G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

A10G

2021

Why buy it

✅300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (24 GB vs 6 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 150W instead of 250W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌
285.2% HIGHER MSRP
$2,500 MSRPvs$649 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.4 vs 21.1 G3D/$ ($2,500 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $1,851 less on MSRP ($649 MSRP vs $2,500 MSRP).
✅Delivers 288.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.1 vs 5.4 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs $2,500 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 24 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌66.7% higher power demand at 250W vs 150W.

A10G

2021

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

2015

Why buy it

✅300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (24 GB vs 6 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 150W instead of 250W, a 100W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Costs $1,851 less on MSRP ($649 MSRP vs $2,500 MSRP).
✅Delivers 288.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.1 vs 5.4 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs $2,500 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌
285.2% HIGHER MSRP
$2,500 MSRPvs$649 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.4 vs 21.1 G3D/$ ($2,500 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 24 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌66.7% higher power demand at 250W vs 150W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 980 Ti better than A10G?

Yes. GeForce GTX 980 Ti is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 13,711 vs 13,598 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce GTX 980 Ti is a 2015 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while A10G is a 2021 model from an older generation with no meaningful modern upscaling stack. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

A10G is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2021 generation instead of 2015, more VRAM at 24 GB instead of 6 GB, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 8nm process instead of 28nm. That extra memory headroom makes it the safer pick for newer games, heavier textures, and higher settings over time.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 980 Ti can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $649 MSRP. GeForce GTX 980 Ti is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GTX 980 Ti is about $1,851 cheaper on MSRP at $649 MSRP versus $2,500 MSRP, and you are getting 0.8% higher G3D Mark. A10G is the newer 2021 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (150W vs 250W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does A10G make more sense than GeForce GTX 980 Ti?

Yes. A10G is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is very strong for 1080p, good for 1440p, and more limited at 4K. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (150W vs 250W), future-proofing, and staying closer to $2,500 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of GeForce GTX 980 Ti. The trade-off is that GeForce GTX 980 Ti currently gives you 0.8% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 288.4%.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

A10G Benchmark Check

GeForce GTX 980 Ti Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
1080p
low	262 FPS	80 FPS
medium	251 FPS	69 FPS
high	214 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	175 FPS	37 FPS
1440p
low	238 FPS	70 FPS
medium	202 FPS	62 FPS
high	161 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	132 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	134 FPS	26 FPS
medium	110 FPS	24 FPS
high	83 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	14 FPS

Open A10G Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
1080p
low	493 FPS	186 FPS
medium	414 FPS	164 FPS
high	328 FPS	133 FPS
ultra	274 FPS	104 FPS
1440p
low	346 FPS	128 FPS
medium	277 FPS	104 FPS
high	225 FPS	82 FPS
ultra	185 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	182 FPS	60 FPS
medium	151 FPS	50 FPS
high	128 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	104 FPS	37 FPS

Open A10G Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
1080p
low	612 FPS	617 FPS
medium	490 FPS	494 FPS
high	408 FPS	411 FPS
ultra	306 FPS	308 FPS
1440p
low	459 FPS	463 FPS
medium	367 FPS	370 FPS
high	306 FPS	308 FPS
ultra	229 FPS	231 FPS
4K
low	306 FPS	308 FPS
medium	245 FPS	247 FPS
high	204 FPS	206 FPS
ultra	153 FPS	154 FPS

Open A10G Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
1080p
low	612 FPS	232 FPS
medium	490 FPS	197 FPS
high	408 FPS	161 FPS
ultra	306 FPS	136 FPS
1440p
low	459 FPS	177 FPS
medium	367 FPS	156 FPS
high	306 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	229 FPS	102 FPS
4K
low	306 FPS	102 FPS
medium	245 FPS	83 FPS
high	204 FPS	67 FPS
ultra	153 FPS	53 FPS

Open A10G Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of A10G and GeForce GTX 980 Ti

A10G

The A10G is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1320 MHz to 1710 MHz. It has 9216 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 72 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 13,598 points.

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 2 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1000 MHz to 1075 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 13,711 points. Launch price was $649.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The A10G scores 13,598 and the GeForce GTX 980 Ti reaches 13,711 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The A10G is built on Ampere while the GeForce GTX 980 Ti uses Maxwell 2.0, both on 8 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 9,216 (A10G) vs 2,816 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti). Raw compute: 31.52 TFLOPS (A10G) vs 6.06 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 980 Ti). Boost clocks: 1710 MHz vs 1075 MHz.

Feature	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
G3D Mark Score	13,598	13,711
Architecture	Ampere	Maxwell 2.0
Process Node	8 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	9216+227%	2816
Compute (TFLOPS)	31.52 TFLOPS+420%	6.06 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1710 MHz+59%	1075 MHz
ROPs	96	96
TMUs	288+64%	176
L1 Cache	9 MB+800%	1 MB
L2 Cache	6 MB+100%	3 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The A10G relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	Standard	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The A10G comes with 24 GB of VRAM, while the GeForce GTX 980 Ti has 6 GB. The A10G offers 300% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs 384-bit. L2 Cache: 6 MB (A10G) vs 3 MB (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) — the A10G has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
VRAM Capacity	24 GB+300%	6 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit	384-bit+200%
L2 Cache	6 MB+100%	3 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (A10G) vs 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 4.

Feature	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
DirectX	12 Ultimate	12.1
Vulkan	1.3+18%	1.1
OpenGL	4.6+2%	4.5
Max Displays	0	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 7th Gen (A10G) vs NVENC 3.0 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti). Decoder: NVDEC 5th Gen vs PureVideo HD VP6. Supported codecs: AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9 (A10G) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980 Ti).

Feature	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
Encoder	NVENC 7th Gen	NVENC 3.0
Decoder	NVDEC 5th Gen	PureVideo HD VP6
Codecs	AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The A10G draws 150W versus the GeForce GTX 980 Ti's 250W — a 50% difference. The A10G is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (A10G) vs 600W (GeForce GTX 980 Ti). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 267mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: Unknown vs 85°C.

Feature	A10G	GeForce GTX 980 Ti
TDP	150W-40%	250W
Recommended PSU	500W-17%	600W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	267mm	267mm
Height	112mm	111mm
Slots	1-50%	2
Temp (Load)	Unknown-100%	85°C
Perf/Watt	90.7+66%	54.8

💰

Value Analysis

The A10G launched at $2500 MSRP, while the GeForce GTX 980 Ti launched at $649. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti costs 74% less ($1851 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.4 (A10G) vs 21.1 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) — the GeForce GTX 980 Ti offers 290.7% better value. The A10G is the newer GPU (2021 vs 2015).