GeForce GT 540M vs 9800 GTX
Aggregate performance score
9800 GTX outperforms GT 540M by an impressive 60% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 850 | 1006 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.08 | 0.05 |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | Fermi (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | G92 | N12P-GS |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 28 March 2008 (16 years ago) | 6 January 2011 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $299 | no data |
| Current price | $151 (0.5x MSRP) | $283 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
9800 GTX has 60% better value for money than GT 540M.
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 128 | 96 |
| CUDA cores | 128 | 96 |
| Core clock speed | 675 MHz | 672 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 754 million | 585 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 140 Watt | 35 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 43.2 billion/sec | 10.8 billion/sec |
| Floating-point performance | 432.1 gflops | 258.05 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on GeForce 9800 GTX and GeForce GT 540M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | no data | large |
| Bus support | PCI-E 2.0 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | MXM-A (3.0) |
| Length | 10.5" (26.7 cm) | no data |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | no data |
| SLI options | + | no data |
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 type | GDDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 2 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1100 MHz | 900 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 70.4 GB/s | 28.8 GB/s |
| Shared memory | no data | - |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | HDTVDual Link DVI | No outputs |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| HDMI | Via Adapter | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| 3D Blu-Ray | no data | + |
| 3D Gaming | no data | + |
| Optimus | no data | + |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 12 API |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 4.5 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| CUDA | + | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
9800 GTX outperforms GT 540M by 60% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
9800 GTX outperforms GT 540M by 61% in Passmark.
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:
| 900p | 24−27
+50%
| 16
−50%
|
| Full HD | 30−35
+57.9%
| 19
−57.9%
|
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.99 | 1.24 |
| Recency | 28 March 2008 | 6 January 2011 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 2 GB |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 140 Watt | 35 Watt |
The GeForce 9800 GTX is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 540M in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce 9800 GTX is a desktop card while GeForce GT 540M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
