AMD Radeon 540 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 vs. AMD Radeon 540 is a matchup between a 2014 flagship and a 2017 entry-level part. The data shows a dominant performance gap, with the GTX 980 leading by 460.7% in Geekbench OpenCL and 146% in Geekbench Vulkan. The GTX 980, built on Maxwell 2.0, delivers desktop-class throughput, while the Radeon 540, based on GCN 4.0, targets low-power, basic compute roles. Below is a detailed breakdown of their architectures, benchmarks, specifications, and which user each card suits.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 has an average benchmark score of 8167, while the AMD Radeon 540 scores 7673. The GTX 980 is 0.4% ahead of its closest rival, the GTX 950M, whereas the Radeon 540 is 0.6% behind the GTX 1660 Ti.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The GTX 980 scores 34676, against the Radeon 540’s 6184. This results in a delta of 460.7%, meaning the NVIDIA card delivers over five times the OpenCL performance.

Q: What about Vulkan performance?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 980 scores 22543, while the Radeon 540 scores 9162. The GTX 980 leads by 146%, a significant margin but smaller than the OpenCL gap.

Q: Which card has better percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 980 sits at the 43rd percentile, while the Radeon 540 is at the 41st percentile. Despite the huge performance gap, their percentiles are close, suggesting the 540 competes in a crowded low-end field.

Q: What are the memory capacities of each card?

A: The GTX 980 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 540 has 1024 MB (1 GB) of GDDR5 on a 32-bit bus, providing only 24.00 GB/s.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 throughput?

A: The GTX 980 achieves 4.981 TFLOPS, whereas the Radeon 540 reaches 908.5 GFLOPS. The NVIDIA card offers roughly 5.5 times the single-precision compute power.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 980 uses the GM204 chip, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, containing 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 13.1M / mm². The Radeon 540 uses the Lexa chip, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 21.4M / mm². The smaller, denser Lexa die reflects AMD’s newer process, but the GTX 980’s larger transistor budget drives its superior performance.

Architecturally, the GTX 980 is Maxwell 2.0, part of the GeForce 900 generation, while the Radeon 540 is GCN 4.0, from the Polaris (RX 500) generation. Maxwell 2.0 features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. GCN 4.0 packs 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs — a fraction of the NVIDIA part. The GTX 980 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a minor feature-level difference. Both cards offer OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 980 supports Vulkan 1.4 versus the Radeon’s Vulkan 1.3.

Memory architecture differs starkly. The GTX 980’s 256-bit bus and 224.4 GB/s bandwidth dwarf the Radeon 540’s 32-bit bus and 24.00 GB/s. The GTX 980 also has a higher memory clock at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (6 Gbps). The Radeon 540 does support FP16 at 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1), a capability absent from the GTX 980’s listed specs. Power and cooling also diverge: the GTX 980 has a 165 W TDP with dual-slot cooling and 2x 6-pin connectors, while the Radeon 540 draws only 50 W, is single-slot, and requires no power connectors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data covers two tests, both won decisively by the GTX 980. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 980 scores 34676 against the Radeon 540’s 6184, a delta of 460.7%. This means the NVIDIA card is over 5.6 times faster in raw compute workloads, reflecting its 4.981 TFLOPS FP32 capability versus the Radeon’s 908.5 GFLOPS. For OpenCL tasks like physics simulation or data processing, the GTX 980 is in a different league.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 980 scores 22543, while the Radeon 540 scores 9162, a delta of 146%. The gap narrows compared to OpenCL, but the GTX 980 still more than doubles the Radeon’s output. This suggests that while Vulkan scales better with the Radeon’s architecture, the GTX 980’s raw shading power (2048 units) and higher texture rate (155.6 GTexel/s versus 28.39 GTexel/s) maintain a commanding lead. The GTX 980 also wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head tests, with zero wins for the Radeon 540.

These results align with the cards’ broader benchmark context. The GTX 980’s average score of 8167 places it near the GTX 950M (8135, 0.4% delta) and Radeon R9 M360 (8129, 0.5%), indicating it sits at the edge of mid-range laptop performance. The Radeon 540’s average of 7673 sits near the GTX 1660 Ti (7723, -0.6%) and Radeon Pro WX 3100 (7580, 1.2%), a lower tier. The GTX 980’s percentile rank of 43 versus the Radeon’s 41 shows both cards are below average, but the GTX 980’s individual scores are far more competitive in absolute terms.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The GTX 980 uses a 28 nm process, while the Radeon 540 uses 14 nm. Transistor counts are 5,200 million versus 2,200 million, with die sizes of 398 mm² and 103 mm², respectively. The GTX 980 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs; the Radeon 540 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rate is 77.82 GPixel/s for the GTX 980, versus 18.93 GPixel/s for the Radeon 540. Texture rate is 155.6 GTexel/s versus 28.39 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 4.981 TFLOPS versus 908.5 GFLOPS, and the Radeon 540 adds FP16 at 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1), which the GTX 980 lacks.

Memory specifications diverge heavily: the GTX 980 has 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s bandwidth, while the Radeon 540 has 1 GB GDDR5 on a 32-bit bus with 24.00 GB/s. Memory clocks are 1753 MHz (7 Gbps) versus 1500 MHz (6 Gbps). Power consumption is 165 W for the GTX 980, requiring a 450 W PSU and 2x 6-pin connectors, versus 50 W for the Radeon 540 with a 250 W PSU and no connectors. The GTX 980 is dual-slot and 267 mm long, while the Radeon 540 is single-slot with no listed dimensions. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the GTX 980, versus PCIe 3.0 x8 for the Radeon 540. Display outputs: the GTX 980 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2; the Radeon 540 has 2x DisplayPort 1.4a.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the GTX 980 is categorically superior to the Radeon 540 in every measured benchmark. Its 460.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 146% lead in Geekbench Vulkan are not incremental — they represent a generational and tier-sized gap. The GTX 980’s higher average score (8167 versus 7673) and better percentile rank (43 versus 41) reinforce this. Users seeking any level of 3D gaming or compute performance should pick the GTX 980, provided they can accommodate its 165 W TDP, dual-slot size, and 267 mm length.

The Radeon 540, however, has a niche. Its 50 W TDP and single-slot design make it suitable for low-profile, low-power systems where the GTX 980 cannot fit. Its 14 nm process and 1:1 FP16 support offer modern features, but its 1 GB memory and 24.00 GB/s bandwidth severely limit any demanding workload. The Radeon 540’s closest rival, the GTX 1660 Ti, is only 0.6% faster in average score, suggesting the 540 sits near the bottom of even entry-level performance. For basic display output or compute-light tasks, the Radeon 540 is a valid choice, but the GTX 980’s launch MSRP of 549 USD, stated once here, reflected a premium product that still outperforms the 540 by a wide margin. The verdict is unambiguous: the GTX 980 wins on every metric that matters for performance, while the Radeon 540 only wins on power efficiency and physical footprint.