Radeon RX 6950 XT vs GeForce 9800M GTX SLI
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce 9800M GTX SLI with Radeon RX 6950 XT, including specs and performance data.
6950 XT outperforms 9800M SLI by a whopping 2249% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 831 | 25 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 33.77 |
| Power efficiency | 1.47 | 15.44 |
| Architecture | G9x (2007−2010) | RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) |
| GPU code name | NB9E-GTX | Navi 21 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 15 July 2008 (17 years ago) | 10 May 2022 (3 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $1,099 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 cores | 224 | 5120 |
| Core clock speed | 500 MHz | 1925 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 2324 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 3016 Million | 26,800 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 7 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 335 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 743.7 |
| Floating-point processing power | no data | 23.8 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | no data | 128 |
| TMUs | no data | 320 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 80 |
| L0 Cache | no data | 1.3 MB |
| L1 Cache | no data | 1 MB |
| L2 Cache | no data | 4 MB |
| L3 Cache | no data | 128 MB |
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 size | large | no data |
| Interface | no data | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 267 mm |
| Width | no data | 3-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 2x 8-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 type | GDDR3 | GDDR6 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 800 MHz | 2250 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 576.0 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
| Resizable BAR | - | + |
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 Connectors | no data | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDMI | - | + |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 10 | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | no data | 6.5 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | no data | 2.1 |
| Vulkan | - | 1.3 |
| CUDA | + | - |
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.
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.
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:
| Full HD | 9−10
−2322%
| 218
+2322%
|
| 1440p | 5−6
−2560%
| 133
+2560%
|
| 4K | 3−4
−2700%
| 84
+2700%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | no data | 5.04 |
| 1440p | no data | 8.26 |
| 4K | no data | 13.08 |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−3800%
|
351
+3800%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−2583%
|
161
+2583%
|
| Resident Evil 4 Remake | 3−4
−11533%
|
349
+11533%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Battlefield 5 | 10−11
−1690%
|
170−180
+1690%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−3667%
|
339
+3667%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−2283%
|
143
+2283%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 8−9
−2163%
|
181
+2163%
|
| Fortnite | 14−16
−1913%
|
300−350
+1913%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 14−16
−1829%
|
270−280
+1829%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 7−8
−3286%
|
237
+3286%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 12−14
−1238%
|
170−180
+1238%
|
| Valorant | 45−50
−748%
|
350−400
+748%
|
Full HD
High
| Battlefield 5 | 10−11
−1690%
|
170−180
+1690%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−3433%
|
318
+3433%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 55−60
−407%
|
270−280
+407%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−2033%
|
128
+2033%
|
| Dota 2 | 27−30
−611%
|
199
+611%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 8−9
−2063%
|
173
+2063%
|
| Fortnite | 14−16
−1913%
|
300−350
+1913%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 14−16
−1829%
|
270−280
+1829%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 7−8
−3171%
|
229
+3171%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 7−8
−2357%
|
172
+2357%
|
| Metro Exodus | 5−6
−3680%
|
189
+3680%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 12−14
−1238%
|
170−180
+1238%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
−3660%
|
376
+3660%
|
| Valorant | 45−50
−748%
|
350−400
+748%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 10−11
−1690%
|
170−180
+1690%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−1933%
|
122
+1933%
|
| Dota 2 | 27−30
−496%
|
167
+496%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 8−9
−1950%
|
164
+1950%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 14−16
−1829%
|
270−280
+1829%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 12−14
−1238%
|
170−180
+1238%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
−2060%
|
216
+2060%
|
| Valorant | 45−50
−748%
|
350−400
+748%
|
Full HD
Epic
| Fortnite | 14−16
−1913%
|
300−350
+1913%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 6−7
−3833%
|
236
+3833%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 21−24
−2357%
|
500−550
+2357%
|
| Metro Exodus | 1−2
−11900%
|
120
+11900%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 24−27
−573%
|
170−180
+573%
|
| Valorant | 27−30
−1696%
|
450−500
+1696%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
−4550%
|
93
+4550%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 5−6
−3160%
|
163
+3160%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−3257%
|
230−240
+3257%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 4−5
−4075%
|
160−170
+4075%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 5−6
−2920%
|
150−160
+2920%
|
4K
High
| Grand Theft Auto V | 14−16
−1060%
|
174
+1060%
|
| Valorant | 14−16
−2250%
|
300−350
+2250%
|
4K
Ultra
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 46 |
| Dota 2 | 8−9
−1663%
|
141
+1663%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 1−2
−12300%
|
124
+12300%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 2−3
−9300%
|
180−190
+9300%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 3−4
−3100%
|
95−100
+3100%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 3−4
−2533%
|
75−80
+2533%
|
1440p
High
| Grand Theft Auto V | 153
+0%
|
153
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 170−180
+0%
|
170−180
+0%
|
4K
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 58
+0%
|
58
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 77
+0%
|
77
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 144
+0%
|
144
+0%
|
4K
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 90−95
+0%
|
90−95
+0%
|
This is how 9800M GTX SLI and RX 6950 XT compete in popular games:
- RX 6950 XT is 2322% faster in 1080p
- RX 6950 XT is 2560% faster in 1440p
- RX 6950 XT is 2700% faster in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Far Cry 5, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 6950 XT is 12300% faster.
All in all, in popular games:
- RX 6950 XT performs better in 52 tests (88%)
- there's a draw in 7 tests (12%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.86 | 67.19 |
| Recency | 15 July 2008 | 10 May 2022 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 16 GB |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 7 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 335 Watt |
9800M GTX SLI has 123% lower power consumption.
RX 6950 XT, on the other hand, has a 2249% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 13 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 829% more advanced lithography process.
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9800M GTX SLI in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce 9800M GTX SLI is a notebook graphics card while Radeon RX 6950 XT 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.
