NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison recorded in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is decisively one-sided. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 scores 34,676 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 scores 9,058 points. That is a delta of 73.9% in favor of the GTX 980, meaning the newer card delivers roughly four times the compute throughput in this workload.

Looking at the GTX 980's broader benchmark portfolio, its OpenCL score is far from its only strong showing. In the Geekbench Metal test it records 15,163 points, and in Geekbench Vulkan it reaches 22,543 points. The Passmark suite adds further context: the GTX 980 posts 11,095 in G3D, 4,753 in GPU compute, 164 in DirectX 9, 83 in DirectX 11, 53 in DirectX 10, and 46 in DirectX 12. Its 2D score sits at 792. These numbers illustrate a card that is competent across both legacy and modern API workloads.

The GTX 560, by contrast, has only a single benchmark entry in the database: the same Geekbench OpenCL test. Its 9,058 score places it at the 45th percentile among all GPUs tracked. The GTX 980, despite its vastly higher raw score in the shared test, sits at the 43rd percentile overall. This apparent contradiction is explained by the composition of the benchmark pool: the GTX 980's average benchmark score across all its tested workloads is 8,167, which is actually lower than the GTX 560's single score of 9,058. The GTX 980's percentile rank is dragged down by its weaker results in certain APIs, particularly the Passmark DirectX tests, where scores in the 40s and 50s are recorded. The GTX 560 has no such low-scoring tests in the database, so its percentile is based solely on its OpenCL result.

The nearest rival data for each card reinforces how the two sit in different performance neighborhoods. The GTX 560's closest competitors by average score are the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition at 9,037 (0.2% behind the 560), the GeForce GTX 660 at 9,022 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Radeon 550X at 8,918 (1.6% behind). The AMD Radeon 890M leads it by 1.7% with 9,210 points. The GTX 980's nearest rivals are all mobile or enterprise parts: the GeForce GTX 950M at 8,135 (0.4% behind), the AMD Radeon R9 M360 at 8,129 (0.5% behind), the GeForce 945M at 8,099 (0.8% behind), and the NVIDIA GRID K2 at 8,080 (1.1% behind). This grouping suggests the GTX 980's average score of 8,167 is depressed by its DirectX legacy tests, placing it in range of laptop-class GPUs despite its desktop-class OpenCL and Vulkan results.

The head-to-head delta of 73.9% in OpenCL is the only direct comparison available, but it is sufficient to establish the performance hierarchy. The GTX 980's OpenCL score alone exceeds the GTX 560's total by a factor of about 3.8. No single workload in the database shows the GTX 560 winning against the GTX 980; the wins tally stands at 0 for the GTX 560 and 1 for the GTX 980.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 is the substantially faster card in every measurable way. In the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 980 leads by 73.9%. Its shading unit count of 2,048 versus 336, its texture mapping units of 128 versus 56, and its render output units of 64 versus 32 all point toward the same outcome. The GTX 980's pixel rate of 77.82 GPixel/s is nearly seven times the GTX 560's 11.34 GPixel/s. Its texture rate of 155.6 GTexel/s dwarfs the GTX 560's 45.36 GTexel/s. Floating-point throughput tells the same story: 4.981 TFLOPS versus 1,088.6 GFLOPS.

The GTX 560 is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 500 generation, released in 2011 with a launch MSRP of 199 USD. The GTX 980 is also end-of-life, but it belongs to the GeForce 900 generation, launched in 2014 with a launch MSRP of 549 USD. The three-year gap in release dates corresponds to a generational leap in architecture, from Fermi 2.0 to Maxwell 2.0, and a process shrink from 40 nm to 28 nm. The GTX 980 packs 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, while the GTX 560 uses 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die. Transistor density nearly doubles from 5.9M per mm² to 13.1M per mm².

For anyone choosing between these two based on the recorded data, the GTX 980 wins on compute, memory bandwidth, API support, and feature set. The GTX 560 offers no benchmark advantage in any recorded test. Its only notable attributes are a smaller physical footprint (210 mm versus 267 mm length) and a lower TDP (150 W versus 165 W), though both cards use the same 2x 6-pin power connectors and both suggest a 450 W power supply.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 980 wins every category where data exists. In compute workloads, its OpenCL score of 34,676 against the GTX 560's 9,058 is the only direct head-to-head measurement, and it is a landslide. The GTX 980 also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 560 has no Vulkan support recorded. DirectX support differs as well: the GTX 980 reaches DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GTX 560 maxes out at DirectX 12 (11_0). This means the GTX 980 can handle feature level 12_1 workloads, while the GTX 560 is limited to the older 11_0 feature set.

Memory capacity is another clear win for the GTX 980. It ships with 4 GB of GDDR5, four times the 1024 MB of the GTX 560. Both use a 256-bit memory bus, but the GTX 980's memory clock of 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) produces 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to the GTX 560's 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) and 128.0 GB/s. The GTX 980's bandwidth advantage of nearly 75% aligns with its compute lead.

