NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 is a high end desktop graphics card based on the Maxwell architecture. As the faster GTX 980, the GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip, but with reduced shaders (2048 vs. 1664) and TMUs (128 vs 103). The graphics card is equipped with 4 GB GDDR5 (7 GHz effective). 3.5 GB of the 4 GB are connected with 224 Bit, the rest only with a 32 Bit interface. This can lead to some stuttering or reduced frame rates in games that use the full 4 GB. The similar named mobile GeForce GTX 970M is clearly slower as it features only 1280 shader cores.
Despite the unique memory configuration, the GTX 970 performs on average on par with the older GeForce GTX 780 Ti or a AMD Radeon R9 290X.
The GM204 supports CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync / G-SYNC, SLI, DSR, MFAA and Virtual Reality latency improvements.
The Maxwell architecture is very power efficient. While gaming, the card only uses as much power as the Radeon R9 285 which is more than 35% slower on average.
Manufacturer | NVIDIA |
GeForce GTX 900 Series | |
Codename | GM204 |
Architecture | Maxwell |
Pipelines | 1664 - unified |
Core Speed | 1050 - 1178 (Boost) MHz |
Memory Speed | 3500 MHz |
Memory Bus Width | 224 + 32 Bit |
Memory Type | GDDR5 |
Max. Amount of Memory | 4096 MB |
Shared Memory | no |
DirectX | DirectX 12_1 |
Transistor Count | 5200 Million |
technology | 28 nm |
Features | CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync, G-SYNC, SLI |
Date of Announcement | 19.09.2014 |
Link to Manufacturer Page | http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-... |
Benchmarks
Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
40.6 pt (43%)
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 9%
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3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy Score
3693 Points (21%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 3693 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy Graphics
3544 Points (18%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 3544 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics
422295 Points (67%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 422295 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score
min: 23657 avg: 25575 median: 25575 (34%) max: 27493 Points
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 23657 |
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 27493 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
min: 71472 avg: 72819 median: 72819 (36%) max: 74166 Points
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 71472 |
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 74166 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score
min: 9399 avg: 9713 median: 9434 (24%) max: 10307 Points
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 9399 |
| 4460 | 8 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 9434 |
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 10307 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
min: 11155 avg: 11802 median: 11954 (24%) max: 12296 Points
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 11155 |
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 11954 |
| 4460 | 8 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 12296 |
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3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics
321805 Points (43%)
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 321805 |
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 1%
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3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 12033 avg: 13207 median: 13249 (31%) max: 14339 Points
| 4460 | 8 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 12033 |
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 13249 |
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 14339 |
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3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 15071 avg: 15780 median: 16033 (27%) max: 16237 Points
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 15071 |
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 16033 |
| 4460 | 8 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 16237 |
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3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
42263 Points (41%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 42263 |
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3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
46855 Points (43%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 46855 |
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3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +37107 Points (69%)
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 |
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 37107 |
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Unigine Valley 1.0 - Unigine Valley 1.0 DX
59.1 fps (29%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 59.1 |
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 3%
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Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
64.9 fps (29%)
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 64.91 |
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Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit +Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
142 fps (40%)
MSI GamingDock | 4870HQ | 16 GB | 1064 / 3500 MHz | 4 GB | 141.63 |
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GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GLBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 +GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 - GLBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16
823 fps (7%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 823 |
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GFXBench 3.0 - GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan Offscreen
396 fps (43%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 396 |
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GFXBench - GFXBench Car Chase Offscreen
217 fps (50%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 217 |
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GFXBench - GFXBench Car Chase Onscreen
41.5 fps (16%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 41.5 |
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LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - LuxMark v2.0 Room GPU
1874 Samples/s (19%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 1874 |
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LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - LuxMark v2.0 Sala GPU
3020 Samples/s (10%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 3020 |
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ComputeMark v2.1 - ComputeMark v2.1 Result
8549 points (18%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 8549 |
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Power Consumption - Furmark Stress Test Power Consumption - external Monitor *
316 Watt (57%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 316 |
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) -18%
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Power Consumption - The Witcher 3 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
267 Watt (45%)
MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PC | 4790K | 16 GB | 1253 / 1753 MHz | 4 GB | 267 |
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) -6%
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- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card

- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
Game Benchmarks
The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 20%
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 13%
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 14%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 16%
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 19%
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 14%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 22%
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 28%
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 45%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 34%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
58.1 [X] MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PCIntel Core i7-7740X 4.3GHz
GeForce GTX 970
min:
49 fps, max:
69 fps
61 [X] MSI Gaming Z GeForce GTX 970 Desktop PCIntel Core i7-7740X 4.3GHz
GeForce GTX 970
min:
50 fps, max:
73 fps
~ 60 fps
+ Compare
- Hide Comparison
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop) 35%
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
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