GTX 980 Ti Mobile vs RTX 4090
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | GTX 980 Ti Mobile | RTX 4090 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,802 | 33,032 | -94.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 32 | 240 | -86.7% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 17 | 153 | -88.9% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 9 | 87 | -89.7% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 5.2 | 82.6 | -93.8% |
| VRAM | 6 GB GDDR5 | 24 GB GDDR6X | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 336 | 1,008 | -66.7% |
| TDP (W) | 150 | 450 | — |
- RTX 4090 averages 153 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 89% faster.
- GTX 980 Ti Mobile draws less power (150W vs 450W).
Verdict: GTX 980 Ti Mobile or RTX 4090?
GTX 980 Ti Mobile advantages
- Power efficiency (+67%)
RTX 4090 advantages
- 1440p gaming (+89%)
- 4K gaming (+90%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+95%)
- Video memory (+75%)
- Memory bandwidth (+67%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the GTX 980 Ti Mobile if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the RTX 4090 if you game at 1440p.
GTX 980 Ti Mobile vs RTX 4090: which should you choose?
GTX 980 Ti Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2015, Maxwell) with 6 GB of GDDR5, averaging 17 fps at 1440p.
RTX 4090 — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2022, Ada Lovelace) with 24 GB of GDDR6X, averaging 153 fps at 1440p; launched at $1,599.
GTX 980 Ti Mobile vs RTX 4090: RTX 4090 is faster for gaming. RTX 4090 averages 153 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 89% faster. GTX 980 Ti Mobile draws less power (150W vs 450W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 4090 averages 153 fps against 17. At 4K (9 vs 87 fps) VRAM (6GB vs 24GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 150 W versus 450 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 Ti Mobile better than the RTX 4090?
RTX 4090 is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 4090 averages 153 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 89% faster.
What is the main difference between the GTX 980 Ti Mobile and the RTX 4090?
RTX 4090 averages 153 fps at 1440p versus 17 fps — about 89% faster. GTX 980 Ti Mobile draws less power (150W vs 450W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the GTX 980 Ti Mobile if you want lower power draw, heat and noise. Choose the RTX 4090 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.