Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU vs GeForce GTX 980

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Primary details

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

Place in the ranking193not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation10.89no data
Power efficiency12.16no data
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)no data
GPU code nameGM204no data
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date19 September 2014 (10 years ago)31 October 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$549 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 cores204818
Core clock speed1064 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1216 MHzno data
Number of transistors5,200 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nm5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)165 Wattno data
Texture fill rate155.6no data
Floating-point processing power4.981 TFLOPSno data
ROPs64no data
TMUs128no 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 datamedium sized
Bus supportPCI Express 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 connectors2x 6-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 typeGDDR5LPDDR5-6400
Maximum RAM amount4 GBno data
Memory bus width256 Bitno data
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/sno data
Memory bandwidth224 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 ConnectorsDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2no data
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
VGA аnalog display support+no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support+no data
HDMI+-
HDCP+-
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
G-SYNC support+-
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

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

GameStream+-
GeForce ShadowPlay+-
GPU Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+-
Optimus+-
BatteryBoost+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)no data
Shader Model6.4no data
OpenGL4.5no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan1.1.126-
CUDA+-

Pros & cons summary


Recency 19 September 2014 31 October 2023
Chip lithography 28 nm 5 nm

Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU has an age advantage of 9 years, and a 460% more advanced lithography process.

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 980 and Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 980 is a desktop card while Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU 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 980
GeForce GTX 980
Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU
M3 Pro 18-Core GPU

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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Community ratings

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4.3 1426 votes

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3.1 169 votes

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Questions & comments

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