AMD Radeon R9 295X2 vs Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080: What is the difference?
44points
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
59points
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Comparison winner
vs
54 facts in comparison
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Why is AMD Radeon R9 295X2 better than Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080?
- 3.23 TFLOPS higher floating-point performance?
11.46 TFLOPSvs8.23 TFLOPS - 100.9 GTexels/s higher texture rate?
358 GTexels/svs257.1 GTexels/s - 320GB/s more memory bandwidth?
640GB/svs320GB/s - 768bit wider memory bus width?
1024bitvs256bit - 3063 more shading units?
5623vs2560 - 192 more texture mapping units (TMUs)?
352vs160 - 48 more render output units (ROPs)?
128vs80 - Has air-water cooling?
Why is Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 better than AMD Radeon R9 295X2?
- 589MHz faster GPU clock speed?
1607MHzvs1018MHz - 320W lower TDP?
180Wvs500W - 1250MHz faster memory clock speed?
2500MHzvs1250MHz - 5000MHz higher effective memory clock speed?
10000MHzvs5000MHz - 0.
8 newer version of DirectX?
12vs11.2 - Supports ray tracing?
- 1000million more transistors?
7200 millionvs6200 million - 12nm smaller semiconductor size?
16nmvs28nm
Which are the most popular comparisons?
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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MSI Radeon RX 580 Gaming 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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AMD Radeon R9 390X
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
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AMD Radeon RX 480
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Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660 Super
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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PowerColor Devil 13 Dual-Core R9 390
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AMD Radeon RX 580
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 570 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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AMD Radeon R9 290X
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia Quadro P4000
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super
Price comparison
User reviews
Overall Rating
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
0 User reviews
AMD Radeon R9 295X2
0.
0/10
0 User reviews
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
2 User reviews
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
8.0/10
2 User reviews
Features
Value for money
No reviews yet
8.0/10
2 votes
Gaming
No reviews yet
10.0/10
2 votes
Performance
No reviews yet
7.5/10
2 votes
Quiet operation
No reviews yet
5.0/10
2 votes
Reliability
No reviews yet
5.5/10
2 votes
Performance
GPU clock speed
1018MHz
1607MHz
The graphics processing unit (GPU) has a higher clock speed.
GPU turbo
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 295X2)
1733MHz
When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
pixel rate
130.4 GPixel/s
128.6 GPixel/s
The number of pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.
floating-point performance
11.46 TFLOPS
8.23 TFLOPS
Floating-point performance is a measurement of the raw processing power of the GPU.
texture rate
358 GTexels/s
257.1 GTexels/s
The number of textured pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.
GPU memory speed
1250MHz
2500MHz
The memory clock speed is one aspect that determines the memory bandwidth.
shading units
Shading units (or stream processors) are small processors within the graphics card that are responsible for processing different aspects of the image.
texture mapping units (TMUs)
TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene.
More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.
render output units (ROPs)
The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.
Memory
effective memory speed
5000MHz
10000MHz
The effective memory clock speed is calculated from the size and data rate of the memory. Higher clock speeds can give increased performance in games and other apps.
maximum memory bandwidth
640GB/s
320GB/s
This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.
VRAM (video RAM) is the dedicated memory of a graphics card. More VRAM generally allows you to run games at higher settings, especially for things like texture resolution.
memory bus width
1024bit
256bit
A wider bus width means that it can carry more data per cycle.
It is an important factor of memory performance, and therefore the general performance of the graphics card.
version of GDDR memory
Newer versions of GDDR memory offer improvements such as higher transfer rates that give increased performance.
Supports ECC memory
✖AMD Radeon R9 295X2
✖Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.
Features
DirectX version
DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
OpenGL version
OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
OpenCL version
Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing.
Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.
Supports multi-display technology
✔AMD Radeon R9 295X2
✔Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
The graphics card supports multi-display technology. This allows you to configure multiple monitors in order to create a more immersive gaming experience, such as having a wider field of view.
load GPU temperature
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 295X2)
A lower load temperature means that the card produces less heat and its cooling system performs better.
supports ray tracing
✖AMD Radeon R9 295X2
✔Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Ray tracing is an advanced light rendering technique that provides more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in games.
Supports 3D
✔AMD Radeon R9 295X2
✔Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Allows you to view in 3D (if you have a 3D display and glasses).
supports DLSS
✖AMD Radeon R9 295X2
✖Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an upscaling technology powered by AI. It allows the graphics card to render games at a lower resolution and upscale them to a higher resolution with near-native visual quality and increased performance. DLSS is only available on select games.
PassMark (G3D) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 295X2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080)
This benchmark measures the graphics performance of a video card. Source: PassMark.
Ports
has an HDMI output
✔AMD Radeon R9 295X2
✔Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Devices with a HDMI or mini HDMI port can transfer high definition video and audio to a display.
HDMI ports
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
(AMD Radeon R9 295X2)
More HDMI ports mean that you can simultaneously connect numerous devices, such as video game consoles and set-top boxes.
HDMI version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 295X2)
HDMI 2.0
Newer versions of HDMI support higher bandwidth, which allows for higher resolutions and frame rates.
DisplayPort outputs
Allows you to connect to a display using DisplayPort.
DVI outputs
Allows you to connect to a display using DVI.
mini DisplayPort outputs
Allows you to connect to a display using mini-DisplayPort.
Price comparison
Which are the best graphics cards?
AMD Radeon R9 295X2 Review
We first caught wind of an upcoming dual-GPU Hawaii graphics card this time last month when AMD teased us with its top-secret «Two is Better Than One» campaign.
Although AMD didn’t actually reveal anything, it was clearly planning a successor to the Radeon HD 7990, which is essentially two Tahiti dies on a single board, or in other words a pair of slightly underclocked Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition GPUs.
