GeForce GTX 480 vs Radeon VII

Place in the ranking	86	431
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	24.81	1.64
Power efficiency	10.05	2.95
Architecture	GCN 5.1 (2018−2022)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	Vega 20	GF100
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	7 February 2019 (5 years ago)	26 March 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$699	$499

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

Radeon VII has 1413% better value for money than GTX 480.

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	3840	480
Core clock speed	1400 MHz	700 MHz
Boost clock speed	1750 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	13,230 million	3,100 million
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	295 Watt	250 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	420.0	42.06
Floating-point processing power	13.44 TFLOPS	1.345 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	48
TMUs	240	60

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).

Bus support	no data	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	280 mm	267 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 8-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 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 type	HBM2	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	16 GB	1536 MB
Memory bus width	4096 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	1000 MHz	1848 MHz (3696 data rate)
Memory bandwidth	1024 GB/s	177.4 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	1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a	Two Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMI
Multi monitor support	no data	+
HDMI	+	+
HDCP	-	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	Internal

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	6.7	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.2
OpenCL	2.1	1.1
Vulkan	1.3	N/A
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.

Radeon VII 43.05
+302%

GTX 480 10.70

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.

Radeon VII 16549
+302%

GTX 480 4113

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.

Radeon VII 37881
+656%

GTX 480 5014

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.

Radeon VII 27449
+652%

GTX 480 3650

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 HD	123 +310%	30−35 −310%
1440p	79 +339%	18−20 −339%
4K	58 +314%	14−16 −314%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	5.68 +193%	16.63 −193%
1440p	8.85 +213%	27.72 −213%
4K	12.05 +196%	35.64 −196%

Radeon VII has 193% lower cost per frame in 1080p
Radeon VII has 213% lower cost per frame in 1440p
Radeon VII has 196% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	90−95 +360%	20−22 −360%
Cyberpunk 2077	90−95 +343%	21−24 −343%
Elden Ring	150−160 +394%	30−35 −394%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	92 +163%	35−40 −163%
Counter-Strike 2	90−95 +360%	20−22 −360%
Cyberpunk 2077	40 +90.5%	21−24 −90.5%
Forza Horizon 4	118 +174%	40−45 −174%
Metro Exodus	95 +228%	27−30 −228%
Red Dead Redemption 2	126 +350%	27−30 −350%
Valorant	238 +480%	40−45 −480%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	153 +337%	35−40 −337%
Counter-Strike 2	90−95 +360%	20−22 −360%
Cyberpunk 2077	33 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Dota 2	128 +237%	35−40 −237%
Elden Ring	150−160 +394%	30−35 −394%
Far Cry 5	103 +140%	40−45 −140%
Fortnite	180−190 +195%	60−65 −195%
Forza Horizon 4	97 +126%	40−45 −126%
Grand Theft Auto V	111 +192%	35−40 −192%
Metro Exodus	80 +176%	27−30 −176%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	200−210 +152%	80−85 −152%
Red Dead Redemption 2	70 +150%	27−30 −150%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	150−160 +388%	30−35 −388%
Valorant	143 +249%	40−45 −249%
World of Tanks	270−280 +83.6%	150−160 −83.6%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	82 +134%	35−40 −134%
Counter-Strike 2	90−95 +360%	20−22 −360%
Cyberpunk 2077	28 +33.3%	21−24 −33.3%
Dota 2	147 +287%	35−40 −287%
Far Cry 5	100−110 +135%	40−45 −135%
Forza Horizon 4	84 +95.3%	40−45 −95.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	150 +82.9%	80−85 −82.9%
Valorant	197 +380%	40−45 −380%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	43 +207%	14−16 −207%
Elden Ring	90−95 +507%	14−16 −507%
Grand Theft Auto V	43 +207%	14−16 −207%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 +250%	50−55 −250%
Red Dead Redemption 2	46 +411%	9−10 −411%
World of Tanks	270−280 +253%	75−80 −253%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	75−80 +267%	21−24 −267%
Counter-Strike 2	45−50 +309%	10−12 −309%
Cyberpunk 2077	19 +138%	8−9 −138%
Far Cry 5	130−140 +479%	24−27 −479%
Forza Horizon 4	61 +154%	24−27 −154%
Metro Exodus	83 +295%	21−24 −295%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	75−80 +500%	12−14 −500%
Valorant	156 +500%	24−27 −500%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	45−50 +820%	5−6 −820%
Dota 2	62 +195%	21−24 −195%
Elden Ring	40−45 +529%	7−8 −529%
Grand Theft Auto V	62 +195%	21−24 −195%
Metro Exodus	37 +517%	6−7 −517%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	140−150 +358%	30−35 −358%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30 +329%	7−8 −329%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	62 +195%	21−24 −195%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	53 +489%	9−10 −489%
Counter-Strike 2	45−50 +820%	5−6 −820%
Cyberpunk 2077	9 +200%	3−4 −200%
Dota 2	78 +271%	21−24 −271%
Far Cry 5	65−70 +408%	12−14 −408%
Fortnite	60−65 +473%	10−12 −473%
Forza Horizon 4	33 +136%	14−16 −136%
Valorant	89 +709%	10−12 −709%

This is how Radeon VII and GTX 480 compete in popular games:

Radeon VII is 310% faster in 1080p
Radeon VII is 339% faster in 1440p
Radeon VII is 314% faster in 4K

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

in Counter-Strike 2, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the Radeon VII is 820% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, Radeon VII surpassed GTX 480 in all 63 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	43.05	10.70
Recency	7 February 2019	26 March 2010
Maximum RAM amount	16 GB	1536 MB
Chip lithography	7 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	295 Watt	250 Watt

Radeon VII has a 302.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, a 966.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 471.4% more advanced lithography process.

GTX 480, on the other hand, has 18% lower power consumption.

The Radeon VII is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 480 in performance tests.

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