Radeon 780M vs GeForce GTX 280

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 280 with Radeon 780M, including specs and performance data.

GTX 280
2008
1 GB GDDR3, 236 Watt
3.27

780M outperforms GTX 280 by a whopping 445% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking746313
Place by popularitynot in top-10062
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.12no data
Power efficiency0.9783.43
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)RDNA 3.0 (2022−2025)
GPU code nameGT200Hawx Point
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date16 June 2008 (16 years ago)6 December 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$649 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

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 cores240768
Core clock speed602 MHz800 MHz
Boost clock speedno data2700 MHz
Number of transistors1,400 million25,390 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm4 nm
Power consumption (TDP)236 Watt15 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate48.16129.6
Floating-point processing power0.6221 TFLOPS8.294 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs8048
Ray Tracing Coresno data12

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).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x8
Length267 mmno data
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinNone
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 typeGDDR3System Shared
Maximum RAM amount1 GBSystem Shared
Memory bus width512 BitSystem Shared
Memory clock speed1107 MHzSystem Shared
Memory bandwidth141.7 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 ConnectorsHDTVDual Link DVIPortable Device Dependent
Multi monitor support+no data
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX11.1 (10_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model4.06.8
OpenGL2.14.6
OpenCL1.12.1
VulkanN/A1.3
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.

GTX 280 3.27
Radeon 780M 17.82
+445%

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 280 1285
Radeon 780M 7012
+446%

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 HD6−7
−483%
35
+483%
1440p3−4
−467%
17
+467%
4K2−3
−500%
12
+500%

Cost per frame, $

1080p108.17no data
1440p216.33no data
4K324.50no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 49
+0%
49
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 32
+0%
32
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 39
+0%
39
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 39
+0%
39
+0%
Battlefield 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 26
+0%
26
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 31
+0%
31
+0%
Far Cry 5 45
+0%
45
+0%
Fortnite 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Valorant 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 23
+0%
23
+0%
Battlefield 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 25
+0%
25
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 210−220
+0%
210−220
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 24
+0%
24
+0%
Dota 2 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Far Cry 5 41
+0%
41
+0%
Fortnite 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 44
+0%
44
+0%
Metro Exodus 29
+0%
29
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 46
+0%
46
+0%
Valorant 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 23
+0%
23
+0%
Dota 2 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Far Cry 5 39
+0%
39
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 29
+0%
29
+0%
Valorant 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 18
+0%
18
+0%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Valorant 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 16
+0%
16
+0%
Far Cry 5 27
+0%
27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20
+0%
20
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 21
+0%
21
+0%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 15
+0%
15
+0%
Valorant 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6
+0%
6
+0%
Dota 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Far Cry 5 12
+0%
12
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

This is how GTX 280 and Radeon 780M compete in popular games:

  • Radeon 780M is 483% faster in 1080p
  • Radeon 780M is 467% faster in 1440p
  • Radeon 780M is 500% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 67 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.27 17.82
Recency 16 June 2008 6 December 2023
Chip lithography 65 nm 4 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt 15 Watt

Radeon 780M has a 445% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 15 years, a 1525% more advanced lithography process, and 1473.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon 780M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 280 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 280 is a desktop card while Radeon 780M is a notebook one.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
GeForce GTX 280
AMD Radeon 780M
Radeon 780M

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.


3.6 109 votes

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