Radeon RX 6800 XT vs GeForce GTX 280

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 280 and Radeon RX 6800 XT, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 280
2008
1 GB GDDR3, 236 Watt
3.37

RX 6800 XT outperforms GTX 280 by a whopping 1825% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking73430
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.1153.26
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)Navi / RDNA2 (2020−2022)
GPU code nameGT200Navi 21
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date16 June 2008 (16 years ago)18 November 2020 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$649 $649

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 6800 XT has 48318% 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 cores2404608
CUDA cores240no data
Core clock speed602 MHz1825 MHz
Boost clock speedno data2250 MHz
Number of transistors1,400 million26,800 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)236 Watt300 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate48.16648.0
Floating-point processing power0.6221 gflops20.74 gflops

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 mm267 mm
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin2x 8-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 typeGDDR3GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount1 GB16 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1107 MHz16000 MHz
Memory bandwidth141.7 GB/s512.0 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, 2x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-C
Multi monitor support+no data
HDMI-+
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

API compatibility

List of supported graphics 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+-

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 3.37
RX 6800 XT 64.88
+1825%

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 1299
RX 6800 XT 25026
+1827%

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 HD10−12
−1930%
203
+1930%
1440p6−7
−2133%
134
+2133%
4K4−5
−2050%
86
+2050%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 158
+0%
158
+0%
Battlefield 5 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+0%
230−240
+0%
Hitman 3 132
+0%
132
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 240−250
+0%
240−250
+0%
Metro Exodus 144
+0%
144
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 122
+0%
122
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 260−270
+0%
260−270
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 309
+0%
309
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 135
+0%
135
+0%
Battlefield 5 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+0%
230−240
+0%
Hitman 3 136
+0%
136
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 240−250
+0%
240−250
+0%
Metro Exodus 144
+0%
144
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 355
+0%
355
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 309
+0%
309
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 118
+0%
118
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+0%
230−240
+0%
Hitman 3 122
+0%
122
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 279
+0%
279
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 302
+0%
302
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 160
+0%
160
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 112
+0%
112
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 120
+0%
120
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 98
+0%
98
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%
Hitman 3 114
+0%
114
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 215
+0%
215
+0%
Metro Exodus 112
+0%
112
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 222
+0%
222
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 314
+0%
314
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 116
+0%
116
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Hitman 3 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 220−230
+0%
220−230
+0%
Metro Exodus 126
+0%
126
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 110
+0%
110
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65
+0%
65
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 133
+0%
133
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 49
+0%
49
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 76
+0%
76
+0%

This is how GTX 280 and RX 6800 XT compete in popular games:

  • RX 6800 XT is 1930% faster in 1080p
  • RX 6800 XT is 2133% faster in 1440p
  • RX 6800 XT is 2050% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.37 64.88
Recency 16 June 2008 18 November 2020
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 16 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt 300 Watt

GTX 280 has 27.1% lower power consumption.

RX 6800 XT, on the other hand, has a 1825.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 12 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 828.6% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 6800 XT 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
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Radeon RX 6800 XT

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.


3.5 103 votes

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4.2 3317 votes

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.