The GTX 560's only practical advantages are physical and thermal. It is shorter at 210 mm (8.3 inches) versus 267 mm (10.5 inches), and its TDP is 15 W lower. Both are dual-slot cards with identical power connector requirements and identical suggested PSU ratings. For a small form factor build, the GTX 560's shorter length could matter. For a system with adequate clearance, the GTX 980's extra 57 mm is a trivial trade for the performance on offer.

Display outputs also differ. The GTX 560 provides 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The GTX 980 provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The GTX 980 supports more simultaneous displays and newer connection standards, which matters for multi-monitor setups or modern high-refresh displays.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the GTX 980 than the GTX 560 in OpenCL?

A: The GTX 980 scores 34,676 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the GTX 560 scores 9,058. The GTX 980 leads by 73.9% in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The GTX 980 has 4 GB of GDDR5, while the GTX 560 has 1024 MB of GDDR5. The GTX 980 has four times the memory capacity.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The GTX 980 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GTX 560 supports DirectX 12 (11_0). The GTX 980 also supports Vulkan 1.4; the GTX 560 has no recorded Vulkan support.

Q: What is the bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The GTX 980 achieves 224.4 GB/s with a 256-bit bus and 7 Gbps effective memory speed. The GTX 560 achieves 128.0 GB/s with the same 256-bit bus but a 4 Gbps effective memory speed.

Q: Are the power requirements different?

A: Both cards use 2x 6-pin power connectors and both recommend a 450 W power supply. The GTX 560 has a TDP of 150 W, while the GTX 980 has a TDP of 165 W.

Q: What is the physical size difference?

A: The GTX 560 is 210 mm (8.3 inches) long. The GTX 980 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, 111 mm (4.4 inches) high, and 40 mm (1.6 inches) wide. Both are dual-slot cards.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent two distinct NVIDIA architectures. The GTX 560 uses the GF114 chip based on Fermi 2.0, built on TSMC's 40 nm process. The GTX 980 uses the GM204 chip based on Maxwell 2.0, built on TSMC's 28 nm process. The process shrink from 40 nm to 28 nm is accompanied by a dramatic increase in transistor count: 1,950 million for the GF114 versus 5,200 million for the GM204. Die size grows from 332 mm² to 398 mm², but the density improvement is stark, from 5.9M transistors per mm² to 13.1M per mm².

The core configurations differ by an even larger margin. The GTX 560 has 336 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The GTX 980 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GTX 980's shading unit count is more than six times higher, its TMU count more than double, and its ROP count exactly double. These structural differences translate directly into the measured throughput gaps: the GTX 980's pixel rate of 77.82 GPixel/s versus 11.34 GPixel/s, texture rate of 155.6 GTexel/s versus 45.36 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute of 4.981 TFLOPS versus 1,088.6 GFLOPS.

The GTX 980 belongs to the GeForce 900 generation and lists the GeForce 700 as its predecessor and GeForce 10 as its successor. The GTX 560 belongs to the GeForce 500 generation with GeForce 400 as predecessor and GeForce 600 as successor. Both cards are marked end-of-life in the database.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two cards. The GTX 560 uses the GF114 chip with Fermi 2.0 architecture; the GTX 980 uses the GM204 chip with Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The process node is 40 nm for the GTX 560 and 28 nm for the GTX 980. Transistor count is 1,950 million for the GTX 560 and 5,200 million for the GTX 980. Die size is 332 mm² versus 398 mm², and transistor density is 5.9M per mm² versus 13.1M per mm².

The GTX 980 has a base clock of 1127 MHz and a boost clock of 1216 MHz; the GTX 560 has no base or boost clocks recorded. Memory clock is 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for the GTX 560 and 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the GTX 980. Memory size is 1024 MB versus 4 GB. Memory bandwidth is 128.0 GB/s versus 224.4 GB/s. Shading units are 336 versus 2,048. TMUs are 56 versus 128. ROPs are 32 versus 64. Pixel rate is 11.34 GPixel/s versus 77.82 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 45.36 GTexel/s versus 155.6 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 1,088.6 GFLOPS versus 4.981 TFLOPS.

TDP is 150 W versus 165 W. The GTX 560 uses PCIe 2.0 x16; the GTX 980 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a for the GTX 560, versus 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2 for the GTX 980. DirectX support is 12 (11_0) for the GTX 560 and 12 (12_1) for the GTX 980. Vulkan support is absent for the GTX 560 and version 1.4 for the GTX 980. OpenGL support is 4.6 for both. The GTX 560 is 210 mm long; the GTX 980 is 267 mm long, 111 mm high, and 40 mm wide. Both cards are dual-slot, use 2x 6-pin power connectors, and recommend a 450 W power supply.