GeForce 8600 GTS vs GTX 980M

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 980M with GeForce 8600 GTS, including specs and performance data.

GTX 980M
2014
8 GB GDDR5
17.75
+3934%

980M outperforms 8600 GTS by a whopping 3934% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking3501330
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.01
Power efficiency13.730.57
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code nameGM204G84
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date7 October 2014 (11 years ago)17 April 2007 (19 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

no data

Performance to price scatter graph

Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores153632
Core clock speed1038 MHz675 MHz
Boost clock speed1127 MHzno data
Number of transistors5,200 million289 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm80 nm
Power consumption (TDP)unknown60 Watt
Texture fill rate51.8410.80
Floating-point processing power1.659 TFLOPS0.0928 TFLOPS
ROPs648
TMUs9616
L1 Cache576 KBno data
L2 Cache2 MB32 KB

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizelargeno data
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 1.0 x16
Lengthno data198 mm
Widthno data1-slot
Supplementary power connectorsNone1x 6-pin
SLI options++

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount8 GB256 MB
Standard memory config per GPUno data256 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed2500 MHz1000 MHz
Memory bandwidth160 GB/s32 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display ConnectorsNo outputs2x DVI, 1x S-Video
VGA аnalog display support+no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support+no data
HDMI+-
G-SYNC support+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream+-
GeForce ShadowPlay+-
GPU Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+-
Optimus+-
BatteryBoost+-
Ansel+no data

API and SDK support

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_1)11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model6.44.0
OpenGL4.52.1
OpenCL1.11.1
Vulkan1.1.126N/A
CUDA+1.1

Synthetic benchmarks

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

GTX 980M 17.75
+3934%
8600 GTS 0.44

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 980M 7393
+3896%
Samples: 2873
8600 GTS 185
Samples: 654

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p173
+4225%
4−5
−4225%
Full HD72
+7100%
1−2
−7100%
1440p360−1
4K280−1

Cost per frame, $

1080pno data199.00

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 100−110
+4950%
2−3
−4950%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40 0−1
Palworld 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Resident Evil 4 Remake 40−45 0−1

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 82
+4000%
2−3
−4000%
Counter-Strike 2 100−110
+4950%
2−3
−4950%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40 0−1
Far Cry 5 58
+5700%
1−2
−5700%
Fortnite 178
+4350%
4−5
−4350%
Forza Horizon 4 74
+7300%
1−2
−7300%
Palworld 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 85
+4150%
2−3
−4150%
Valorant 130−140
+4500%
3−4
−4500%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 68
+6700%
1−2
−6700%
Counter-Strike 2 100−110
+4950%
2−3
−4950%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 230
+4500%
5−6
−4500%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40 0−1
Dota 2 100−110
+5150%
2−3
−5150%
Far Cry 5 53
+5200%
1−2
−5200%
Fortnite 86
+4200%
2−3
−4200%
Forza Horizon 4 68
+6700%
1−2
−6700%
Grand Theft Auto V 60
+5900%
1−2
−5900%
Metro Exodus 31 0−1
Palworld 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 79
+7800%
1−2
−7800%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 61
+6000%
1−2
−6000%
Valorant 130−140
+4500%
3−4
−4500%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 61
+6000%
1−2
−6000%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40 0−1
Dota 2 100−110
+5150%
2−3
−5150%
Far Cry 5 50
+4900%
1−2
−4900%
Forza Horizon 4 47
+4600%
1−2
−4600%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 49
+4800%
1−2
−4800%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 33 0−1
Valorant 130−140
+4500%
3−4
−4500%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 63
+6200%
1−2
−6200%
Palworld 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 35−40 0−1
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 130−140
+4267%
3−4
−4267%
Grand Theft Auto V 30−35 0−1
Metro Exodus 19 0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 160−170
+3975%
4−5
−3975%
Valorant 160−170
+5267%
3−4
−5267%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 45
+4400%
1−2
−4400%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18 0−1
Far Cry 5 34 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 39 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30 0−1

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 40 0−1
Palworld 24−27 0−1

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 16−18 0−1
Grand Theft Auto V 41
+4000%
1−2
−4000%
Metro Exodus 12 0−1
Palworld 14−16 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 22 0−1
Valorant 90−95
+4550%
2−3
−4550%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 23 0−1
Counter-Strike 2 16−18 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8 0−1
Dota 2 60−65
+6200%
1−2
−6200%
Far Cry 5 16 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 26 0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 17 0−1

4K
Epic

Fortnite 19 0−1
Palworld 14−16 0−1

This is how GTX 980M and 8600 GTS compete in popular games:

  • GTX 980M is 4225% faster in 900p
  • GTX 980M is 7100% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.75 0.44
Recency 7 October 2014 17 April 2007
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 256 MB
Chip lithography 28 nm 80 nm

GTX 980M has a 3934% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 3100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 186% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 980M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 8600 GTS in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 980M is a notebook graphics card while GeForce 8600 GTS is a desktop one.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4.1 402 votes

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3.3 227 votes

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