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 980 Ti

2015

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌614.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 35W.

RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

2023

Why buy it

✅61.6% more average FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: Ada Lovelace on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 35W instead of 250W, a 215W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 21.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $649 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

2015

RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

2023

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 21.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Why buy it

✅61.6% more average FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: Ada Lovelace on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 35W instead of 250W, a 215W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌614.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 35W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 21.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $649 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU better than GeForce GTX 980 Ti?

Yes. RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is clearly the better overall GPU here. RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU averages 61.6% more FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 13,508 vs 13,711 in G3D Mark. On top of that, RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is a 2023 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while GeForce GTX 980 Ti is a 2015 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?

RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2023 generation instead of 2015, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 5nm process instead of 28nm. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

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

RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is the smarter buy by a wide margin. RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus $649 MSRP, and you are getting 61.6% more estimated average FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data and a lower G3D Mark (13,508 vs 13,711). GeForce GTX 980 Ti really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is GeForce GTX 980 Ti still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. GeForce GTX 980 Ti is 2015 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM, 13,711 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 980 Ti Benchmark Check

RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	80 FPS	135 FPS
medium	69 FPS	117 FPS
high	56 FPS	100 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	67 FPS
1440p
low	70 FPS	112 FPS
medium	62 FPS	96 FPS
high	45 FPS	75 FPS
ultra	28 FPS	49 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	49 FPS
medium	24 FPS	44 FPS
high	16 FPS	32 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	27 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti Open RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	186 FPS	530 FPS
medium	164 FPS	439 FPS
high	133 FPS	344 FPS
ultra	104 FPS	297 FPS
1440p
low	128 FPS	436 FPS
medium	104 FPS	362 FPS
high	82 FPS	294 FPS
ultra	62 FPS	228 FPS
4K
low	60 FPS	258 FPS
medium	50 FPS	221 FPS
high	46 FPS	199 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	152 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti Open RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	617 FPS	608 FPS
medium	494 FPS	486 FPS
high	411 FPS	405 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	304 FPS
1440p
low	463 FPS	456 FPS
medium	370 FPS	365 FPS
high	308 FPS	304 FPS
ultra	231 FPS	228 FPS
4K
low	308 FPS	304 FPS
medium	247 FPS	243 FPS
high	206 FPS	203 FPS
ultra	154 FPS	152 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti Open RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	232 FPS	367 FPS
medium	197 FPS	322 FPS
high	161 FPS	282 FPS
ultra	136 FPS	245 FPS
1440p
low	177 FPS	278 FPS
medium	156 FPS	250 FPS
high	123 FPS	215 FPS
ultra	102 FPS	183 FPS
4K
low	102 FPS	185 FPS
medium	83 FPS	159 FPS
high	67 FPS	121 FPS
ultra	53 FPS	99 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 980 Ti Open RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 980 Ti and RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

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.

RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

The RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 9 2023. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 1155 MHz to 2025 MHz. It has 12800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 35W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 100 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 13,508 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 13,711 and the RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU reaches 13,508 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU uses Ada Lovelace, both on 28 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 2,816 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 12,800 (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Raw compute: 6.06 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 65.28 TFLOPS (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Boost clocks: 1075 MHz vs 2025 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
G3D Mark Score	13,711+2%	13,508
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	Ada Lovelace
Process Node	28 nm	5 nm
Shading Units	2816	12800+355%
Compute (TFLOPS)	6.06 TFLOPS	65.28 TFLOPS+977%
Boost Clock	1075 MHz	2025 MHz+88%
ROPs	96	176+83%
TMUs	176	400+127%
L1 Cache	1 MB	12.5 MB+1150%
L2 Cache	3 MB	72 MB+2300%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
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 6 GB of video memory. Bus width: 384-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 3 MB (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 72 MB (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU) — the RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	6 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Bus Width	384-bit+200%	128-bit
L2 Cache	3 MB	72 MB+2300%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 12 Ultimate (12_2) (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
DirectX	12.1	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 3.0 (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs NVENC 8th Gen (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs NVDEC 5th Gen. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs H.264,H.265 (HEVC),AV1,VP9,MPEG-2,VC-1 (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
Encoder	NVENC 3.0	NVENC 8th Gen
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	NVDEC 5th Gen
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	H.264,H.265 (HEVC),AV1,VP9,MPEG-2,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980 Ti draws 250W versus the RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU's 35W — a 150.9% difference. The RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX 980 Ti) vs 500W (RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 85.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
TDP	250W	35W-86%
Recommended PSU	600W	500W-17%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	267mm	0mm
Height	111mm	0mm
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	85°C	85
Perf/Watt	54.8	385.9+604%