GeForce GTX 980M vs GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

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.

GeForce GTX 980M

2014

Why buy it

✅104.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 50.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
❌100% higher power demand at 100W vs 50W.

GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

2012

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 50.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 50W instead of 100W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 980M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

GeForce GTX 980M

2014

GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

2012

Why buy it

✅104.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 50.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 50W instead of 100W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 50.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
❌100% higher power demand at 100W vs 50W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 980M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 980M better than GeForce GTX 1650 Ti?

Yes. GeForce GTX 980M is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce GTX 980M averages 104.9% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 7,353 vs 7,525 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce GTX 980M is a 2014 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while GeForce GTX 1650 Ti is a 2012 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?

GeForce GTX 980M is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2014 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

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

GeForce GTX 980M is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 980M is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus $150 MSRP, and you are getting 104.9% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and a lower G3D Mark (7,353 vs 7,525). GeForce GTX 1650 Ti really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is GeForce GTX 1650 Ti still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. GeForce GTX 1650 Ti is 2012 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 7,525 in G3D Mark, and no meaningful modern upscaling stack. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

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.

GeForce GTX 980M Benchmark Check

GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
1080p
low	81 FPS	35 FPS
medium	69 FPS	24 FPS
high	58 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	9 FPS
1440p
low	71 FPS	28 FPS
medium	62 FPS	17 FPS
high	46 FPS	9 FPS
ultra	29 FPS	5 FPS
4K
low	25 FPS	10 FPS
medium	24 FPS	7 FPS
high	16 FPS	4 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	3 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980M Open GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
1080p
low	162 FPS	92 FPS
medium	136 FPS	59 FPS
high	112 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	82 FPS	28 FPS
1440p
low	114 FPS	64 FPS
medium	89 FPS	33 FPS
high	71 FPS	24 FPS
ultra	50 FPS	19 FPS
4K
low	49 FPS	30 FPS
medium	41 FPS	17 FPS
high	38 FPS	13 FPS
ultra	29 FPS	10 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980M Open GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
1080p
low	331 FPS	339 FPS
medium	265 FPS	271 FPS
high	221 FPS	226 FPS
ultra	165 FPS	169 FPS
1440p
low	248 FPS	254 FPS
medium	199 FPS	203 FPS
high	165 FPS	169 FPS
ultra	124 FPS	127 FPS
4K
low	165 FPS	169 FPS
medium	132 FPS	135 FPS
high	105 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	76 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980M Open GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
1080p
low	148 FPS	129 FPS
medium	123 FPS	95 FPS
high	108 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	55 FPS
1440p
low	111 FPS	76 FPS
medium	94 FPS	56 FPS
high	83 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	70 FPS	33 FPS
4K
low	64 FPS	41 FPS
medium	52 FPS	29 FPS
high	40 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	31 FPS	16 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980M Open GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 980M and GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

GeForce GTX 980M

The GeForce GTX 980M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 7 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1038 MHz to 1127 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 7,353 points.

GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

The GeForce GTX 1650 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 9 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 928 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 7,525 points. Launch price was $149.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980M scores 7,353 and the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti reaches 7,525 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980M is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti uses Kepler, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GTX 980M) vs 768 (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti). Raw compute: 1.659 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 980M) vs 1.425 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
G3D Mark Score	7,353	7,525+2%
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	Kepler
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1536+100%	768
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.659 TFLOPS+16%	1.425 TFLOPS
ROPs	64+300%	16
TMUs	96+50%	64
L1 Cache	576 KB+800%	64 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+700%	0.25 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of video memory. Memory bandwidth: 160 GB/s (GeForce GTX 980M) vs 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti) — a 20% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti. Bus width: 256-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 980M) vs 0.25 MB (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti) — the GeForce GTX 980M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	160 GB/s	192 GB/s+20%
Bus Width	256-bit+100%	128-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+700%	0.25 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980M) vs 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 3.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
DirectX	12.1	12 (12_1)
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4+33%	3

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 2.0 (GeForce GTX 980M) vs NVENC 6 (Volta) (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs NVDEC 4. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264 (GeForce GTX 980M) vs H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980M	GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
Encoder	NVENC 2.0	NVENC 6 (Volta)
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	NVDEC 4
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264	H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980M draws 100W versus the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti's 50W — a 66.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 1650 Ti is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 980M) vs 0W (GeForce GTX 1650 Ti). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs None. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots.