
| Length | 0mm | 268mm |
| Height | 0mm | 105mm |
| Slots | 0-100% | 2 |
| Temp (Load) | 80-6% | 85°C |
| Perf/Watt | 159.6+276% | 42.5 |
Value Analysis
The newer card here is GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design (2019 vs 2017).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design | Radeon Vega Frontier Edition |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | — | $999 |
| Codename | TU104B | Vega 10 |
| Release | January 29 2019 | June 27 2017 |
| Ranking | #174 | #203 |
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