GeForce GTX 280 vs 780M SLI

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

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

GTX 780M SLI
2013
2x 4 GB GDDR5, 200 Watt
20.22
+502%

780M SLI outperforms 280 by a whopping 502% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in performance ranking255699
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation44.090.25
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013)
GPU code nameN14E-GTXGT200
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date30 May 2013 (11 years ago)16 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$649
Current price$149 $159 (0.2x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 780M SLI has 17536% better value for money than GTX 280.

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 cores3072240
CUDA coresno data240
Core clock speed823 MHz602 MHz
Number of transistors7080 Million1,400 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)200 Watt236 Watt
Maximum GPU temperatureno data105 °C
Texture fill rateno data48.2 billion/sec
Floating-point performanceno data622.1 gflops

Form factor & compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 780M SLI and GeForce GTX 280 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 sizelargeno data
Interfaceno dataPCIe 2.0 x16
Lengthno data10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Heightno data4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data6-pin & 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 typeGDDR5GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount2x 4 GB1 GB
Memory bus width2x 256 Bit512 Bit
Memory clock speed5000 MHz1107 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data141.7 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 Connectorsno dataHDTVDual Link DVI
Multi monitor supportno data+
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
Audio input for HDMIno dataS/PDIF

Supported technologies

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

Optimus+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX1111.1 (10_0)
Shader Modelno data4.0
OpenGLno data2.1
OpenCLno data1.1
Vulkanno dataN/A
CUDA++

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 HD107
+569%
16−18
−569%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 190−200
+494%
30−35
−494%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 230−240
+490%
35−40
−490%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 210−220
+500%
35−40
−500%
Battlefield 5 350−400
+430%
65−70
−430%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 240−250
+485%
40−45
−485%
Cyberpunk 2077 190−200
+494%
30−35
−494%
Far Cry 5 280−290
+496%
45−50
−496%
Far Cry New Dawn 300−310
+456%
50−55
−456%
Forza Horizon 4 550−600
+498%
90−95
−498%
Hitman 3 240−250
+500%
40−45
−500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 450−500
+463%
80−85
−463%
Metro Exodus 400−450
+497%
65−70
−497%
Red Dead Redemption 2 300−310
+445%
55−60
−445%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 350−400
+430%
65−70
−430%
Watch Dogs: Legion 350−400
+474%
60−65
−474%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 230−240
+490%
35−40
−490%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 210−220
+500%
35−40
−500%
Battlefield 5 350−400
+430%
65−70
−430%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 240−250
+485%
40−45
−485%
Cyberpunk 2077 190−200
+494%
30−35
−494%
Far Cry 5 280−290
+496%
45−50
−496%
Far Cry New Dawn 300−310
+456%
50−55
−456%
Forza Horizon 4 550−600
+498%
90−95
−498%
Hitman 3 240−250
+500%
40−45
−500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 450−500
+463%
80−85
−463%
Metro Exodus 400−450
+497%
65−70
−497%
Red Dead Redemption 2 300−310
+445%
55−60
−445%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 350−400
+430%
65−70
−430%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 260−270
+491%
40−45
−491%
Watch Dogs: Legion 350−400
+474%
60−65
−474%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 230−240
+490%
35−40
−490%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 210−220
+500%
35−40
−500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 240−250
+485%
40−45
−485%
Cyberpunk 2077 190−200
+494%
30−35
−494%
Far Cry 5 280−290
+496%
45−50
−496%
Forza Horizon 4 550−600
+498%
90−95
−498%
Horizon Zero Dawn 450−500
+463%
80−85
−463%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 350−400
+430%
65−70
−430%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 260−270
+491%
40−45
−491%
Watch Dogs: Legion 350−400
+474%
60−65
−474%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 300−310
+445%
55−60
−445%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 230−240
+490%
35−40
−490%
Far Cry New Dawn 240−250
+485%
40−45
−485%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 120−130
+471%
21−24
−471%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 110−120
+479%
18−20
−479%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 150−160
+477%
24−27
−477%
Cyberpunk 2077 70−75
+483%
12−14
−483%
Far Cry 5 200−210
+488%
30−35
−488%
Forza Horizon 4 240−250
+500%
40−45
−500%
Hitman 3 140−150
+483%
24−27
−483%
Horizon Zero Dawn 240−250
+485%
40−45
−485%
Metro Exodus 220−230
+479%
35−40
−479%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 250−260
+495%
40−45
−495%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 130−140
+465%
21−24
−465%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
+471%
14−16
−471%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 190−200
+476%
30−35
−476%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 120−130
+500%
20−22
−500%
Far Cry New Dawn 90−95
+500%
14−16
−500%
Hitman 3 90−95
+500%
14−16
−500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 130−140
+465%
21−24
−465%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 75−80
+477%
12−14
−477%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 120−130
+471%
21−24
−471%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 70−75
+483%
12−14
−483%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 60−65
+500%
10−11
−500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 65−70
+491%
10−12
−491%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
+500%
4−5
−500%
Far Cry 5 65−70
+491%
10−12
−491%
Forza Horizon 4 160−170
+471%
27−30
−471%
Horizon Zero Dawn 130−140
+465%
21−24
−465%
Metro Exodus 110−120
+479%
18−20
−479%
Watch Dogs: Legion 50−55
+456%
9−10
−456%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 100−105
+456%
18−20
−456%

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

  • GTX 780M SLI is 569% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 20.22 3.36
Recency 30 May 2013 16 June 2008
Chip lithography 28 nm 65 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 236 Watt

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

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


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

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M SLI
GeForce GTX 780M SLI
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
GeForce GTX 280

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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.


3.4 5 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 780M SLI on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.5 103 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 280 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.