RTX A2000 12 GB vs GeForce GTX 980

Place in the ranking	198	141
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	10.87	91.44
Power efficiency	12.08	35.07
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GM204	GA106
Market segment	Desktop	Workstation
Release date	19 September 2014 (10 years ago)	23 November 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$549	$449

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX A2000 12 GB has 741% 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	3328
Core clock speed	1064 MHz	562 MHz
Boost clock speed	1216 MHz	1200 MHz
Number of transistors	5,200 million	12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	70 Watt
Texture fill rate	155.6	124.8
Floating-point processing power	4.981 TFLOPS	7.987 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	48
TMUs	128	104
Tensor Cores	no data	104
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	26

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 4.0 x16
Length	267 mm	167 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	None
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	12 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224 GB/s	288.0 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 mini-DisplayPort
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_2)
Shader Model	6.4	6.6
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	3.0
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.3
CUDA	+	8.6

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 28.89

RTX A2000 12 GB 35.58
+23.2%

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 11108

RTX A2000 12 GB 13680
+23.2%

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 −19.6%	110−120 +19.6%
1440p	50 −20%	60−65 +20%
4K	40 −12.5%	45−50 +12.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	5.97 −46.2%	4.08 +46.2%
1440p	10.98 −46.7%	7.48 +46.7%
4K	13.73 −37.6%	9.98 +37.6%

RTX A2000 12 GB has 46% lower cost per frame in 1080p
RTX A2000 12 GB has 47% lower cost per frame in 1440p
RTX A2000 12 GB has 38% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −16.1%	65−70 +16.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	55−60 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%
Elden Ring	95−100 −13.4%	110−120 +13.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	75 −20%	90−95 +20%
Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −16.1%	65−70 +16.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	55−60 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −23.1%	160−170 +23.1%
Metro Exodus	70−75 −21.6%	90−95 +21.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2	60−65 −23%	75−80 +23%
Valorant	110−120 −21.7%	140−150 +21.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	77 −16.9%	90−95 +16.9%
Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −16.1%	65−70 +16.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	55−60 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%
Dota 2	48 −14.6%	55−60 +14.6%
Elden Ring	95−100 −13.4%	110−120 +13.4%
Far Cry 5	80−85 −20.5%	100−105 +20.5%
Fortnite	105 −14.3%	120−130 +14.3%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −23.1%	160−170 +23.1%
Grand Theft Auto V	72 −18.1%	85−90 +18.1%
Metro Exodus	70−75 −21.6%	90−95 +21.6%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	194 −18.6%	230−240 +18.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2	60−65 −23%	75−80 +23%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	67 −19.4%	80−85 +19.4%
Valorant	110−120 −21.7%	140−150 +21.7%
World of Tanks	270−280 −10.7%	300−310 +10.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	67 −19.4%	80−85 +19.4%
Counter-Strike 2	55−60 −16.1%	65−70 +16.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	55−60 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%
Dota 2	95−100 −13.4%	110−120 +13.4%
Far Cry 5	80−85 −20.5%	100−105 +20.5%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −23.1%	160−170 +23.1%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	69 −15.9%	80−85 +15.9%
Valorant	110−120 −21.7%	140−150 +21.7%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	50−55 −20%	60−65 +20%
Elden Ring	50−55 −22.6%	65−70 +22.6%
Grand Theft Auto V	50−55 −20%	60−65 +20%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 −20%	210−220 +20%
Red Dead Redemption 2	27−30 −11.1%	30−33 +11.1%
World of Tanks	180−190 −22.3%	230−240 +22.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	47 −17%	55−60 +17%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 −15.4%	30−33 +15.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 −15.4%	30−33 +15.4%
Far Cry 5	85−90 −13.6%	100−105 +13.6%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 −20.3%	95−100 +20.3%
Metro Exodus	65−70 −23.1%	80−85 +23.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	40−45 −13.6%	50−55 +13.6%
Valorant	80−85 −17.3%	95−100 +17.3%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −11.1%	30−33 +11.1%
Dota 2	59 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%
Elden Ring	24−27 −12.5%	27−30 +12.5%
Grand Theft Auto V	59 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −17.4%	27−30 +17.4%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	70 −21.4%	85−90 +21.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	18−20 −16.7%	21−24 +16.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	59 −18.6%	70−75 +18.6%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	22 −22.7%	27−30 +22.7%
Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −11.1%	30−33 +11.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 −20%	12−14 +20%
Dota 2	50−55 −15.4%	60−65 +15.4%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −15.4%	45−50 +15.4%
Fortnite	30 −16.7%	35−40 +16.7%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 −22.2%	55−60 +22.2%
Valorant	40−45 −12.5%	45−50 +12.5%

This is how GTX 980 and RTX A2000 12 GB compete in popular games:

RTX A2000 12 GB is 20% faster in 1080p
RTX A2000 12 GB is 20% faster in 1440p
RTX A2000 12 GB is 13% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	28.89	35.58
Recency	19 September 2014	23 November 2021
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	12 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	70 Watt

RTX A2000 12 GB has a 23.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 200% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 250% more advanced lithography process, and 135.7% lower power consumption.

The RTX A2000 12 GB 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 RTX A2000 12 GB is a workstation one.

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