AMD Radeon 780M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains three benchmark comparisons between the AMD Radeon 780M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. The NVIDIA part wins all three tests, with the largest margin appearing in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 workload. There, the GTX 1080 Ti scores 2231 points against the Radeon 780M's 480 points, a delta of -78.5% for the AMD part. In practical terms, the NVIDIA GPU delivers more than four times the frame throughput in this particular DirectX 12 test, a gap that reflects the fundamental difference in design intent between a 15 W integrated processor and a 250 W discrete flagship.

The OpenCL result follows a similar pattern. The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti records 67929 points, while the Radeon 780M finishes at 18602 points. The delta here is -72.6%, meaning the NVIDIA GPU is roughly 3.6 times faster in raw compute throughput as measured by Geekbench OpenCL. This is expected given the GTX 1080 Ti's much higher FP32 rating of 11.34 TFLOPS versus 8.909 TFLOPS for the Radeon 780M, but the gap is larger than the raw FLOPs ratio alone would suggest, indicating that memory bandwidth and driver scheduling also play a role.

The closest contest appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test. The GTX 1080 Ti scores 40511, and the Radeon 780M scores 33683. The delta narrows to -16.9%, which is a significant improvement for the AMD part relative to the other two workloads. The Radeon 780M's RDNA 3.0 architecture with its 12 ray accelerators likely helps here, as does the lower overhead of the Vulkan API on newer hardware. Still, the NVIDIA GPU still wins decisively in every recorded comparison, so the Radeon 780M cannot claim a single head-to-head victory in this dataset.

The aggregate benchmark scores put the Radeon 780M at an average score of 17588, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs in the database. The GTX 1080 Ti has a lower average score of 15548 despite winning every direct comparison, putting it in the 58th percentile. This discrepancy between head-to-head results and aggregate position is worth noting: the GTX 1080 Ti's average is dragged down by a broader set of tests, including legacy DirectX 9, 10, and 11 workloads where it scores 231, 118, and 151 respectively, plus a PassMark G2D score of 939, none of which appear in the head-to-head list.

The Radeon 780M's nearest rival by average score is the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17551 points, a delta of only 0.2%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 sits at 17639, a delta of -0.3%, and the AMD Radeon HD 7790 sits at 17666, a delta of -0.4%. On the GTX 1080 Ti's side, the closest average rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M380 at 15521 points, a 0.2% delta, followed by the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15679, a -0.8% delta, and both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 and GeForce GTX 580 at 15290 and 15283 respectively, each with a 1.7% delta. These numbers show that both GPUs sit in competitive performance neighborhoods relative to their own peer groups, even though the absolute performance levels are very different.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the DirectX 12 Steel Nomad test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti wins with a score of 2231 against the AMD Radeon 780M's 480, a delta of -78.5% for the AMD part.

Q: How close is the Vulkan performance between the two?

A: The smallest margin is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the GTX 1080 Ti scores 40511 and the Radeon 780M scores 33683, a delta of -16.9%. While this is the closest contest of the three recorded benchmarks, the NVIDIA GPU still wins.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 780M has a higher average benchmark score at 17588, compared to 15548 for the GTX 1080 Ti. This is despite the GTX 1080 Ti winning every head-to-head comparison, a result of the different benchmark sets each part is tested with in the database.

Q: What are the percentile rankings of these GPUs?

A: The Radeon 780M sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 1080 Ti sits in the 58th percentile.

Q: Does the Radeon 780M support ray tracing hardware acceleration?

A: Yes. The Radeon 780M includes 12 ray accelerators, which are listed as RT cores in the specification data, a feature the GTX 1080 Ti lacks entirely as it has no RT cores listed.

Q: What is the GTX 1080 Ti's closest performance rival by average score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 is the closest at 17551 points, a delta of 0.2%. For the GTX 1080 Ti, the closest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M380 at 15521 points, a delta of 0.2%, followed by the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15679.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 780M is built on RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 4 nm process node at TSMC, using the Phoenix chip with 25,390 million transistors on a die size of 178 mm². The transistor density works out to 142.6 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti uses the older Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process node, also at TSMC foundry, with 11,800 million transistors spread across a much larger 471 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 25.1 million per mm². The Radeon 780M packs more transistors into a smaller area, but the GTX 1080 Ti uses a far larger physical die with a lower density, reflecting the older manufacturing process.

