Quadro RTX 5000 vs GeForce GTX 980

Place in the ranking	198	98
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	11.04	14.90
Power efficiency	12.08	12.37
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)	Turing (2018−2022)
GPU code name	GM204	TU104
Market segment	Desktop	Workstation
Release date	19 September 2014 (10 years ago)	13 August 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$549	$2,299

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 5000 has 35% better value for money than GTX 980.

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 cores	2048	3072
Core clock speed	1064 MHz	1620 MHz
Boost clock speed	1216 MHz	1815 MHz
Number of transistors	5,200 million	13,600 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	230 Watt
Texture fill rate	155.6	348.5
Floating-point processing power	4.981 TFLOPS	11.15 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	64
TMUs	128	192
Tensor Cores	no data	384
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	48

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).

Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	267 mm	267 mm
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)	500 Watt	no data
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 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 type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	16 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224 GB/s	448.0 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	4x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-C
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	-
HDCP	+	-
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
G-SYNC support	+	-
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

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	no 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.

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 Ultimate (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	6.5
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.2.131
CUDA	+	7.5

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. 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 28.90

RTX 5000 41.24
+42.7%

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 980 11109

RTX 5000 15850
+42.7%

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GTX 980 34835

RTX 5000 102850
+195%

GeekBench 5 Vulkan

GTX 980 40029

RTX 5000 94304
+136%

GeekBench 5 CUDA

GTX 980 29546

RTX 5000 96650
+227%

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	92 −41.3%	130−140 +41.3%
1440p	50 −40%	70−75 +40%
4K	40 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	5.97 +196%	17.68 −196%
1440p	10.98 +199%	32.84 −199%
4K	13.73 +205%	41.80 −205%

GTX 980 has 196% lower cost per frame in 1080p
GTX 980 has 199% lower cost per frame in 1440p
GTX 980 has 205% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −36.4%	75−80 +36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 −41.7%	85−90 +41.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	75 −33.3%	100−105 +33.3%
Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −36.4%	75−80 +36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 −41.7%	85−90 +41.7%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −37.4%	180−190 +37.4%
Forza Horizon 5	75−80 −31.6%	100−105 +31.6%
Metro Exodus	70−75 −35.1%	100−105 +35.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	60−65 −39.3%	85−90 +39.3%
Valorant	110−120 −39.1%	160−170 +39.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	77 −29.9%	100−105 +29.9%
Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −36.4%	75−80 +36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 −41.7%	85−90 +41.7%
Dota 2	48 −35.4%	65−70 +35.4%
Far Cry 5	80−85 −32.5%	110−120 +32.5%
Fortnite	105 −33.3%	140−150 +33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −37.4%	180−190 +37.4%
Forza Horizon 5	75−80 −31.6%	100−105 +31.6%
Grand Theft Auto V	72 −38.9%	100−105 +38.9%
Metro Exodus	70−75 −35.1%	100−105 +35.1%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	194 −39.2%	270−280 +39.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	60−65 −39.3%	85−90 +39.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	67 −41.8%	95−100 +41.8%
Valorant	110−120 −39.1%	160−170 +39.1%
World of Tanks	270−280 −29.2%	350−400 +29.2%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	67 −41.8%	95−100 +41.8%
Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −36.4%	75−80 +36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 −41.7%	85−90 +41.7%
Dota 2	95−100 −34%	130−140 +34%
Far Cry 5	80−85 −32.5%	110−120 +32.5%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −37.4%	180−190 +37.4%
Forza Horizon 5	75−80 −31.6%	100−105 +31.6%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	69 −37.7%	95−100 +37.7%
Valorant	110−120 −39.1%	160−170 +39.1%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	50−55 −40%	70−75 +40%
Grand Theft Auto V	50−55 −37.3%	70−75 +37.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 −37.1%	240−250 +37.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	27−30 −29.6%	35−40 +29.6%
World of Tanks	180−190 −38.3%	260−270 +38.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	47 −38.3%	65−70 +38.3%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −29%	40−45 +29%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 −34.6%	35−40 +34.6%
Far Cry 5	85−90 −36.4%	120−130 +36.4%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 −39.2%	110−120 +39.2%
Forza Horizon 5	45−50 −38.3%	65−70 +38.3%
Metro Exodus	65−70 −38.5%	90−95 +38.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 −33.3%	60−65 +33.3%
Valorant	80−85 −35.8%	110−120 +35.8%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −29.6%	35−40 +29.6%
Dota 2	59 −35.6%	80−85 +35.6%
Grand Theft Auto V	59 −35.6%	80−85 +35.6%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	70 −35.7%	95−100 +35.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	18−20 −33.3%	24−27 +33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	59 −35.6%	80−85 +35.6%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	22 −36.4%	30−33 +36.4%
Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −29.6%	35−40 +29.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%
Dota 2	50−55 −34.6%	70−75 +34.6%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −41%	55−60 +41%
Fortnite	30 −33.3%	40−45 +33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 −33.3%	60−65 +33.3%
Forza Horizon 5	24−27 −40%	35−40 +40%
Valorant	40−45 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%

This is how GTX 980 and RTX 5000 compete in popular games:

RTX 5000 is 41% faster in 1080p
RTX 5000 is 40% faster in 1440p
RTX 5000 is 38% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	28.90	41.24
Recency	19 September 2014	13 August 2018
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	16 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	230 Watt

GTX 980 has 39.4% lower power consumption.

RTX 5000, on the other hand, has a 42.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 133.3% more advanced lithography process.

The Quadro RTX 5000 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 980 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 980 is a desktop card while Quadro RTX 5000 is a workstation one.

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