AMD Radeon RX 590 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti: real performance and FPS — which is better? Full comparison
Detailed gaming performance comparison
Reference CPU: Intel Core i5-13400
We compare the RX 590 and the GTX 980 Ti with real FPS across the most popular games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K, plus specs, launch price and AI upscaling support (DLSS/FSR/XeSS). See at a glance which is better for your resolution and budget.
The RX 590 and the GTX 980 Ti perform almost identically; price and features make the difference.
RX 590
- Index (1080p)
- 26/100
- VRAM
- 8 GB
- Price (MSRP)
- $279 · ≈ €257
- $/FPS (value)
- $10.33 · ≈ €9.51
- Upscaling
- FSR
GTX 980 Ti
- Index (1080p)
- 26/100
- VRAM
- 6 GB
- Price (MSRP)
- $649 · ≈ €597
- $/FPS (value)
- $24.04 · ≈ €22.11
- Upscaling
- FSR
Average FPS by resolution
Estimated average FPS for each graphics card across the most popular games. The gap usually shows at 1080p and 1440p; at 4K both lose smoothness and upscaling (DLSS/FSR) helps.
| Resolution | RX 590 | GTX 980 Ti | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 27 | 27 | = |
| 1440p | 17 | 20 | +18% |
| 4K | 7 | 8 | +14% |
Which one for your resolution?
Tie
GTX 980 Ti (+18%)
GTX 980 Ti (+14%)
Specifications
Side-by-side specs of the RX 590 and GTX 980 Ti: VRAM, power draw (TDP), performance index and launch price. The better value in each row is highlighted in blue.
| Spec | RX 590 | GTX 980 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | AMD | NVIDIA |
| VRAM | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| TDP | 225W | 250W |
| Tier | Mid-range | High-end |
| Score 1080p | 26 | 26 |
| Score 1440p | 19 | 21 |
| Score 4K | 10 | 12 |
| Price (MSRP) | $279 | $649 |
| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Maxwell |
| Process Node | GlobalFoundries 12nm | TSMC 28nm |
| Shading Units (CUDA/Stream) | 2304 | 2816 |
| RT Cores | — | — |
| Texture Units (TMUs) | 144 | 176 |
| ROPs | 32 | 96 |
| Base Clock | 1469 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1545 MHz | 1075 MHz |
| FP32 Performance (Teraflops) | 7.12 TFLOPS | 6.05 TFLOPS |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Clock | 8000 MHz | 7000 MHz |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 384-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 256 GB/s | 336.6 GB/s |
| PCIe Version | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 |
| Transistor Count | 5.7B | 8.0B |
| Release Date | 2018-11-15 | 2015-06-01 |
Power & efficiency
TDP doesn't tell the whole story: here's how much each GPU delivers per watt it draws.
RX 590
- TDP
- 225W
- FPS/W
- 0.12
GTX 980 Ti
- TDP
- 250W
- FPS/W
- 0.11
The RX 590 is more efficient: it draws 25W less and delivers more per watt, though the RX 590 is still the faster card overall.
What FPS do these GPUs get in your game?
Pick the GPU and the game, and we'll take you straight to its real FPS.
Pick the GPU
Gaming Performance
Per-game FPS detail at 1080p Ultra. The graphics card that wins each title is highlighted in blue.
| Game | RX 590 | GTX 980 Ti | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 30 | 30 | Tie |
 | 28 | 28 | Tie |
 | 22 | 22 | Tie |
 | 24 | 24 | Tie |
 | 24 | 24 | Tie |
| 23 | 23 | Tie | |
 | 29 | 29 | Tie |
 | 30 | 30 | Tie |
 | 34 | 34 | Tie |
 | 27 | 27 | Tie |
Verdict
It's a tie: both GPUs win in 0 out of 10 games
At CheckFPS we measured both cards across 10 popular games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K on a reference CPU. Performance is practically tied at every resolution, so the decision comes down to price and current availability.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions when comparing the RX 590 with the GTX 980 Ti.
Which is better, the RX 590 or the GTX 980 Ti?
On average at 1080p, the RX 590 is 0% faster than the GTX 980 Ti. The best one for you depends on your resolution, budget and whether you prioritise ray tracing or price.
Which is better at 4K?
At 4K Ultra, the RX 590 averages 7 FPS and the GTX 980 Ti 8 FPS across the most popular games. For smooth 4K, enabling upscaling (DLSS/FSR) helps on both.
Is it worth paying more for the faster one?
At 1080p or 1440p the FPS gap may not justify the extra cost; at 4K or with ray tracing the faster card matters more. Check the by-resolution table to decide.
Which has better ray tracing and upscaling?
AI upscaling (DLSS on NVIDIA, FSR on AMD, XeSS on Intel) raises FPS on both; for ray tracing, GeForce RTX cards usually lead. See each card’s support above.
How big is the FPS difference between them?
On average across top games, the gap is around 0% at 1080p. At higher resolutions (1440p and 4K) the relative difference usually stays similar.
590 vs 980 Ti: what's the real difference?
In performance, the RX 590 beats the GTX 980 Ti by around 0% more FPS on average at 1080p — the gap shifts a bit by resolution, as shown in the table above. If you're torn between the 590 and the 980 Ti on price, the price and $/FPS section above can help you decide.
