R9 270X vs GTX 980M
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | R9 270X | GTX 980M | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 941 | 1,211 | -22.3% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 26 | 28 | -7.1% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 14 | 15 | -6.7% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 7 | 8 | -12.5% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 2.7 | 3.5 | -22.3% |
| VRAM | 2 GB GDDR5 | 4 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 224 | 160 | +40.0% |
| TDP (W) | 180 | 122 | — |
- GTX 980M averages 15 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 7% faster.
- GTX 980M draws less power (122W vs 180W).
Verdict: R9 270X or GTX 980M?
R9 270X advantages
- Memory bandwidth (+29%)
GTX 980M advantages
- 1440p gaming (+7%)
- 4K gaming (+13%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+22%)
- Video memory (+50%)
- Power efficiency (+32%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the R9 270X if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads.
- Choose the GTX 980M if you game at 1440p.
R9 270X vs GTX 980M: which should you choose?
R9 270X — AMD desktop graphics card (2013, GCN 1.0) with 2 GB of GDDR5, averaging 14 fps at 1440p; launched at $199.
GTX 980M — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2014, Maxwell) with 4 GB of GDDR5, averaging 15 fps at 1440p.
R9 270X vs GTX 980M: GTX 980M is faster for gaming. GTX 980M averages 15 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 7% faster. GTX 980M draws less power (122W vs 180W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the GTX 980M averages 15 fps against 14. At 4K (7 vs 8 fps) VRAM (2GB vs 4GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 180 W versus 122 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 R9 270X better than the GTX 980M?
GTX 980M is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. GTX 980M averages 15 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 7% faster.
What is the main difference between the R9 270X and the GTX 980M?
GTX 980M averages 15 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 7% faster. GTX 980M draws less power (122W vs 180W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the R9 270X if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads. Choose the GTX 980M 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.