AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Comparison

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti and the Radeon RX 7800M are separated by nearly a decade of GPU architecture, and the benchmark data reflects that chasm. While both cards occupy the same 73rd percentile among all GPUs, their average scores are nearly identical, with the GTX 980 Ti posting 28,020 and the RX 7800M trailing by just 0.5% at 27,883. However, these aggregate numbers hide a fundamental split: the older NVIDIA card holds its own in legacy and synthetic workloads, while the AMD mobile part utterly dominates in modern, API-heavy tests. This is not a close contest in practice — it is a generational mismatch where the newer silicon's feature set and raw compute horsepower render the older card obsolete for contemporary gaming.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon RX 7800M is the clear victor in any scenario that leverages modern graphics APIs or raw compute throughput. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the AMD card scores 2,994 against the GTX 980 Ti's 1,321 — a 55.9% advantage. This is a decisive win for the RX 7800M, which also crushes the older card in Geekbench OpenCL (120,778 vs 43,513, a 64% lead) and Geekbench Vulkan (126,668 vs 47,724, a 62.3% lead). For any workload built around DirectX 12, Vulkan, or general-purpose GPU compute, the RX 7800M is in a different league entirely.

The GTX 980 Ti's wins are more subtle and confined to its historical strengths. It maintains a slight edge in average benchmark score, beating the RX 7800M by 0.5% overall, and it outperforms the AMD card's nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X by 0.2% and the AMD FirePro S7150 by 0.3%. The fact that the GTX 980 Ti's only head-to-head victories come from its aggregate score, not from any direct benchmark comparison, underscores that its advantage is purely a function of legacy test compatibility. In the three head-to-head benchmarks available, the RX 7800M wins all three, with the GTX 980 Ti recording zero victories.

The use-case split is stark: if you are running modern games with DX12 or Vulkan, or doing any compute-heavy work, the RX 7800M is the only rational choice. If you are dealing with older software that relies on legacy driver paths or specific OpenGL behavior, the GTX 980 Ti's marginal aggregate edge suggests it may still be serviceable, but the RX 7800M's 73rd percentile ranking and its performance in every modern test indicate it is the superior long-term investment.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is immense, starting with the manufacturing process. The GTX 980 Ti uses TSMC's 28 nm node, while the RX 7800M is built on TSMC's 5 nm process — a difference that explains the density disparity: the AMD chip packs 81.2 million transistors per square millimeter versus the NVIDIA chip's 13.3 million. The RX 7800M's Navi 32 die contains 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, while the GM200 chip in the GTX 980 Ti has just 8,000 million transistors on a much larger 601 mm² die.

The core configurations are equally divergent. The RX 7800M features 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, while the GTX 980 Ti has 2,816 shading units, 176 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The AMD card also includes 60 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the RX 7800M boosts to 2,335 MHz with a game clock of 2,145 MHz, compared to the GTX 980 Ti's 1,076 MHz boost. This results in a massive throughput advantage for the AMD card: 35.87 TFLOPS FP32 versus 6.060 TFLOPS, and 560.4 GTexel/s versus 189.4 GTexel/s.

Memory subsystems also reflect the generational leap. The RX 7800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GTX 980 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, achieving 336.6 GB/s. The RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the GTX 980 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RX 7800M's newer architecture is designed for features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading that the older card cannot handle. Power draw is also lower on the AMD card at 180 W versus 250 W, and it uses an IGP form factor with no power connectors, while the GTX 980 Ti requires a dual-slot cooler and 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three direct comparisons available paint an unambiguous picture. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 7800M scores 2,994 against the GTX 980 Ti's 1,321, a delta of -55.9% from the NVIDIA card's perspective. This is the most relevant gaming benchmark of the trio, and the RX 7800M's advantage here is nearly 2.3x, reflecting both its higher shader count and its superior memory bandwidth in modern workloads.

Geekbench OpenCL shows an even wider gulf: the RX 7800M posts 120,778 versus 43,513 for the GTX 980 Ti, a 64% deficit for the older card. This test measures raw compute throughput, where the RX 7800M's 35.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance simply overwhelms the GTX 980 Ti's 6.060 TFLOPS. The fact that the AMD card also offers FP16 at 35.87 TFLOPS (1:1) further cements its advantage in mixed-precision workloads, a feature the NVIDIA card lacks entirely.

Geekbench Vulkan follows the same pattern: the RX 7800M scores 126,668 versus 47,724, a 62.3% lead. Vulkan is the API of choice for many modern PC games, and this result reinforces that the RX 7800M is not just faster — it is categorically more capable in the environments where contemporary gaming happens. The GTX 980 Ti's only comparative strength is its aggregate average score, which beats the RX 7800M by 0.5%, but that figure is pulled up by legacy benchmarks like PassMark DirectX 9 and 10, where the older card's driver maturity and Maxwell architecture still hold some sway. In every modern test, the RX 7800M wins decisively.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in DirectX 12 gaming?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is significantly faster. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, it scores 2,994 compared to the GeForce GTX 980 Ti's 1,321, a 55.9% advantage.

Q: Does the GTX 980 Ti have ray tracing support?

A: No. The GTX 980 Ti has no ray tracing cores, while the RX 7800M includes 60 ray tracing cores as part of its RDNA 3.0 architecture.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two?

A: The GTX 980 Ti has a slightly higher average score of 28,020, which is 0.5% above the RX 7800M's 27,883. However, the RX 7800M wins all three head-to-head benchmark comparisons.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RX 7800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 980 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has higher power consumption?

A: The GTX 980 Ti has a TDP of 250 W, while the RX 7800M is rated at 180 W. The RX 7800M also uses an IGP form factor with no power connectors, whereas the GTX 980 Ti requires a 6-pin and 8-pin connector setup.

Q: Are both GPUs in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both are in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, but their nearest rivals differ slightly. The GTX 980 Ti's closest competitor is the AMD FirePro S7150, while the RX 7800M's is the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti | AMD Radeon RX 7800M |

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

| Process Node | 28 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 8,000 million | 28,100 million |

| Die Size | 601 mm² | 346 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.3M / mm² | 81.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1000 MHz | 1295 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1076 MHz | 2335 MHz |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 336.6 GB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2816 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 176 | 240 |

| ROPs | 96 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 60 |

| FP32 Performance | 6.060 TFLOPS | 35.87 TFLOPS |

| Texture Rate | 189.4 GTexel/s | 560.4 GTexel/s |

| Pixel Rate | 103.3 GPixel/s | 224.2 GPixel/s |

| TDP | 250 W | 180 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

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

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

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

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