Arc A380 vs GeForce GTX 980
On raw speed the GeForce GTX 980 comes out ahead: meaningfully ahead, about 17% ahead of the Arc A380. Best performance and best value in one card here — the clear recommendation if you can afford it.
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GeForce GTX 980 vs Arc A380: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 980 vs Arc A380
The GeForce GTX 980 is noticeably faster, around 17% ahead of the Arc A380. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
The GeForce GTX 980 currently lists from $79 EUR, $74 EUR less than the Arc A380 at $153 EUR. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the GeForce GTX 980 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 126%. The GeForce GTX 980 is trading below its $549 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
At 75W against 165W, the Arc A380 is both the lower-power and the more efficient card, making it the easier build to cool and power. Its more modern Alchemist architecture on a TSMC N6 process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
VRAM favors the Arc A380 at 6GB versus 4GB on the GeForce GTX 980 — that extra 2GB matters most at 4K, with high-res texture packs, and for content-creation/local-AI work.
Generation & Longevity
The Arc A380 is roughly 8 years newer than the GeForce GTX 980 (Alchemist vs Maxwell), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the Arc A380 brings Intel XeSS upscaling and AV1 encoding, while the GeForce GTX 980 offers NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: Arc A380 or GeForce GTX 980?
The GeForce GTX 980 is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the Arc A380 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 980 better than the Arc A380?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Arc A380 or the GeForce GTX 980?
Is the Arc A380 worth the extra $74 EUR over the GeForce GTX 980?
Does the Arc A380 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: Arc A380 or GeForce GTX 980?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Arc A380 | GeForce GTX 980 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Alchemist | Maxwell |
| Process Node | TSMC N6 | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (Shading Units / CUDA Cores) | 1,024 | 2,048✓ |
| Ray Tracing Cores | 8 | — |
| Tensor / AI Cores | 128 | — |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Arc A380 | GeForce GTX 980 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 2,000 MHz✓ | 1,126 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 2,450 MHz✓ | 1,216 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | Arc A380 | GeForce GTX 980 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB✓ | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 96-bit | 256-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 15.5 Gbps✓ | 7 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 186 GB/s | 224.3 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Arc A380 | GeForce GTX 980 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 75 W✓ | 165 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 6-pin |
| Released | Jun 2022 | Sep 2014 |