AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti occupy very different corners of the GPU landscape, and the benchmark data from the database reflects that split clearly. The RX 7900 GRE is a modern RDNA 3 part, while the GTX 980 Ti is a Maxwell 2 generation product. Across the three head-to-head tests recorded in the database, the AMD card wins all three, with decisive margins. The largest gap appears in 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RX 7900 GRE scores 4814 against 1321 for the GTX 980 Ti, a 264.4% advantage. The Vulkan and OpenCL results tell the same story: 99850 versus 47724 (109.2% ahead) in Geekbench Vulkan, and 175758 versus 43513 (303.9% ahead) in Geekbench OpenCL. These are not close contests; the RX 7900 GRE is operating in a different performance class.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data gives a clear picture of the performance hierarchy between these two cards. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE posts a score of 4814, which is 264.4% higher than the 1321 achieved by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. This benchmark is a demanding, modern DirectX 12 workload, and the architectural advantages of the RDNA 3 card are apparent.

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows an even larger separation. The RX 7900 GRE scores 175758, while the GTX 980 Ti manages 43513, a 303.9% delta. OpenCL compute workloads heavily favor the AMD card, which has a much larger compute resource. The Geekbench Vulkan test narrows the gap only slightly but still gives the win to AMD: 99850 versus 47724, a 109.2% difference.

The data shows the RX 7900 GRE is not just faster, it is overwhelmingly faster in compute-heavy and modern API workloads. The GTX 980 Ti, while a capable card in its own era, cannot keep pace in these recorded tests.

Where Each One Wins

Looking at the three head-to-head results, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE wins in every single test. There is no benchmark in the database where the NVIDIA card takes the lead. The wins for the RX 7900 GRE are:

• 3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12: 4814 versus 1321, a 264.4% win
• geekbench_opencl: 175758 versus 43513, a 303.9% win
• geekbench_vulkan: 99850 versus 47724, a 109.2% win

The pattern here is consistent: the AMD card dominates across all recorded tests. The breadth of each victory is substantial, with the smallest margin still being over double the score of the NVIDIA card. In summary, the RX 7900 GRE is the clear benchmark leader in every recorded comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 7900 GRE or the GTX 980 Ti?

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is substantially faster, scoring 4814 versus 1321 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, a 264.4% difference in favor of the AMD card.

Q: How big is the performance gap in Geekbench OpenCL?

The gap is enormous. The RX 7900 GRE scores 175758, while the GTX 980 Ti scores 43513. This is a 303.9% delta, again in favor of the AMD card.

Q: Any test where the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti wins?

In the data, no. The AMD RX 7900 GRE wins all three head-to-head tests. The closest result is Geekbench Vulkan, where the AMD card is still ahead by 109.2%.

Q: How much faster is the RX 7900 GRE in Vulkan?

The RX 7900 GRE is roughly 2.09x faster, with a score of 99850 versus 47724 for the GTX 980 Ti. This is a 109.2% delta.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ fundamentally in their process technology, architecture, and memory subsystem.

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 57,700 million | 8,000 million |

| Die Size | 529 mm² | 601 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 109.1M / mm² | 13.3M / mm² |

| Shading Units | 5120 | 2816 |

| TMUs | 320 | 176 |

| ROPs | 160 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 80 | None |

| Tensor Cores | None | None |

| Base Clock | 1287 MHz | 1000 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2245 MHz | 1076 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Clock | 2250 MHz | 1753 MHz |

| Bandwidth | 576.0 GB/s | 336.6 GB/s |

| FP32 | 45.98 TFLOPS | 6.060 TFLOPS |

| FP16 / FP64 | 91.96 TFLOPS (2:1) | None |

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

| TDP / Board Power | 260 W | 250 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 600 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Dual-slot |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.11, 1x USB Type-C | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 |

The architectural differences are stark. The RX 7900 GRE uses TSMC 5nm process and integrates 57,700 million transistors, while the GTX 980 Ti uses TSMC 28nm and 8,000 million transistors. The AMD chip has more than double the shader processors (5120 vs 2816), 320 texture units vs 176, and 160 ROPs vs 96. The RX 7900 GRE also has 64 ray accelerators, which the GTX 980 Ti does not have.

The memory subsystem also differs. The AMD card uses 16GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with a 2250 MHz clock, providing 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card uses 6GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus at 1753 MHz, which yields 336.6 GB/s. The clock speed advantage also goes to AMD: a 2245 MHz boost versus 1076 MHz, and a 1287 MHz base clock versus 1000 MHz.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split between these two cards is fundamental. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a chiplet design, codenamed Plum Bonito. It is manufactured on TSMC's 5nm node. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti uses the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, chip GM200, and is made on TSMC's 28nm process.

The AMD card's memory subsystem uses GDDR6, while the NVIDIA card uses GDDR5. The AMD card exposes 16GB of frame buffer versus 6GB on the GTX 980 Ti. The RX 7900 GRE has 256-bit memory bus, the GTX 980 Ti has a 384-bit bus. Despite the wider bus on the NVIDIA card, the much higher clocks and modern memory type of the AMD card give it a significant bandwidth advantage.

Other architectural differences include the presence of ray accelerators (64) on the RX 7900 GRE, a feature the GTX 980 Ti lacks. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are dual-slot cards and are actively produced until the NVIDIA card is end-of-life, while the AMD card is active.