Back when we tested the 7990 in April 2013, it was a formidable rival for the GeForce GTX Titan. The biggest problem the card faced was AMD’s frame latency performance, which was quite poor at the time, especially compared to a single-GPU solution like the Titan. The 7990 also suffered from enormous power consumption figures compared to the Titan, as we found it pulled almost 40% more power.
Nonetheless, putting a pair of 28nm GPUs — each containing 4.3 billion transistors — onto a single PCB measuring just 12in (30cm) long was an impressive feat of engineering. In fact, this is what made the single-GPU flagship R9 290X even more impressive last October. Although it was built using the same 28nm process, Hawaii XT packs 6.2 billion transistors, blowing the die size up to 438mm2 from 352mm2.
That expansion allows for 38% more SPUs than the HD 7970 GHz Edition, though it also make the 290X 20% more power hungry, giving it a TDP of roughly 300 watts! The card’s enormous power draw resulted in a huge thermal output — so much so that R9 290Xs often throttled just to maintain stability. Realizing this, we weren’t sure if AMD was seriously considering two Hawaii XT GPUs on a single PCB.
Apparently so, as today marks the arrival of the Radeon R9 295X2, the most extreme graphics cards we have ever seen. It’s hard not to be impressed when specs like 12.4 billion transistors, 5632 stream processors and 11.5 TFLOPS of compute power are being thrown around, not to mention the card’s 8GB of GDDR5 memory and dual 512-bit memory bus, which provide a total memory bandwidth of 640GB/s.
AMD says that this graphics card is «not for the faint of heart» and that users should «handle with extreme caution.» The company faced two main challenges in developing the R9 295X2: keeping it cool and keeping it fed.
The former is tackled by a dual-block closed-loop liquid cooler made by Asetek, and with a 500-watt thermal design power, the latter is more like a rite of passage for your power supply.
Measuring a motherboard-bending 12in (30cm) long, the R9 295X2 is roughly 3cm longer than the R9 290X and it’s a very heavy graphics card featuring a full metal construction including the backplate and fan shroud.
Speaking of the fan, we never expected such an insane graphics card would be cooled via a single fan and, well, it’s not. In fact the fan is used only to cool the GDDR5 memory and power regulators.
The GPUs are cooled using a pair of Asetek liquid cooling blocks, but we will get to them shortly. For now let’s check out the cards specifications…
The card’s GPU core is clocked at up to 1018MHz and it’s the same deal as the R9 290X… if the thermal load reaches 95℃ then the clock speed will be throttled down to keep temperatures in check. AMD hasn’t said how low the GPUs will underclock so we will have to look at this when testing.
| Radeon R9 295X2 | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon R9 290 | |
| Process | 28nm | 28nm | 28nm |
| Transistors | 12.4B | 6.2B | 6.2B |
| Engine Clock | Up to 1.02 GHz | Up to 1 GHz | Up to 947 MHz |
| Primitive Rate | 8 prim /clk | 4 prim /clk | 4 prim /clk |
| Stream Processors | 5,632 | 2,816 | 2,560 |
| Compute Performance | Up to 11.5 TFLOPS | 5.6 TFLOPS | 4.9 TFLOPS |
| Texture Units | 352 | 176 | 160 |
| Texture Fillrate | Up to 358.3 GT/s | Up to 176.00 GT/s | 152.00 GT/s |
| ROPs | 128 | 64 | 64 |
| Pixel Fillrate | Up to 130.3 GP/s | Up to 64.0 GP/s | Up to 64. 0 GP/s |
| Z/Stencil | 512 | 256 | 256 |
| Memory Bit-Interface | 2 x 512-bit | 512-bit | 512-bit |
| Memory Type | 8GB GDDR5 | 4GB GDDR5 | 4GB GDDR5 |
| Data Rate | Up to 5.0 Gbps | Up to 5.0 Gbps | Up to 5.0 Gbps |
| Memory Bandwidth | Up to 640.0 GB/s | Up to 320.0 GB/s | Up to 320.0 GB/s |
As is the case with the R9 290X and R9 290, the R9 295X2’s GDDR5 memory is clocked at 1250MHz for 5.0Gbps of bandwidth. Combine that with the 512-bit memory bus and you have a graphics card that is feeding a theoretical peak bandwidth of 320GB/s to each GPU. That’s 10% more than the HD 7990.
Moreover, whereas the HD 7990 came loaded with a measly 6GB of memory the R9 290X2 has been upgraded with 8GB of memory (4GB per GPU). This sounds like overkill, but AMD is targeting Ultra HD displays with this graphics card..jpg)
We’ve found when using multi-monitor setups at extreme resolutions in the past that the larger buffer of AMD cards provide a significant advantage over Nvidia’s, which were limited to 2GB for the most part (think GeForce GTX 690). That said, the new GTX Titan and GTX 780 Ti have a 6GB memory buffer for a single GPU.
The cores on the R9 295X2 are the same as the single-GPU R9 290X version. Each GPU carries 2816 SPUs, 176 TAUs and 64 ROPs, so in a sense you can double those figures for the R9 295X2.
Connecting the two GPUs is the PEX bridge from PLX Technologies, which is the same method employed by all previous AMD dual-GPU graphics cards. However, the R9 295X2 gets the latest 3.0 PEX8747 bridge which boasts 48 PCI Express 3.0 lanes for 96GB/s of inter-GPU bandwidth.
To feed the card enough power, AMD includes dual 8-pin PCI Express connectors — the same setup you’ll find on the HD 7990 and even the 6990 before it. When it comes to feeding the R9 295X2 enough power safely, things become a little more complicated as we will explain shortly.
