GeForce GTX 280M SLI vs GTX 1080

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 1080 with GeForce GTX 280M SLI, including specs and performance data.

GTX 1080
2016
8 GB GDDR5X, 180 Watt
38.92
+1072%

GTX 1080 outperforms GTX 280M SLI by a whopping 1072% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking105732
Place by popularity63not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation19.08no data
Power efficiency15.471.58
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)G9x (2007−2010)
GPU code nameGP104N10E-GTX
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date27 May 2016 (8 years ago)2 March 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$599 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores2560256
Core clock speed1607 MHz585 MHz
Boost clock speed1733 MHzno data
Number of transistors7,200 million1508 Million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)180 Watt150 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature94 °Cno data
Texture fill rate277.3no data
Floating-point processing power8.873 TFLOPSno data
ROPs64no data
TMUs160no data

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 sizeno datalarge
Bus supportPCIe 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Length267 mmno data
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Recommended system power (PSU)500 Wattno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 8-pinno data
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 typeGDDR5XGDDR3
Maximum RAM amount8 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed10 GB/s950 MHz
Memory bandwidth320 GB/sno data
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 ConnectorsDP 1.42, HDMI 2.0b, DL-DVIno data
Multi monitor 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.

GPU Boost3.0no data
VR Ready+no data
Ansel+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)10
Shader Model6.4no data
OpenGL4.5no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan1.2.131-
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.

GTX 1080 38.92
+1072%
GTX 280M SLI 3.32

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.

GTX 1080 53598
+468%
GTX 280M SLI 9435

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 HD126
+1160%
10−12
−1160%
1440p76
+1167%
6−7
−1167%
4K60
+1100%
5−6
−1100%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.75no data
1440p7.88no data
4K9.98no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 85−90
+608%
12−14
−608%
Cyberpunk 2077 85−90
+988%
8−9
−988%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 84
+833%
9−10
−833%
Counter-Strike 2 85−90
+608%
12−14
−608%
Cyberpunk 2077 85−90
+988%
8−9
−988%
Forza Horizon 4 190−200
+1138%
16−18
−1138%
Forza Horizon 5 100−110
+2475%
4−5
−2475%
Metro Exodus 111
+1486%
7−8
−1486%
Red Dead Redemption 2 114
+850%
12−14
−850%
Valorant 160−170
+2600%
6−7
−2600%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 130
+1344%
9−10
−1344%
Counter-Strike 2 85−90
+608%
12−14
−608%
Cyberpunk 2077 85−90
+988%
8−9
−988%
Dota 2 113
+1030%
10−11
−1030%
Far Cry 5 75
+295%
18−20
−295%
Fortnite 158
+732%
18−20
−732%
Forza Horizon 4 190−200
+1138%
16−18
−1138%
Forza Horizon 5 100−110
+2475%
4−5
−2475%
Grand Theft Auto V 119
+1090%
10−11
−1090%
Metro Exodus 83
+1086%
7−8
−1086%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 242
+681%
30−35
−681%
Red Dead Redemption 2 53
+342%
12−14
−342%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 142
+1083%
12−14
−1083%
Valorant 160−170
+2600%
6−7
−2600%
World of Tanks 272
+353%
60−65
−353%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 73
+711%
9−10
−711%
Counter-Strike 2 47
+292%
12−14
−292%
Cyberpunk 2077 85−90
+988%
8−9
−988%
Dota 2 100
+900%
10−11
−900%
Far Cry 5 179
+842%
18−20
−842%
Forza Horizon 4 190−200
+1138%
16−18
−1138%
Forza Horizon 5 100−110
+2475%
4−5
−2475%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 88
+184%
30−35
−184%
Valorant 160−170
+2600%
6−7
−2600%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 72
+3500%
2−3
−3500%
Grand Theft Auto V 72
+3500%
2−3
−3500%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+629%
24−27
−629%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35
+1650%
2−3
−1650%
World of Tanks 250−260
+971%
24−27
−971%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 72
+1700%
4−5
−1700%
Counter-Strike 2 28
+833%
3−4
−833%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+925%
4−5
−925%
Far Cry 5 118
+1375%
8−9
−1375%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+3833%
3−4
−3833%
Forza Horizon 5 65−70
+1600%
4−5
−1600%
Metro Exodus 82
+1267%
6−7
−1267%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 70−75
+1083%
6−7
−1083%
Valorant 120−130
+1190%
10−11
−1190%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+140%
10−11
−140%
Dota 2 74
+363%
16−18
−363%
Grand Theft Auto V 74
+363%
16−18
−363%
Metro Exodus 28
+1300%
2−3
−1300%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 106
+960%
10−11
−960%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21
+950%
2−3
−950%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 74
+363%
16−18
−363%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 42
+1300%
3−4
−1300%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+140%
10−11
−140%
Cyberpunk 2077 18−20
+800%
2−3
−800%
Dota 2 129
+706%
16−18
−706%
Far Cry 5 59
+1867%
3−4
−1867%
Fortnite 54
+2600%
2−3
−2600%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+3250%
2−3
−3250%
Forza Horizon 5 35−40
+3700%
1−2
−3700%
Valorant 65−70
+2167%
3−4
−2167%

This is how GTX 1080 and GTX 280M SLI compete in popular games:

  • GTX 1080 is 1160% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 1080 is 1167% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 1080 is 1100% faster in 4K

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

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 1080 is 3833% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 1080 surpassed GTX 280M SLI in all 62 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 38.92 3.32
Recency 27 May 2016 2 March 2009
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 16 nm 55 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 180 Watt 150 Watt

GTX 1080 has a 1072.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 243.8% more advanced lithography process.

GTX 280M SLI, on the other hand, has 20% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1080 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 280M SLI in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1080 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 280M SLI is a notebook one.


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 GTX 1080
GeForce GTX 1080
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI
GeForce GTX 280M SLI

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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