Radeon R9 M390X vs GeForce GTX 980M

Place in the ranking	291	473
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	13.09	8.53
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)	GCN 3.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code name	GM204	Amethyst
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	7 October 2014 (10 years ago)	5 May 2015 (9 years ago)

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 cores	1536	2048
Core clock speed	1038 MHz	723 MHz
Boost clock speed	1127 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	5,200 million	5,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	unknown	100 Watt
Texture fill rate	51.84	92.54
Floating-point processing power	1.659 TFLOPS	2.961 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	32
TMUs	96	128

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 size	large	large
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	None	None
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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2500 MHz	no data
Memory bandwidth	160 GB/s	160.0 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 Connectors	No outputs	No outputs
Eyefinity	-	+
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	-
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

FreeSync	-	+
HD3D	-	+
PowerTune	-	+
DualGraphics	-	+
ZeroCore	-	+
Switchable graphics	-	+
GameStream	+	-
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	-
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	-
Optimus	+	-
BatteryBoost	+	-
Ansel	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	DirectX® 12
Shader Model	6.4	6.3
OpenGL	4.5	4.4
OpenCL	1.1	Not Listed
Vulkan	1.1.126	+
Mantle	-	+
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 980M 19.09
+105%

R9 M390X 9.33

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 980M 7357
+105%

R9 M390X 3597

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 980M 12517
+32.5%

R9 M390X 9448

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:

900p	173 +116%	80−85 −116%
Full HD	70 +133%	30−35 −133%
1440p	36 +125%	16−18 −125%
4K	27 +125%	12−14 −125%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

30−33
+100%

14−16

−100%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	51 +132%	21−24 −132%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +129%	14−16 −129%
Battlefield 5	67 +131%	27−30 −131%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	35−40 +100%	18−20 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 +100%	14−16 −100%
Far Cry 5	62 +195%	21−24 −195%
Far Cry New Dawn	59 +127%	24−27 −127%
Forza Horizon 4	196 +216%	60−65 −216%
Hitman 3	35−40 +106%	18−20 −106%
Horizon Zero Dawn	90−95 +76.9%	50−55 −76.9%
Metro Exodus	65 +124%	27−30 −124%
Red Dead Redemption 2	50−55 +96.2%	24−27 −96.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	100 +223%	30−35 −223%
Watch Dogs: Legion	85−90 +45.9%	60−65 −45.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	68 +209%	21−24 −209%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +129%	14−16 −129%
Battlefield 5	57 +96.6%	27−30 −96.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	35−40 +100%	18−20 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 +100%	14−16 −100%
Far Cry 5	52 +148%	21−24 −148%
Far Cry New Dawn	47 +80.8%	24−27 −80.8%
Forza Horizon 4	191 +208%	60−65 −208%
Hitman 3	35−40 +106%	18−20 −106%
Horizon Zero Dawn	90−95 +76.9%	50−55 −76.9%
Metro Exodus	55 +89.7%	27−30 −89.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	50−55 +96.2%	24−27 −96.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	60−65 +103%	30−35 −103%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	121 +365%	24−27 −365%
Watch Dogs: Legion	85−90 +45.9%	60−65 −45.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	26 +18.2%	21−24 −18.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +129%	14−16 −129%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	35−40 +100%	18−20 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 +100%	14−16 −100%
Far Cry 5	38 +81%	21−24 −81%
Forza Horizon 4	47 −31.9%	60−65 +31.9%
Hitman 3	35−40 +106%	18−20 −106%
Horizon Zero Dawn	90−95 +76.9%	50−55 −76.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	60−65 +103%	30−35 −103%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	33 +26.9%	24−27 −26.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion	85−90 +45.9%	60−65 −45.9%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

50−55
+96.2%

24−27

−96.2%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	33 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	32 +129%	14−16 −129%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	20 +122%	9−10 −122%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +240%	5−6 −240%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 +133%	9−10 −133%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +175%	4−5 −175%
Far Cry 5	24 +118%	10−12 −118%
Forza Horizon 4	134 +235%	40−45 −235%
Hitman 3	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 +105%	18−20 −105%
Metro Exodus	38 +192%	12−14 −192%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 +245%	10−12 −245%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +144%	9−10 −144%
Watch Dogs: Legion	110−120 +91.5%	55−60 −91.5%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−35
+107%

14−16

−107%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	16 +77.8%	9−10 −77.8%
Far Cry New Dawn	17 +143%	7−8 −143%
Hitman 3	14−16 +180%	5−6 −180%
Horizon Zero Dawn	95−100 +158%	35−40 −158%
Metro Exodus	18 +157%	7−8 −157%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	22 +214%	7−8 −214%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12 +140%	5−6 −140%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10 +125%	4−5 −125%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−11 +150%	4−5 −150%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%
Far Cry 5	12 +140%	5−6 −140%
Forza Horizon 4	26 +136%	10−12 −136%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	21−24 +250%	6−7 −250%
Watch Dogs: Legion	8−9 +167%	3−4 −167%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

16−18
+88.9%

9−10

−88.9%

This is how GTX 980M and R9 M390X compete in popular games:

GTX 980M is 116% faster in 900p
GTX 980M is 133% faster in 1080p
GTX 980M is 125% faster in 1440p
GTX 980M is 125% faster in 4K

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

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 980M is 365% faster.
in Forza Horizon 4, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 M390X is 32% faster.

All in all, in popular games: