Nvidia GeForce GTX 980

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Nvidia GeForce GTX 980
The GeForce GTX 980 is Nvidia's fastest single GPU graphics card based on the Maxwell architecture. The GTX 980 comes with 2,048 CUDA cores across 16 Streaming Multiprocessors Maxwell (SMM) units. It features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224 GB/s of bandwidth, while the card's TDP is listed at around 175W.
Maxwell
Architecture
High-end
Product Tier
2048
Shader Cores
64
ROPs
128
TMUs
No RT
Ray Tracing
4 GB
Memory
GDDR5
Memory Type
224 GB/s
Bandwidth
165 W
TDP
$389
Price
GPU Snapshot
Release date:Sep 18, 2014Price at Launch:$549
Type:DesktopArchitecture:Maxwell
Generation:GTX 900 seriesProduct Tier:High-end
VRAM Capacity:4 GBTotal Board Power:165 W
Core Configuration
Shader Cores:2048TMUs:128
ROPs:64L2 Cache:2 MB
Memory
VRAM Capacity:4 GBMemory Type:GDDR5
Memory Speed:7 GbpsMemory Bus:256-bit
Bandwidth:224 GB/s
Graphics Processing
Base Clock:1.12 GHzBoost Clock:1.21 GHz
FP32 Throughput:4.98 TFLOPsRay Tracing:No
Process Size:28nmProcess Name:TSMC 28nm
Die Size:398 mm²
Power & Connectivity
Total Board Power:165 WPower Connectors:2x 6-pin
Bus Interface:PCIe 3.0 x16HDMI Support:HDMI 2.0
DisplayPort Support:DP 1.2DSC:No
Max Displays:4
Media & Software Support
DirectX Support:12Shader Model:6.8
Vulkan Version:1.4OpenGL Version:4.6

Price History

Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 pricing

Last 6 months
Price Date
Current $388 Jan 30, 2026
Highest* $389 May 14, 2025
Lowest* $389 May 14, 2025
Average $389
* Prices are based on listings from Newegg and other major retailers over the past 12+ months.
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Reviews and Ratings

89

Average Score

Based on 40 reviews

9.0

User Score

Based on 756 reviews

Reviewers Liked

  • Top notch performance
  • Improved display output options
  • Better than the GTX 780 Ti in every regard
  • High performance-per-watt rating

Reviewers Didn't Like

  • You still need two of them for high frame rates at 4K resolutions
  • Expensive

Important to note, all the pricing information below comes from Newegg and excludes sales. If pricing in your country or region differs from the Newegg's pricing in the US, which it likely will, then please draw your own conclusions based on the...

By TechSpot on
85

Maxwell's impeccable performance per watt along with Gigabyte's custom cooler allow for big overclocks, solid temps and quiet operation. A great GPU for uncompromised performance.

By TechSpot on
80

The GTX 980 is a capable card with the grunt to handle anything at 1080p and 1440p and almost all games at 4K, too. However, AMD's two rivals offer performance improvements for similar cash. If you want to stay green, the GTX 980 is a good option – but...

By Trusted Reviews on
94

About a month ago, just two weeks after its flagship Radeon R9 Fury X launch, AMD launched its little sibling, the R9 Fury positioned as a big money-maker for...

By techPowerUp! on
80

The GTX 980’s name might lead buyers to think that it provides a large performance improvement over the outgoing GTX 700 series flagships. That’s not the case. As our test...

By Digital Trends on
95

At NVIDIA Game 24 a few weeks ago, they announced their next line of desktop video cards. The big bad of the show was the GeForce GTX 980. NVIDIA was kind enough to send us a card, so let's take a look at the latest and greatest from NVIDIA.The GeForce...

By Gaming Nexus on
80

The GTX 980 is the high-end card in the newly announced and soon-to-be-more-widely-released Nvidia line-up, for the latest quarter of 2014 and the first half of 2015; there will be an even more powerful twin-GPU card inevitably turn up, and more...

By Gizmodo on
80

Over the last few generations of GPUs, the graphics card race between AMD and Nvidia has become an increasingly fine-tuned game of one-upmanship. Both companies have been turning out carefully targeted products that often straddle a fine line between...

By APC Magazine on
90

The green team is on a roll and the Geforce GTX980, an exceptional piece of hardware, is capping what is proving to be a great year for Nvidia.

By TechRadar on
88

Without doubt, the GTX 980 is a great graphics card. By and large, it is unmatched in the performance arena, and there's certainly nothing that even comes close to it at this end of the market when you look at performance per watt. It is also very well...

By Bit-tech.net on
90

We liked The efficiency of the new Maxwell GM 204 GPU is the most striking thing, in both the GTX 980 and its GTX 970 brethren. This is essentially a mid-range class GPU - generationally equivalent to the GTX 770 - but it's able to best the very top of...

By TechRadar AU on
95

When I first analysed Nvidia's GTX750ti back in March I was supremely impressed with the Maxwell architecture. This was a card that when overclocked could keep up with AMD's HD7850. When you realised it was consuming half the power at the socket and...

By Kitguru.net on
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