AMD Radeon RX 570 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the most head-to-head benchmark comparisons?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti wins 3 of 4 head-to-head benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 570 wins only 1. However, the RX 570's single win is by a massive margin, and the overall average benchmark scores are very close.

Q: How close are the two cards in overall average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 28,766, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 28,020. That puts the RX 570 ahead by roughly 2.7% in average score, despite losing the majority of individual tests.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two cards in any single test?

A: In the Geekbench Metal test, the AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 39,349 versus the GTX 980 Ti's 19,520. That is a 101.6% delta in favor of the RX 570, meaning the AMD card more than doubles the NVIDIA card's score in that specific workload.

Q: Which card has the better 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 1,321 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, compared to the RX 570's 880. The GTX 980 Ti leads by 33.4% in this test, which is its largest single-test advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks in the 74th percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti sits in the 73rd percentile. Despite the GTX 980 Ti winning more head-to-head tests, the RX 570 edges it out in overall percentile placement.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card based on average score?

A: The RX 570's closest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M295X with an average score of 28,580 (0.7% lower), while the GTX 980 Ti's closest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X at 27,973 (0.2% lower). Both cards sit within 1.2% of four different competitors.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 570 uses the Polaris 20 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti uses the GM200 chip with Maxwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This node difference is significant: the RX 570 packs 5,700 million transistors onto a 232 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm². The GTX 980 Ti uses 8,000 million transistors on a much larger 601 mm² die, with a lower density of 13.3 million per mm².

The RX 570 features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 980 Ti counters with 2,816 shading units, 176 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. That gives the NVIDIA card substantially more raw compute resources. In terms of memory, the RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GTX 980 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card's memory subsystem is clearly larger and faster.

Clock speeds differ notably: the RX 570 runs at 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost, while the GTX 980 Ti runs at 1000 MHz base and 1076 MHz boost. Despite lower clocks, the GTX 980 Ti achieves higher pixel and texture rates: 103.3 GPixel/s versus 39.81 GPixel/s, and 189.4 GTexel/s versus 159.2 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute figures show 6.060 TFLOPS for the GTX 980 Ti versus 5.095 TFLOPS for the RX 570. Interestingly, the RX 570 supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (5.095 TFLOPS), while the GTX 980 Ti lacks FP16 support entirely in the data.

API support differs slightly: the RX 570 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GTX 980 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. Display outputs also diverge: the RX 570 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the GTX 980 Ti offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The RX 570 has newer display standards on HDMI and DisplayPort.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows the clearest victory for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. It scores 1,321 against the RX 570's 880, a 33.4% lead. This is a demanding modern API workload, and the GTX 980 Ti's larger memory bus and higher ROP count appear to deliver a decisive advantage. The RX 570's 880 score places it well behind, and there is no ambiguity about which card handles this test better.

The Geekbench Metal test flips the script entirely. The AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 39,349, while the GTX 980 Ti manages only 19,520. That is a 101.6% delta in favor of the RX 570 — the AMD card doubles the NVIDIA card's performance. This is the single largest swing in either direction across all four benchmarks. For any workload that relies heavily on Apple's Metal API, the RX 570 is the clear choice.

Geekbench OpenCL shows another GTX 980 Ti win, but by a smaller margin. The NVIDIA card scores 43,513 versus 32,084 for the RX 570, a 26.3% delta. Interestingly, this is the opposite pattern from the Metal test, suggesting the two cards have very different strengths depending on the compute API in use. OpenCL favors the GTX 980 Ti's higher FP32 throughput and larger memory bandwidth.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is the closest contest. The GTX 980 Ti wins with 47,724 against the RX 570's 42,752, a 10.4% delta. While the NVIDIA card still comes out ahead, the gap narrows considerably compared to OpenCL. This suggests the RX 570 scales better with Vulkan than with OpenCL, even though the GTX 980 Ti supports a newer Vulkan version (1.4 versus 1.3).

Across all four tests, the GTX 980 Ti wins three and the RX 570 wins one. However, the RX 570's Metal win is so large that it nearly offsets the NVIDIA card's three victories in terms of average score. The average benchmark scores are 28,766 for the RX 570 and 28,020 for the GTX 980 Ti, putting the AMD card slightly ahead overall despite losing the majority of individual tests.

