GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs Radeon RX Vega 56
Performance-wise the Radeon RX Vega 56 is out front, significantly faster, roughly 20% up on the GeForce GTX 980 Ti. Value tips toward the GeForce GTX 980 Ti, though: $25 USD cheaper for what you get.
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Radeon RX Vega 56 vs GeForce GTX 980 Ti: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX Vega 56 vs GeForce GTX 980 Ti
The Radeon RX Vega 56 is significantly faster, around 20% ahead of the GeForce GTX 980 Ti. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the GeForce GTX 980 Ti starts at $125 USD against $150 USD for the Radeon RX Vega 56. Despite being slower, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti offers the better performance-per-dollar, so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is trading below its $649 USD MSRP — a genuine deal. The Radeon RX Vega 56 is trading below its $399 USD MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
The Radeon RX Vega 56 sips power at 210W next to the GeForce GTX 980 Ti's 250W, and still leads on performance-per-watt — quieter, cooler, and gentler on your PSU. Its more modern GCN 5.0 (Vega) architecture on a GloFo 14nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon RX Vega 56's 8GB (vs 6GB on the GeForce GTX 980 Ti) gives it more room for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative or AI workloads.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX Vega 56 is roughly 2 years newer than the GeForce GTX 980 Ti (GCN 5.0 (Vega) 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 Ti brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon RX Vega 56 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 Ti or Radeon RX Vega 56?
Choose the Radeon RX Vega 56 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX Vega 56 better than the GeForce GTX 980 Ti?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 980 Ti or the Radeon RX Vega 56?
Is the Radeon RX Vega 56 worth the extra $25 USD over the GeForce GTX 980 Ti?
Does the Radeon RX Vega 56 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 980 Ti or Radeon RX Vega 56?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 Ti | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 5.0 (Vega) |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 2,816 | 3,584✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 Ti | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,000 MHz | 1,156 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,075 MHz | 1,471 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 Ti | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | HBM2 |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit | 2048-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 7 Gbps✓ | 1.6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 336.5 GB/s | 409.6 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 980 Ti | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 250 W | 210 W✓ |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |
| Released | Jun 2015 | Aug 2017 |