GeForce GTX 480 vs 980 SLI Mobile
Aggregated performance score
980 SLI Mobile outperforms 480 by 266% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary Details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 108 | 395 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation | 78.24 | 1.27 |
| Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | Fermi (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | N16E-GXX SLI | GF100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 22 September 2015 (8 years ago) | 7 December 2010 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $499 |
| Current price | $301 | $15.99 (0x MSRP) |
Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GTX 980 SLI Mobile has 6061% better value for money than GTX 480.
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 cores | 4096 | 480 |
| CUDA cores | no data | 480 |
| Core clock speed | 1126 MHz | 700 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1228 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 10400 Million | 3,100 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 330 Watt | 295 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | no data | 105 °C |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 42 billion/sec |
| Floating-point performance | no data | 1,345.0 gflops |
Form Factor & Compatibility
Information on GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile and GeForce GTX 480 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 size | large | no data |
| Bus support | no data | 16x PCI-E 2.0 |
| Interface | no data | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm) |
| Height | no data | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) |
| Width | no data | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 6-pin & 8-pin |
| SLI options | + | + |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2x 8 GB | 1536 MB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 3500 MHz | 1848 MHz (3696 data rate) |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 177.4 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 Connectors | no data | Two Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMI |
| Multi monitor support | no data | + |
| HDMI | no data | + |
| HDCP | no data | + |
| Maximum VGA resolution | no data | 2048x1536 |
| G-SYNC support | + | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | no data | Internal |
API Compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12_1 | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | no data | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.2 |
| OpenCL | no data | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | no data | N/A |
| CUDA | + | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance 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.
980 SLI Mobile outperforms 480 by 266% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
980 SLI Mobile outperforms 480 by 562% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
3DMark Fire Strike Graphics
Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.
Benchmark coverage: 14%
980 SLI Mobile outperforms 480 by 597% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.
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 | 136
+289%
| 35−40
−289%
|
| 4K | 64
+300%
| 16−18
−300%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 65−70
+214%
|
21−24
−214%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 110−120
+214%
|
35−40
−214%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 100−110
+279%
|
27−30
−279%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 95−100
+263%
|
27−30
−263%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 90−95
+232%
|
27−30
−232%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 110−120
+213%
|
35−40
−213%
|
| Hitman 3 | 120−130
+356%
|
27−30
−356%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 80−85
+282%
|
21−24
−282%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 60−65
+244%
|
18−20
−244%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 90−95
+327%
|
21−24
−327%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 70−75
+279%
|
18−20
−279%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 65−70
+214%
|
21−24
−214%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 110−120
+214%
|
35−40
−214%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 100−110
+279%
|
27−30
−279%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 95−100
+263%
|
27−30
−263%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 90−95
+232%
|
27−30
−232%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 110−120
+213%
|
35−40
−213%
|
| Hitman 3 | 120−130
+356%
|
27−30
−356%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 80−85
+282%
|
21−24
−282%
|
| Metro Exodus | 70−75
+338%
|
16−18
−338%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 60−65
+244%
|
18−20
−244%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 90−95
+327%
|
21−24
−327%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 132
+500%
|
21−24
−500%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 70−75
+279%
|
18−20
−279%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 65−70
+214%
|
21−24
−214%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 110−120
+214%
|
35−40
−214%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 65−70
+325%
|
16−18
−325%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 95−100
+263%
|
27−30
−263%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 90−95
+232%
|
27−30
−232%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 110−120
+213%
|
35−40
−213%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 74
+236%
|
21−24
−236%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 70−75
+279%
|
18−20
−279%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 60−65
+327%
|
14−16
−327%
|
| Hitman 3 | 70−75
+350%
|
16−18
−350%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 50−55
+238%
|
16−18
−238%
|
| Metro Exodus | 40−45
+378%
|
9−10
−378%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
+343%
|
7−8
−343%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 55−60
+314%
|
14−16
−314%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 40−45
+320%
|
10−11
−320%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 40−45
+514%
|
7−8
−514%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 80−85
+326%
|
18−20
−326%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 30−35
+520%
|
5−6
−520%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 70−75
+318%
|
16−18
−318%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 70−75
+306%
|
18−20
−306%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 80−85
+332%
|
18−20
−332%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 55−60
+460%
|
10−11
−460%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 35−40
+600%
|
5−6
−600%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 35−40
+400%
|
7−8
−400%
|
| Hitman 3 | 35−40
+290%
|
10−11
−290%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 30−33
+233%
|
9−10
−233%
|
| Metro Exodus | 27−30
+575%
|
4−5
−575%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 21−24
+250%
|
6−7
−250%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+417%
|
6−7
−417%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 51
+538%
|
8−9
−538%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+333%
|
6−7
−333%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 24−27
+380%
|
5−6
−380%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+422%
|
9−10
−422%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 12−14
+1200%
|
1−2
−1200%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+363%
|
8−9
−363%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 40−45
+273%
|
10−12
−273%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+315%
|
12−14
−315%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 20−22
+567%
|
3−4
−567%
|
This is how GTX 980 SLI Mobile and GTX 480 compete in popular games:
- GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 289% faster than GTX 480 in 1080p
- GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 300% faster than GTX 480 in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 1200% faster than the GTX 480.
All in all, in popular games:
- Without exception, GTX 980 SLI Mobile surpassed GTX 480 in all 68 of our tests.
Pros & Cons Summary
| Performance score | 38.81 | 10.60 |
| Recency | 22 September 2015 | 7 December 2010 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 330 Watt | 295 Watt |
The GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 480 in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile is a notebook card while GeForce GTX 480 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with Similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
