NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the superior GPU in every measurable benchmark comparison. The GTX 980 Ti, while a historical heavyweight, is decisively outperformed across the board, with the RTX 5060 delivering roughly 2.4 to 2.7 times the performance in the tested workloads. For any modern use case, the choice is the RTX 5060; the GTX 980 Ti is only relevant to legacy system builders or collectors.

The Verdict

Pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 if you want a card that wins every head-to-head test. The benchmark data is one-sided: the RTX 5060 wins all three shared tests, with a 63.6% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a 61.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, and a 57.9% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 26331 puts it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 980 Ti’s average of 28020 places it in the 73rd percentile. The RTX 5060 also delivers these results at a significantly lower TDP of 145 W compared to 250 W.

Pick the GTX 980 Ti only if you are building a period-correct system or require its specific legacy features. The data shows it has a slight edge in overall percentile ranking (73rd vs 72nd), and its average benchmark score is 6.4% higher than the RTX 5060’s (28020 vs 26331), but this is misleading. This edge comes from a different benchmark set; in every direct head-to-head comparison, it loses by a wide margin. It also demands a 600 W suggested PSU versus 300 W for the RTX 5060.

The verdict is simple: the RTX 5060 is the modern choice with modern features, lower power draw, and vastly superior performance in every shared test. The GTX 980 Ti is a relic.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 3628, while the GTX 980 Ti scores 1321. The RTX 5060 wins by 63.6%.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to the GTX 980 Ti in compute workloads?

A: The RTX 5060 is significantly faster. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 112787 versus the GTX 980 Ti's 43513 (a 61.4% lead). In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 113321 versus 47724 (a 57.9% lead).

Q: Is the newer RTX 5060 more power-hungry than the older GTX 980 Ti?

A: No, the opposite is true. The RTX 5060 has a TDP of 145 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the GTX 980 Ti has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The GTX 980 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.6 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The GTX 980 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 5060 has 3840 shading units, compared to the GTX 980 Ti's 2816.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent a generational chasm in NVIDIA’s design philosophy. The GTX 980 Ti uses the GM200 chip built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This older design packs 8,000 million transistors onto a massive 601 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 13.3M per mm². In contrast, the RTX 5060 uses the GB206 chip based on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. This newer chip crams 21,900 million transistors onto a much smaller 181 mm² die, achieving a density of 121.0M per mm² — a 9-fold increase in density.

The architectural shift brings new hardware capabilities. The GTX 980 Ti has no dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. The RTX 5060, however, includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features that the older card cannot perform. This is a fundamental difference: the Maxwell 2.0 GPU is purely a rasterizer, while Blackwell 2.0 is a hybrid compute engine.

The memory subsystems also reflect different eras. The GTX 980 Ti uses 6 GB of GDDR5 with a 384-bit bus, while the RTX 5060 uses 8 GB of GDDR7 with a 128-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 5060 achieves higher bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs 336.6 GB/s) thanks to the faster memory technology. The API support also diverges: the GTX 980 Ti peaks at DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Specification Differences

The specification sheets show a clear evolution. The RTX 5060 has a higher base clock of 2280 MHz versus 1000 MHz, and a higher boost clock of 2497 MHz versus 1076 MHz. The RTX 5060 also has more shading units (3840 vs 2816) and more TMUs (120 vs 176, actually fewer) but fewer ROPs (48 vs 96). The RTX 5060 compensates with higher pixel rate (119.9 GPixel/s vs 103.3 GPixel/s) and a much higher texture rate (299.6 GTexel/s vs 189.4 GTexel/s).

FP32 performance is a major differentiator: the RTX 5060 delivers 19.18 TFLOPS, while the GTX 980 Ti delivers 6.060 TFLOPS. The RTX 5060 also supports FP16 at 19.18 TFLOPS (1:1), a feature the GTX 980 Ti lacks. The RTX 5060 has a lower TDP of 145 W, uses a single 8-pin power connector, and requires a 300 W PSU. The GTX 980 Ti has a 250 W TDP, uses 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors, and requires a 600 W PSU. The RTX 5060 is also shorter (241 mm vs 267 mm) and uses a PCIe 5.0 x8 interface versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the RTX 5060 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, while the GTX 980 Ti has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The shared benchmark results are a total victory for the RTX 5060. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 5060 scores 3628 against the GTX 980 Ti's 1321. This is the largest margin of victory at 63.6%, indicating a massive advantage in modern DirectX 12 gaming workloads. The RTX 5060 is not just faster; it is in a different performance class.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112787 versus 43513 for the GTX 980 Ti, a 61.4% lead. This shows the Blackwell architecture’s compute superiority, likely driven by the 3840 shading units and higher clocks. The GTX 980 Ti’s 2816 shading units at 1076 MHz boost simply cannot compete with the RTX 5060’s 3840 units at 2497 MHz.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story: RTX 5060 scores 113321, GTX 980 Ti scores 47724, a 57.9% difference. This is the closest margin of the three, but still a decisive win. The Vulkan result suggests the GTX 980 Ti’s Maxwell architecture retains some efficiency in lower-level APIs, but it is still far behind. Across all three tests, the RTX 5060’s minimum lead is 57.9%, and its maximum is 63.6%. The data shows no scenario where the GTX 980 Ti is competitive.

Where Each One Wins

RTX 5060 Wins: Modern Gaming and Compute. The RTX 5060 dominates every head-to-head benchmark. Its 63.6% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 makes it the clear choice for DirectX 12 gaming. Its 61.4% lead in OpenCL and 57.9% lead in Vulkan make it superior for compute tasks, AI workloads (thanks to its 120 tensor cores), and ray-traced games (thanks to its 30 RT cores). The higher memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, despite a narrower 128-bit bus, ensures it can feed its 3840 shading units effectively. The lower TDP of 145 W and 300 W PSU requirement make it easier to integrate into modern systems with smaller power supplies.

GTX 980 Ti Wins: Legacy Scenarios Only. The GTX 980 Ti’s only statistical advantage is its average benchmark score (28020 vs 26331) and its 73rd vs 72nd percentile ranking. This is an artifact of different benchmark suites — the GTX 980 Ti’s tests include Geekbench Metal, which the RTX 5060 does not share. In any direct comparison, the GTX 980 Ti loses by at least 57.9%. Its 96 ROPs and 384-bit memory bus are legacy strengths, but they do not translate to wins in modern tests. The GTX 980 Ti is also end-of-life, while the RTX 5060 is active. The GTX 980 Ti’s 6 GB of GDDR5 is insufficient for modern high-texture games, and its lack of RT and tensor cores means it cannot enable DLSS or ray tracing. Its only practical use is in a retro build or a system that requires its specific legacy display outputs (DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2).