GTX 880M vs GTX 980 Mobile
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | GTX 880M | GTX 980 Mobile | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,067 | 1,480 | -27.9% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 27 | 29 | -6.9% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 14 | 16 | -12.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 7 | 8 | -12.5% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 3.1 | 4.2 | -27.9% |
| VRAM | 8 GB GDDR5 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 160 | 224 | -28.6% |
| TDP (W) | 103 | 99 | — |
- GTX 980 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 13% faster.
- GTX 980 Mobile draws less power (99W vs 103W).
Verdict: GTX 880M or GTX 980 Mobile?
GTX 880M advantages
- Video memory (+50%)
GTX 980 Mobile advantages
- 1440p gaming (+13%)
- 4K gaming (+13%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+28%)
- Memory bandwidth (+29%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the GTX 880M if you play the latest titles at high textures or do GPU-accelerated work.
- Choose the GTX 980 Mobile if you game at 1440p.
GTX 880M vs GTX 980 Mobile: which should you choose?
GTX 880M — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2014, Kepler) with 8 GB of GDDR5, averaging 14 fps at 1440p.
GTX 980 Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2014, Maxwell) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 16 fps at 1440p.
GTX 880M vs GTX 980 Mobile: GTX 980 Mobile is faster for gaming. GTX 980 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 13% faster. GTX 980 Mobile draws less power (99W vs 103W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the GTX 980 Mobile averages 16 fps against 14. At 4K (7 vs 8 fps) VRAM (8GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 103 W versus 99 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the GTX 880M better than the GTX 980 Mobile?
GTX 980 Mobile is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. GTX 980 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 13% faster.
What is the main difference between the GTX 880M and the GTX 980 Mobile?
GTX 980 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 13% faster. GTX 980 Mobile draws less power (99W vs 103W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the GTX 880M if you play the latest titles at high textures or do GPU-accelerated work. Choose the GTX 980 Mobile if you game at 1440p.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.