GTX 980 Mobile vs GTX 690
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | GTX 980 Mobile | GTX 690 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,480 | 2,191 | -32.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 29 | 34 | -14.7% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 16 | 19 | -15.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 8 | 10 | -20.0% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 4.2 | 6.3 | -32.4% |
| VRAM | 4 GB GDDR5 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 224 | 448 | -50.0% |
| TDP (W) | 99 | 300 | — |
- GTX 690 averages 19 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 16% faster.
- GTX 980 Mobile draws less power (99W vs 300W).
Verdict: GTX 980 Mobile or GTX 690?
GTX 980 Mobile advantages
- Power efficiency (+67%)
GTX 690 advantages
- 1440p gaming (+16%)
- 4K gaming (+20%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+32%)
- Memory bandwidth (+50%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the GTX 980 Mobile if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the GTX 690 if you game at 1440p.
GTX 980 Mobile vs GTX 690: which should you choose?
GTX 980 Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2014, Maxwell) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 16 fps at 1440p.
GTX 690 — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2012, Kepler) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 19 fps at 1440p; launched at $999.
GTX 980 Mobile vs GTX 690: GTX 690 is faster for gaming. GTX 690 averages 19 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 16% faster. GTX 980 Mobile draws less power (99W vs 300W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the GTX 690 averages 19 fps against 16. At 4K (8 vs 10 fps) VRAM (4GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 99 W versus 300 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 980 Mobile better than the GTX 690?
GTX 690 is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. GTX 690 averages 19 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 16% faster.
What is the main difference between the GTX 980 Mobile and the GTX 690?
GTX 690 averages 19 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 16% faster. GTX 980 Mobile draws less power (99W vs 300W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the GTX 980 Mobile if you want lower power draw, heat and noise. Choose the GTX 690 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.