Radeon RX 6900 XT vs GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile with Radeon RX 6900 XT, including specs and performance data.

GTX 980 SLI Mobile
2015
2x 8 GB GDDR5, 330 Watt
39.20

RX 6900 XT outperforms GTX 980 SLI Mobile by an impressive 77% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking11022
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data29.84
Power efficiency8.2616.09
ArchitectureMaxwell (2014−2017)RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)
GPU code nameN16E-GXX SLINavi 21
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date22 September 2015 (9 years ago)28 October 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$999

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores40965120
Core clock speed1126 MHz1825 MHz
Boost clock speed1228 MHz2250 MHz
Number of transistors10400 Million26,800 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)330 Watt300 Watt
Texture fill rateno data720.0
Floating-point processing powerno data23.04 TFLOPS
ROPsno data128
TMUsno data320
Ray Tracing Coresno data80

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).

Laptop sizelargeno data
Interfaceno dataPCIe 4.0 x16
Lengthno data267 mm
Widthno data3-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data2x 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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount2x 8 GB16 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed3500 MHz2000 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data512.0 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 Connectorsno data1x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-C
HDMI-+
G-SYNC support+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12_112 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Modelno data6.5
OpenGLno data4.6
OpenCLno data2.1
Vulkan-1.2
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 980 SLI Mobile 39.20
RX 6900 XT 69.42
+77.1%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 980 SLI Mobile 33169
RX 6900 XT 59119
+78.2%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 980 SLI Mobile 25453
RX 6900 XT 50587
+98.7%

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 HD133
−38.3%
184
+38.3%
1440p70−75
−81.4%
127
+81.4%
4K72
−18.1%
85
+18.1%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
−98.5%
130−140
+98.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 80−85
−42.7%
117
+42.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
−152%
169
+152%
Battlefield 5 120−130
−79%
220−230
+79%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
−52.6%
110−120
+52.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
−98.5%
130−140
+98.5%
Far Cry 5 80−85
−39.3%
110−120
+39.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 95−100
−77.1%
170−180
+77.1%
Forza Horizon 4 190−200
−25.3%
230−240
+25.3%
Hitman 3 80−85
−57.3%
120−130
+57.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 160−170
−56.2%
250−260
+56.2%
Metro Exodus 120−130
−25%
150−160
+25%
Red Dead Redemption 2 90−95
−34.1%
120−130
+34.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 140−150
−108%
290−300
+108%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
−18.8%
150−160
+18.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 80−85
−240%
279
+240%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
−112%
142
+112%
Battlefield 5 120−130
−79%
220−230
+79%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
−52.6%
110−120
+52.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
−98.5%
130−140
+98.5%
Far Cry 5 80−85
−39.3%
110−120
+39.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 95−100
−77.1%
170−180
+77.1%
Forza Horizon 4 190−200
−25.3%
230−240
+25.3%
Hitman 3 80−85
−57.3%
120−130
+57.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 160−170
−56.2%
250−260
+56.2%
Metro Exodus 120−130
−25%
150−160
+25%
Red Dead Redemption 2 90−95
−34.1%
120−130
+34.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 140−150
−108%
290−300
+108%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 137
−8.8%
140−150
+8.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
−18.8%
150−160
+18.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 80−85
−19.5%
98
+19.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
−104%
137
+104%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
−52.6%
110−120
+52.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
−98.5%
130−140
+98.5%
Far Cry 5 80−85
−39.3%
110−120
+39.3%
Forza Horizon 4 190−200
−30.5%
248
+30.5%
Hitman 3 80−85
−57.3%
120−130
+57.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 160−170
−74.7%
283
+74.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 140−150
−108%
290−300
+108%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 74
−122%
164
+122%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
+5.8%
121
−5.8%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 90−95
−34.1%
120−130
+34.1%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 70−75
−123%
160−170
+123%
Far Cry New Dawn 55−60
−88.1%
110−120
+88.1%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
−136%
99
+136%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45
−160%
109
+160%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
−80%
80−85
+80%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−147%
70−75
+147%
Far Cry 5 45−50
−82.2%
80−85
+82.2%
Forza Horizon 4 210−220
−24.9%
270−280
+24.9%
Hitman 3 50−55
−102%
100−110
+102%
Horizon Zero Dawn 80−85
−167%
224
+167%
Metro Exodus 70−75
−62.5%
117
+62.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 90−95
−112%
190−200
+112%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55−60
−125%
120−130
+125%
Watch Dogs: Legion 190−200
−25.8%
230−240
+25.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70
−72.7%
110−120
+72.7%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
−123%
85−90
+123%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−35
−116%
65−70
+116%
Hitman 3 30−35
−168%
83
+168%
Horizon Zero Dawn 180−190
−25.6%
220−230
+25.6%
Metro Exodus 45−50
−124%
110−120
+124%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 51
−139%
122
+139%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
−162%
68
+162%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
−175%
66
+175%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
−104%
50−55
+104%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−169%
35−40
+169%
Far Cry 5 21−24
−117%
50−55
+117%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
−200%
162
+200%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
−108%
110−120
+108%
Watch Dogs: Legion 18−20
−184%
54
+184%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
−121%
75−80
+121%

This is how GTX 980 SLI Mobile and RX 6900 XT compete in popular games:

  • RX 6900 XT is 38% faster in 1080p
  • RX 6900 XT is 81% faster in 1440p
  • RX 6900 XT is 18% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 6% faster.
  • in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 6900 XT is 240% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 980 SLI Mobile is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • RX 6900 XT is ahead in 71 test (99%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 39.20 69.42
Recency 22 September 2015 28 October 2020
Chip lithography 28 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 330 Watt 300 Watt

RX 6900 XT has a 77.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 300% more advanced lithography process, and 10% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 6900 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile is a notebook card while Radeon RX 6900 XT is a desktop one.


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 980 SLI Mobile
GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT
Radeon RX 6900 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.


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Questions & comments

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