The compute configuration differs dramatically. The Radeon 780M has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 1080 Ti has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs. This means the NVIDIA GPU has more than four times the shading units and texture units, and nearly three times the ROPs. The Radeon 780M's pixel rate is 92.80 GPixel/s, while the GTX 1080 Ti's pixel rate is 139.2 GPixel/s. Texture rate tells a similar story: the Radeon 780M delivers 139.2 GTexel/s, while the GTX 1080 Ti delivers 354.4 GTexel/s.

The FP32 throughput figures are also lopsided. The Radeon 780M delivers 8.909 TFLOPS, while the GTX 1080 Ti delivers 11.34 TFLOPS. In FP16, the Radeon 780M also delivers 8.909 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the GTX 1080 Ti delivers only 177.2 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. This is a major architectural difference: the RDNA 3.0 part processes FP16 at full rate, while the Pascal part has heavily reduced FP16 throughput, a remnant of its compute-oriented design from a different era. The GTX 1080 Ti has no RT cores and no tensor cores, while the Radeon 780M has 12 RT cores but also no tensor cores.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The Radeon 780M uses system shared memory with a system dependent bandwidth, making its performance reliant on the host platform's memory subsystem. The GTX 1080 Ti has dedicated 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus with 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The clock speeds show the same divergence: the Radeon 780M runs at a base of 800 MHz and a boost of 2900 MHz, while the GTX 1080 Ti runs at a base of 1481 MHz and a boost of 1582 MHz, with its memory at 1376 MHz or 11 Gbps effective.

The power profiles are entirely different categories. The Radeon 780M is rated at 15 W TDP and is an integrated GPU with no power connectors and no dedicated slot width, described simply as IGP. The GTX 1080 Ti is rated at 250 W TDP, requires a 600 W suggested power supply, is a dual-slot card, and needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector. The GTX 1080 Ti is 267 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The Radeon 780M has no recorded physical dimensions since it is integrated into the motherboard.

The bus interfaces also differ. The Radeon 780M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX 1080 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs on the Radeon 780M are motherboard dependent, while the GTX 1080 Ti offers one HDMI 2.0 port and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The API support shows the Radeon 780M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1080 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for raw performance: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark, with margins ranging from -16.9% in Vulkan to -78.5% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The GTX 1080 Ti also offers dedicated 11 GB of GDDR5X memory with 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution texture workloads, whereas the Radeon 780M depends entirely on system memory. Anyone prioritizing maximum frame rates in DirectX 12 or OpenCL compute should choose the GTX 1080 Ti based on this dataset. Its 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs give it a structural advantage that no integrated solution can overcome.

However, the Radeon 780M is not without its own merits. Its average benchmark score of 17588 is higher than the GTX 1080 Ti's 15548, and it sits in the 61st percentile versus the GTX 1080 Ti's 58th. This indicates that in the broader set of database tests, the Radeon 780M performs respectably, especially in workloads that favor newer architectures. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), has 12 RT cores, and runs FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, delivering 8.909 TFLOPS in both FP16 and FP32. The GTX 1080 Ti cannot match this FP16 capability, offering only 177.2 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio.

The Radeon 780M's 15 W TDP makes it suitable for compact, power-constrained systems where a discrete GPU is not an option. Its boost clock of 2900 MHz is remarkably high, and its 4 nm process node with 142.6 million transistors per mm² shows a much denser, more modern design. The GTX 1080 Ti, by contrast, is end-of-life, uses a 16 nm node, and requires a 600 W power supply. For users with a motherboard that supports the Radeon 780M's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface and who prioritize power efficiency, the AMD part is the only viable choice in this comparison. For users who need maximum performance in the recorded benchmarks, the GTX 1080 Ti is the clear winner.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon 780M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Pascal |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 25,390 million | 11,800 million |

| Die Size | 178 mm² | 471 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 142.6M / mm² | 25.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 800 MHz | 1481 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2900 MHz | 1582 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 11 GB GDDR5X |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 352 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 484.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 48 | 224 |

| ROPs | 32 | 88 |

| RT Cores | 12 | None |

| FP32 | 8.909 TFLOPS | 11.34 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 8.909 TFLOPS (1:1) | 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| Pixel Rate | 92.80 GPixel/s | 139.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 139.2 GTexel/s | 354.4 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 15 W | 250 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 600 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Motherboard Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2024-01-30 | 2017-03-09 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 699 USD |

| Dimensions (L x H x W) | Not recorded | 267 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm |

| Pixel Rate | 92.80 GPixel/s | 139.2 GPixel/s |