GeForce RTX 3090 vs GTX 280

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce RTX 3090, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 280
2008
1 GB GDDR3, 236 Watt
3.34

RTX 3090 outperforms GTX 280 by a whopping 1976% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking73924
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.1214.92
Power efficiency0.9713.58
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameGT200GA102
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date16 June 2008 (16 years ago)1 September 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$649 $1,499

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3090 has 12333% better value for money than GTX 280.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores24010496
Core clock speed602 MHz1395 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1695 MHz
Number of transistors1,400 million28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)236 Watt350 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate48.16556.0
Floating-point processing power0.6221 TFLOPS35.58 TFLOPS
ROPs32112
TMUs80328
Tensor Coresno data328
Ray Tracing Coresno data82

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Length267 mm336 mm
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slot3-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 12-pin
SLI options+-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount1 GB24 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed1107 MHz1219 MHz
Memory bandwidth141.7 GB/s936.2 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsHDTVDual Link DVI1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Multi monitor support+no data
HDMI-+
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX11.1 (10_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model4.06.5
OpenGL2.14.6
OpenCL1.12.0
VulkanN/A1.2
CUDA+8.5

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 280 3.34
RTX 3090 69.35
+1976%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 280 1285
RTX 3090 26718
+1979%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD9−10
−2100%
198
+2100%
1440p6−7
−2050%
129
+2050%
4K4−5
−2050%
86
+2050%

Cost per frame, $

1080p72.117.57
1440p108.1711.62
4K162.2517.43

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 207
+0%
207
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 159
+0%
159
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 114
+0%
114
+0%
Battlefield 5 220−230
+0%
220−230
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 176
+0%
176
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+0%
230−240
+0%
Hitman 3 117
+0%
117
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%
Metro Exodus 144
+0%
144
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 130
+0%
130
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 290−300
+0%
290−300
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 200
+0%
200
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 247
+0%
247
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 105
+0%
105
+0%
Battlefield 5 220−230
+0%
220−230
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 151
+0%
151
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+0%
230−240
+0%
Hitman 3 117
+0%
117
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%
Metro Exodus 144
+0%
144
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 402
+0%
402
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 199
+0%
199
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 108
+0%
108
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 91
+0%
91
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 134
+0%
134
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 217
+0%
217
+0%
Hitman 3 116
+0%
116
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 295
+0%
295
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 351
+0%
351
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 181
+0%
181
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 107
+0%
107
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 129
+0%
129
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 93
+0%
93
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 79
+0%
79
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 93
+0%
93
+0%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%
Hitman 3 115
+0%
115
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 233
+0%
233
+0%
Metro Exodus 139
+0%
139
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 266
+0%
266
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 152
+0%
152
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 203
+0%
203
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 127
+0%
127
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Hitman 3 83
+0%
83
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 220−230
+0%
220−230
+0%
Metro Exodus 141
+0%
141
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 153
+0%
153
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 70
+0%
70
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 57
+0%
57
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 46
+0%
46
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 153
+0%
153
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 159
+0%
159
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 60
+0%
60
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 111
+0%
111
+0%

This is how GTX 280 and RTX 3090 compete in popular games:

  • RTX 3090 is 2100% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 3090 is 2050% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 3090 is 2050% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.34 69.35
Recency 16 June 2008 1 September 2020
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 24 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 8 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt 350 Watt

GTX 280 has 48.3% lower power consumption.

RTX 3090, on the other hand, has a 1976.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 12 years, a 2300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 712.5% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 280 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
GeForce GTX 280
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
GeForce RTX 3090

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions & comments

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