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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M is a 28 nm DirectX 11 graphics card for high-end notebooks. It was introduced in Fall of 2014 and is based on the Maxwell GM204 architecture. The clock rates specified by Nvidia are 1038 MHz (+ Boost) for the GPU and 1250 MHz (5000 MHz effective) for the up to 8 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Architecture

Just like the mid-range GM107 chip (GeForce GTX 860M), the GM204 is also based on Nvidia's new Maxwell architecture, which replaces the previous Kepler generation. Among other changes, Nvidia have restructured the streaming multi processors (SMM) in order to increase workload and efficiency. Now each SMM contains only 128 shader units and 8 TMUs, which is noticeably less than an equivalent Kepler GPU. The GM204 features four GPCs, and each consists of four SMMs. But, in the GeForce GTX 980M, Nvidia have deactivated 4 of 16 SMMs. As a result, only 1536 shader ALUs and 96 TMUs are active. In addition, there are 64 ROPs in four clusters with 16 units each.

The memory interface has a bandwidth of 256-bits (4x 64 bit). Thanks to an improved compression algorithm, the connection to the GDDR5 memory should be significantly more efficient per MHz. Furthermore, the L1 (96 KB per SMM) and L2 caches (2 MB) have been significantly increased to lower the needed bandwidth.

Although the GM107 and the GM204 both belong to the Maxwell generation, the newer and larger GM204 has several additional features and changes. Aside from the improved polymorphic engine in the SSMs, it is also the first Nvidia chip to support DirectX 12 Feature Level 12_1.

Performance

Thanks to the increased efficiency, the GeForce GTX 980M performs significantly faster than the former top model, the GTX 880M. Consequently, it is the fastest mobile graphics card as of 2014. According to our benchmarks, it is about 40 - 50 percent faster depending on the scenario. Thus, the GTX 980M is powerful enough to run even the most demanding games with highest details and FullHD resolution. Additional visual features like anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering are also not a problem for this card as of 2014.

3DMark - 1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics (sort by value)
GeForce GTX 880M SLI
GeForce GTX 880M SLI, 4810MQ, Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB mSATA
11926 Points
GeForce GTX 880M SLI
10551 Points
Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire
10091 Points
GeForce GTX 780M SLI
9598 Points
GeForce GTX 980M
7273 Points
GeForce GTX 970M
6125 Points
GeForce GTX 880M
5744 Points
GeForce GTX 780M
5294 Points

Features

Most of the features are identical to the GeForce GTX 800M series. With the GTX 980M, there can be up to 4 active displays possible, but this will likely decrease due to Optimus. Displays can be connected with a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels via DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0 (no HDCP @ 4K). HD audio formats like Dolby True HD and DTS HD can be sent to a compatible receiver as bitstream. As with previous models, 3D Vision is not supported with Optimus.

The updated video processor VP6 supports the usual formats like H.264 and can also decode and encode H.265 with a resolution of up to 4K via the NVENC API. Several parallel streams, such as picture-in-picture in a Blu-Ray movie, are also possible.

Further features of the GTX 900M series, which are also partly supported by older cards, include Battery Boost (longer battery life during gaming), Shadowplay (recording of gaming videos up to 4K60p and 130 Mbit/s) and Gamestream (game streaming on Shield console). More information on these features are available here.

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the GeForce GTX 980M including its MXM board and memory should be about the same as a GTX 880M with a specified TDP of 122 W. Given the significantly higher performance despite the identical manufacturing process (28 nm TSMC), this can be considered a massive increase in performance-per-watt. Nevertheless, the graphics card can only be used in very large and heavy gaming notebooks with powerful cooling systems.

Under low load, dynamic clock rates help the GTX 980M to save energy. While idle, the Optimus technology also allows for the complete deactivation of the GPU in favor of the integrated processor graphics card.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M

 

