GeForce 9600M GS vs Radeon R9 280

Place in the ranking	370	1309
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.21	no data
Power efficiency	4.96	1.15
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code name	Tahiti	G96C
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	4 March 2014 (10 years ago)	3 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$279	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

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 cores	1792	32
Core clock speed	no data	103 MHz
Boost clock speed	933 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	4,313 million	314 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	200 Watt	20 Watt
Texture fill rate	104.5	6.880
Floating-point processing power	3.344 TFLOPS	0.0688 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	8
TMUs	112	16

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 size	no data	medium sized
Bus support	PCIe 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	MXM-II
Length	275 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin	no data

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	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	384 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1250 MHz	800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	240 GB/s	25.6 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	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	No outputs
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	+	-

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire	+	-
FreeSync	+	-
HD3D	+	-
LiquidVR	+	-
TressFX	+	-
TrueAudio	+	-
UVD	+	-
DDMA audio	+	no data

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX	DirectX® 12	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	5.1	4.0
OpenGL	4.6	3.3
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	+	N/A
CUDA	-	1.1

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.

R9 280 13.86
+4231%

9600M GS 0.32

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.

R9 280 5555
+4173%

9600M GS 130

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
World of Tanks	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%

1440p
High Preset

PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS

2−3

+0%

2−3

+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Valorant	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	0−1	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Valorant	0−1	0−1

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 30 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	13.86	0.32
Recency	4 March 2014	3 June 2008
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	200 Watt	20 Watt

R9 280 has a 4231.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 200% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 96.4% more advanced lithography process.

9600M GS, on the other hand, has 900% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 280 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9600M GS in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 280 is a desktop card while GeForce 9600M GS is a notebook one.

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