GeForce GT 540M vs 9800M GT SLI

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce 9800M GT SLI and GeForce GT 540M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

9800M GT SLI
2008
512 MB GDDR3, 130 Watt
1.97
+65.5%

9800M GT SLI outperforms GT 540M by an impressive 66% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking8881046
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency1.082.43
ArchitectureG9x (2007−2010)Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code nameNB9E-GT2GF108
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date15 July 2008 (16 years ago)5 January 2011 (14 years ago)

Detailed specifications

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

Pipelines / CUDA cores19296
Core clock speed500 MHz672 MHz
Number of transistors1508 Million585 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt35 Watt
Texture fill rateno data10.75
Floating-point processing powerno data0.258 TFLOPS
ROPsno data4
TMUsno data16

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 sizelargelarge
Interfaceno dataMXM-A (3.0)
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 typeGDDR3DDR3
Maximum RAM amount512 MB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed800 MHz900 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data28.8 GB/s
Shared memory--

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 Connectorsno dataNo outputs

Supported technologies

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

3D Blu-Ray-+
3D Gaming-+
Optimus-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX1012 API
Shader Modelno data5.1
OpenGLno data4.5
OpenCLno data1.1
Vulkan-N/A
CUDA++

Synthetic benchmark performance

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. 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.

9800M GT SLI 1.97
+65.5%
GT 540M 1.19

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

9800M GT SLI 6271
+44%
GT 540M 4355

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:

900p24−27
+50%
16
−50%
Full HD30−35
+50%
20
−50%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Dota 2 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+30%
10−11
−30%
Fortnite 10−11
+100%
5−6
−100%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Grand Theft Auto V 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
+42.9%
14−16
−42.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
World of Tanks 35−40
+44.4%
27−30
−44.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Dota 2 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+30%
10−11
−30%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
+42.9%
14−16
−42.9%

1440p
High Preset

Grand Theft Auto V 0−1 0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 14−16
+100%
7−8
−100%
Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2 0−1
World of Tanks 12−14
+85.7%
7−8
−85.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 0−1 0−1
Counter-Strike 2 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Forza Horizon 5 2−3 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Valorant 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Dota 2 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Grand Theft Auto V 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 6−7
+100%
3−4
−100%
Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Dota 2 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Far Cry 5 2−3 0−1
Fortnite 0−1 0−1
Forza Horizon 5 0−1 0−1
Valorant 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%

This is how 9800M GT SLI and GT 540M compete in popular games:

  • 9800M GT SLI is 50% faster in 900p
  • 9800M GT SLI is 50% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Battlefield 5, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the 9800M GT SLI is 300% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • 9800M GT SLI is ahead in 34 tests (79%)
  • there's a draw in 9 tests (21%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.97 1.19
Recency 15 July 2008 5 January 2011
Maximum RAM amount 512 MB 2 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 40 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 35 Watt

9800M GT SLI has a 65.5% higher aggregate performance score.

GT 540M, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 62.5% more advanced lithography process, and 271.4% lower power consumption.

The GeForce 9800M GT SLI is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 540M in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI
GeForce 9800M GT SLI
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
GeForce GT 540M

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Community ratings

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