GeForce GTX 900M Series

GeForce GTX 980M SLI compare 3072 @ 1.04 - 1.13 GHz2x 256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 970M SLI compare 2560 @ 0.92 - 1.04 GHz2x 192 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 965M SLI compare 2048 @ 0.92 - 0.95 GHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 980M 1536 @ 1.04 - 1.13 GHz256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 970M compare 1280 @ 0.92 - 1.04 GHz192 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 965M compare 1024 @ 0.92 - 0.95 GHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 960M compare 640 @ 1.1 - 1.2 GHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 950M compare 640 @ 0.91 - 1.12 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 - 5000 MHz
ArchitectureMaxwell
Pipelines1536 - unified
Core Speed1038 - 1127 (Boost) MHz
Memory Speed5000 MHz
Memory Bus Width256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory8 GB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 12_1, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.5
Power Consumption100 Watt
Transistor Count5.2 Billion
technology28 nm
FeaturesBattery Boost, GameStream, ShadowPlay, GPU Boost 2.0, Optimus, PhysX, CUDA, SLI, GeForce Experience, VXGI, DSR, Ansel, G-SYNC
Notebook Sizelarge
Date of Announcement07.10.2014
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.geforce.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
3.6 pt (11%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics
min: 286434     avg: 338661     median: 327632 (33%)     max: 398761 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
min: 38312     avg: 184005     median: 214615 (25%)     max: 280576 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score
min: 18666     avg: 22751     median: 22162 (21%)     max: 27998 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
min: 36230     avg: 61823     median: 65241 (16%)     max: 69696 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score
min: 8095     avg: 8360     median: 8343 (13%)     max: 8914 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
min: 9227     avg: 9698     median: 9682 (9%)     max: 10489 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics
min: 47124     avg: 209653     median: 231325 (26%)     max: 377482 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 10464     avg: 11290     median: 11177 (14%)     max: 12364 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 11209     avg: 12479     median: 12517 (10%)     max: 13581 Points
3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 33856     avg: 35807     median: 34695 (19%)     max: 40043 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
3DMark 06
min: 24942     avg: 28514     median: 26811 (35%)     max: 36363 Points
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - Unigine Heaven 3.0 DX 11
min: 103.7     avg: 112     median: 110.6 (37%)     max: 119 fps
SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 +
specvp11 tcvis-02 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 tcvis-02
min: 2.45     avg: 2.5     median: 2.5 (1%)     max: 2.47 fps
specvp11 sw-02 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 sw-02
min: 16.97     avg: 17     median: 17 (13%)     max: 17.07 fps
specvp11 proe-05 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 proe-05
min: 2.63     avg: 2.6     median: 2.6 (3%)     max: 2.64 fps
specvp11 maya-03 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 maya-03
min: 22.58     avg: 22.8     median: 22.7 (17%)     max: 22.91 fps
specvp11 lightwave-01 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 lightwave-01
min: 21.12     avg: 21.1     median: 21.1 (23%)     max: 21.13 fps
specvp11 ensight-04 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 ensight-04
min: 95.8     avg: 96.6     median: 96.6 (46%)     max: 97.3 fps
specvp11 catia-03 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 catia-03
min: 21.57     avg: 22     median: 22 (12%)     max: 22.49 fps
SPECviewperf 12
specvp12 sw-03 +
specvp12 snx-02 +
specvp12 showcase-01 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 showcase-01
min: 21.88     avg: 38.6     median: 46.9 (10%)     max: 47.02 fps
specvp12 mediacal-01 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 mediacal-01
min: 3.01     avg: 17.8     median: 23.1 (6%)     max: 27.17 fps
specvp12 maya-04 +
specvp12 energy-01 +
specvp12 creo-01 +
specvp12 catia-04 +
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 6670     avg: 7638     median: 6837 (5%)     max: 13558 points
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 49.14     avg: 64.7     median: 62.3 (20%)     max: 82.9 fps
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 59.7     avg: 99.3     median: 101.3 (6%)     max: 153.4 fps
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit +
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit
99.6 % (100%)
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 +
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - LuxMark v2.0 Room GPU
min: 1209     avg: 1341     median: 1319.5 (5%)     max: 1538 Samples/s
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - LuxMark v2.0 Sala GPU
min: 2207     avg: 2334     median: 2294.5 (4%)     max: 2539 Samples/s
ComputeMark v2.1 - ComputeMark v2.1 Result
min: 4737     avg: 6545     median: 6552 (5%)     max: 7330 points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
red legend - Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Rage 2

Rage 2

2019
low 1280x720
94.4  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
44.8  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
38.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
38.3  fps    + Compare
QHD 2560x1440
24  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
11  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Anno 1800

Anno 1800

2019
low 1280x720
63.7  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
62.8  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
43.7  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
20.6  fps    + Compare
QHD 2560x1440
14.8  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
8.8  fps    + Compare