The Verdict

The data paints a nuanced picture. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti wins 3 of 4 head-to-head benchmarks, including the modern 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test by 33.4%, OpenCL by 26.3%, and Vulkan by 10.4%. If your priority is raw performance across most compute APIs, the GTX 980 Ti is the stronger card. It also has more memory (6 GB versus 4 GB), higher bandwidth (336.6 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s), and more shading units (2,816 versus 2,048).

However, the AMD Radeon RX 570 wins the Geekbench Metal test by a staggering 101.6%, and it holds a slight edge in average benchmark score (28,766 versus 28,020). It also ranks in the 74th percentile versus the GTX 980 Ti's 73rd. The RX 570 is built on a much newer 14 nm process versus 28 nm, which translates to dramatically better transistor density (24.6M per mm² versus 13.3M per mm²) and far lower power requirements. The RX 570 draws 150 W with a 450 W suggested PSU, while the GTX 980 Ti draws 250 W and suggests a 600 W PSU.

For Metal-centric workflows, the RX 570 is not just better — it is in another league. For everything else in the benchmark set, the GTX 980 Ti takes the win. The GTX 980 Ti's launch MSRP was 649 USD, while the RX 570's was 169 USD, a fact worth noting given how close their average scores are. If you need the fastest card in OpenCL and Vulkan tasks, pick the GTX 980 Ti. If Metal performance or efficiency matters more, the RX 570 is the data-backed choice.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The RX 570 uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the GTX 980 Ti uses 28 nm at TSMC. Transistor counts are 5,700 million versus 8,000 million, and die sizes are 232 mm² versus 601 mm². Transistor density is 24.6M per mm² for AMD and 13.3M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Clock speeds: the RX 570 has a 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost, while the GTX 980 Ti has a 1000 MHz base and 1076 MHz boost. Memory clocks are nearly identical at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the RX 570 and 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the GTX 980 Ti. Memory configuration differs: 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 6 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources: the RX 570 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 980 Ti has 2,816 shading units, 176 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Pixel rates are 39.81 GPixel/s versus 103.3 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 159.2 GTexel/s versus 189.4 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 5.095 TFLOPS versus 6.060 TFLOPS. The RX 570 supports FP16 at 5.095 TFLOPS; the GTX 980 Ti has no FP16 data.

Power and physical specs: the RX 570 has a 150 W TDP with a single 6-pin connector and a 450 W suggested PSU. The GTX 980 Ti has a 250 W TDP with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU. The RX 570 is 241 mm long; the GTX 980 Ti is 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. Both are dual-slot cards with PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces.

Display outputs: the RX 570 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The GTX 980 Ti offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. API support: the RX 570 has DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GTX 980 Ti has DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 570 wins decisively in Metal-based workloads. Its Geekbench Metal score of 39,349 is more than double the GTX 980 Ti's 19,520. If you are working in an Apple ecosystem or using Metal-accelerated applications, the RX 570 is the clear pick. The RX 570 also wins on efficiency: 150 W TDP versus 250 W, a 450 W suggested PSU versus 600 W, and a single 6-pin connector versus 6-pin plus 8-pin. It is also smaller at 241 mm versus 267 mm, making it easier to fit in compact cases. The RX 570's newer display outputs (HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a versus HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2) give it an edge for modern monitors.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti wins in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, OpenCL, and Vulkan. Its 3DMark score of 1,321 is 33.4% higher than the RX 570's 880. In OpenCL, it scores 43,513 versus 32,084, a 26.3% lead. In Vulkan, it scores 47,724 versus 42,752, a 10.4% lead. The GTX 980 Ti also has more memory (6 GB versus 4 GB), higher bandwidth (336.6 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s), and more ROPs (96 versus 32), which helps in high-resolution and high-pixel-rate scenarios. Its pixel rate of 103.3 GPixel/s is nearly triple the RX 570's 39.81 GPixel/s.

For users who prioritize compute performance across multiple APIs, the GTX 980 Ti is the stronger choice. For users who need Metal performance, efficiency, or modern display connectivity, the RX 570 wins. The overall average benchmark scores favor the RX 570 by a slim margin, but the GTX 980 Ti's 3-to-1 win count in individual tests makes it the more versatile performer for general GPU workloads.