GeForce GTX 950 vs 980 Mobile

Place in performance ranking	233	349
Place by popularity	not in top-100	83
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	30.32	6.03
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2018)	Maxwell (2014−2018)
GPU code name	N16E-GXX	GM206
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	22 September 2014 (9 years ago)	20 August 2015 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$395.82	$159
Current price	$251 (0.6x MSRP)	$12.88 (0.1x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 980 Mobile has 403% better value for money than GTX 950.

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	2048	768
CUDA cores	2048	768
Core clock speed	1064 MHz	1024 MHz
Boost clock speed	1216 MHz	1188 MHz
Number of transistors	5,200 million	2,940 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100-200 Watt	90 Watt
Texture fill rate	144 billion/sec	49.2 billion/sec
Floating-point performance	4,358 gflops	1,825 gflops

Form factor & compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 980 Mobile and GeForce GTX 950 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	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 3.0
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	no data	7.938" (20.2 cm)
Height	no data	4.376" (11.1 cm)
Width	no data	2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)	no data	350 Watt
Supplementary power connectors	no data	1x 6-pins
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	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	6.6 GB/s
Memory bandwidth	224 GB/s	105.6 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	Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2	Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2
Multi monitor support	4 displays	4 displays
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	+
HDCP	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	2048x1536
G-SYNC support	+	+
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	Internal

Supported technologies

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

GameStream	+	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	+
GPU Boost	2.0	2.0
GameWorks	+	+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	no data
Optimus	+	no data
BatteryBoost	+	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	6.4
OpenGL	4.5	4.5
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.1.126
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.

GTX 980 Mobile 22.15
+60.6%

GTX 950 13.79

980 Mobile outperforms 950 by 61% 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%

GTX 980 Mobile 17201
+106%

GTX 950 8351

980 Mobile outperforms 950 by 106% 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%

GTX 980 Mobile 13047
+110%

GTX 950 6208

980 Mobile outperforms 950 by 110% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 980 Mobile 76705
+105%

GTX 950 37454

980 Mobile outperforms 950 by 105% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

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	99 +90.4%	52 −90.4%
4K	45 +114%	21 −114%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

35−40
+71.4%

21−24

−71.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +51.7%	27−30 −51.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +69.6%	21−24 −69.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +55.3%	45−50 −55.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	55−60 +61.1%	35−40 −61.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +61.1%	35−40 −61.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +55.3%	35−40 −55.3%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 +53.1%	45−50 −53.1%
Hitman 3	65−70 +75.7%	35−40 −75.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +62.1%	27−30 −62.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +56.5%	21−24 −56.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +65.5%	27−30 −65.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +65.4%	24−27 −65.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +51.7%	27−30 −51.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +69.6%	21−24 −69.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +55.3%	45−50 −55.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	55−60 +61.1%	35−40 −61.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +61.1%	35−40 −61.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +55.3%	35−40 −55.3%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 +53.1%	45−50 −53.1%
Hitman 3	65−70 +75.7%	35−40 −75.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +62.1%	27−30 −62.1%
Metro Exodus	35−40 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +56.5%	21−24 −56.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +65.5%	27−30 −65.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	84 +121%	38 −121%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +65.4%	24−27 −65.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +51.7%	27−30 −51.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +69.6%	21−24 −69.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +55.3%	45−50 −55.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +61.1%	35−40 −61.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +55.3%	35−40 −55.3%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 +53.1%	45−50 −53.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	44 +110%	21 −110%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +65.4%	24−27 −65.4%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35 +70%	20−22 −70%
Hitman 3	35−40 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 +52.6%	18−20 −52.6%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	16−18 +70%	10−11 −70%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +70.6%	16−18 −70.6%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +71.4%	14−16 −71.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 +90.9%	10−12 −90.9%
Battlefield 5	45−50 +75%	27−30 −75%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +72.7%	21−24 −72.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45 +72%	24−27 −72%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +66.7%	27−30 −66.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion	16−18 +100%	8−9 −100%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +88.9%	9−10 −88.9%
Hitman 3	21−24 +61.5%	12−14 −61.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +87.5%	8−9 −87.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30 +131%	13 −131%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +100%	6−7 −100%
Battlefield 5	24−27 +85.7%	14−16 −85.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 +150%	2−3 −150%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +63.6%	10−12 −63.6%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +63.2%	18−20 −63.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−11 +100%	5−6 −100%

This is how GTX 980 Mobile and GTX 950 compete in popular games:

GTX 980 Mobile is 90.4% faster than GTX 950 in 1080p
GTX 980 Mobile is 114% faster than GTX 950 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 Mobile is 150% faster than the GTX 950.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, GTX 980 Mobile surpassed GTX 950 in all 68 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	22.15	13.79
Recency	22 September 2014	20 August 2015
Cost	$395.82	$159
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	2 GB
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	90 Watt