GPU Comparison
Select up to 2 GPUs to analyze their pricing, performance, and specifications side-by-side.
Market Value Leader
Radeon RX 580 is the clear winner, offering 529.4% better value than GeForce GTX 980.
The GeForce GTX 980 is noticeably faster than the Radeon RX 580, leading by roughly 17% in our performance index. The Radeon RX 580, however, delivers more performance per dollar — $862 EUR cheaper.
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Comparable or lower specs
GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon RX 580: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon RX 580
The GeForce GTX 980 is noticeably faster, around 17% ahead of the Radeon RX 580. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the Radeon RX 580 starts at $136 EUR against $998 EUR for the GeForce GTX 980. Despite being slower, the Radeon RX 580 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~529% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The Radeon RX 580 is trading below its $229 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal. The GeForce GTX 980 still sits about $449 EUR above its $549 EUR MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GTX 980 draws just 165W versus 185W for the Radeon RX 580, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 8GB against 4GB, the Radeon RX 580 has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the GeForce GTX 980's 4GB can fall short.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 580 is roughly 3 years newer than the GeForce GTX 980 (GCN 4.0 (Polaris) vs Maxwell), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 980 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon RX 580 offers AMD FSR upscaling and strong rasterization value. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 980 or Radeon RX 580?
Choose the GeForce GTX 980 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the Radeon RX 580 stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 980 better than the Radeon RX 580?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 980 or the Radeon RX 580?
Is the GeForce GTX 980 worth the extra $862 EUR over the Radeon RX 580?
Does the Radeon RX 580 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 4.0 (Polaris) |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 2,048 | 2,304✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,126 MHz | 1,257 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,216 MHz | 1,340 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 7 Gbps | 8 Gbps✓ |
| Bandwidth | 224.3 GB/s | 256 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 165 W✓ | 185 W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Sep 2014 | Apr 2017 |
