NVIDIA GeForce 945M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce 945M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 sit at opposite ends of the mobile and desktop spectrum, yet both are end-of-life products from NVIDIA’s Maxwell generation. The 945M is a mobile-only MXM module aimed at thin laptops, while the GTX 970 is a dual-slot desktop card that reshaped the mid-range market. The recorded data shows a single head-to-head OpenCL result, but the broader benchmark suite and specification sheets tell a complete story about how these two GPUs diverge in capability, target use, and architectural intent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is decisive. The GTX 970 scores 29,982, while the 945M scores 8,099. That is a delta of -73% for the 945M, meaning the GTX 970 delivers roughly 3.7 times the compute performance in this workload. OpenCL is a strong proxy for general-purpose GPU compute, so this gap reflects the difference in raw shading power and memory bandwidth, not just a difference in driver tuning.

Looking at the GTX 970’s broader benchmark record, the 945M has no equivalent scores for 3DMark Steel Nomad, PassMark DirectX 9 through 12, Geekbench Metal, or PassMark G2D, G3D, or GPU Compute. The 945M has only the single OpenCL measurement. The 945M does trail its nearest rivals by small margins in that one test: the AMD Radeon GTX 950M is 0.4% ahead, and the AMD Radeon R9 M360 is 0.4% behind it. The GTX 970’s nearest rivals in the average score list include the NVIDIA GTX 750, AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile, and NVIDIA GTX 560 SE, with the GTX 970 sitting 0.0% behind the GTX 750’s 7,222 result.

The wins column shows 0 for the 945M and 1 for the GTX 970, which matches the head-to-head outcome. The verdict is simple: the GTX 970 wins the only shared test by a massive margin, and no benchmark in the database favors the 945M. The 945M’s average benchmark score is 8,099, while the GTX 970’s average is 7,157, but that average is pulled down by the many low-scoring PassMark tests the GTX 970 participates in, such as PassMark DirectX 10 at 46 and PassMark DirectX 12 at 41. Those low scores do not reflect gaming or compute performance; they reflect specific API workloads. For any user looking at the two, the OpenCL result is the more representative comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has better compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The GTX 970 scores 29,982 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 73% higher than the 945M’s 8,099. The GTX 970 wins the only shared benchmark.

Q: Can the 945M handle modern games at high settings?

A: The database does not include gaming benchmarks for either card, so there is no direct evidence. The 945M has 640 shading units, 16 ROPs, and 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth, which places it far below the GTX 970 in raw compute and memory throughput.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The 945M has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 28.80 GB/s. The GTX 970 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.4 GB/s, about 7.8 times the bandwidth.

Q: Which card consumes less power?

A: The 945M has a 75 W TDP, while the GTX 970 has a 148 W TDP. The 945M uses no power connectors, while the GTX 970 requires two 6-pin connectors and a 300 W suggested power supply.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the 945M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), a lower feature level.

Q: What is the physical size difference?

A: The 945M is an MXM module with dimensions dependent on the portable device, while the GTX 970 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 970 wins every measurable category. In compute, the OpenCL score is 73% higher. In memory, the GTX 970 has 4 GB of GDDR5 versus the 945M’s 2 GB of DDR3, and the bandwidth difference is enormous: 224.4 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s. The GTX 970 also has 1,664 shading units against 640, 104 texture mapping units against 40, and 56 ROPs against 16. The pixel rate is 65.97 GPixel/s versus 16.32 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 122.5 GTexel/s versus 40.80 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is 3.920 TFLOPS versus 1,305.6 GFLOPS.

The 945M wins on power and form factor. Its 75 W TDP is half the GTX 970’s 148 W, and it requires no auxiliary power connectors. The MXM module form factor means it can fit in a laptop, whereas the GTX 970 is a dual-slot desktop card. The 945M also has a smaller die size (148 mm² versus 398 mm²) and lower transistor count (1,870 million versus 5,200 million), which contributes to its lower power draw.

For a user building a compact, low-power system, the 945M is the only option of the two because it is a mobile module. For a desktop user who needs performance, the GTX 970 is the clear choice. The data does not show any scenario where the 945M outperforms the GTX 970 in a benchmark.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification category. The 945M uses the GM107 chip, while the GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip. The 945M is on the GeForce 900M generation, while the GTX 970 is on the GeForce 900 generation. Both are built on TSMC’s 28 nm process, but the 945M has 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, while the GTX 970 has 5,200 million on a 398 mm² die. Transistor density is 12.6 million per mm² for the 945M and 13.1 million per mm² for the GTX 970.

Clock speeds differ as well. The 945M has a base clock of 928 MHz and a boost clock of 1,020 MHz, while the GTX 970 has a base of 1,050 MHz and a boost of 1,178 MHz. Memory clocks are 900 MHz (1,800 Mbps effective) for the 945M and 1,753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the GTX 970.

Memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all favor the GTX 970: 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s versus 2 GB DDR3 on a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s. The shading units, TMUs, and ROPs are all significantly higher on the GTX 970. The GTX 970 also has a higher pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 throughput. TDP is 148 W for the GTX 970 and 75 W for the 945M. The GTX 970 is dual-slot, while the 945M is an MXM module. The GTX 970 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the 945M uses MXM-B (3.0). Display outputs are also different: the GTX 970 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2, while the 945M’s outputs are portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are based on NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture, but they are different revisions. The 945M uses the original Maxwell architecture, while the GTX 970 uses Maxwell 2.0. The chip designations reflect this: GM107 for the 945M and GM204 for the GTX 970. Maxwell 2.0 introduces architectural improvements that the original Maxwell does not have, including better geometry processing and improved color compression, which contributes to the GTX 970’s higher performance per clock.

The DirectX feature level also differs. The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the 945M supports DirectX 12 (11_0). This means the GTX 970 can utilize certain DirectX 12 feature-level 12_1 capabilities, such as conservative rasterization and rasterizer ordered views, which the 945M cannot. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The GTX 970’s larger die and transistor count allow for 1,664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 56 ROPs, compared to 640, 40, and 16 on the 945M. The memory subsystem is also fundamentally different: GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus versus DDR3 on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 970’s 224.4 GB/s bandwidth is not just a larger number, it is a different class of memory performance that enables high-resolution textures and higher frame rates.

The release dates are close, with the GTX 970 launching in September 2014 and the 945M in October 2015. The 945M’s predecessor is the GeForce 800M, and its successor is the GeForce 10 Mobile. The GTX 970’s predecessor is the GeForce 700 series, and its successor is the GeForce 10 series.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The GTX 970 wins the only shared benchmark by 73% and has superior specifications across every performance metric. The 945M is a low-power mobile part with 2 GB of DDR3 memory and a 75 W TDP, suitable for a laptop that needs basic 3D acceleration. The GTX 970 is a desktop card with 4 GB of GDDR5, 3.920 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, and a 148 W TDP, suitable for gaming and compute workloads.

A user who needs a mobile GPU has only one choice: the 945M, because the GTX 970 is a dual-slot desktop card. A user who builds a desktop system and wants performance should pick the GTX 970 without hesitation. The GTX 970’s average benchmark score of 7,157 is lower than the 945M’s 8,099, but that average includes many low-scoring PassMark API tests that do not reflect real-world gaming performance. The OpenCL result, which is the only directly comparable test, shows the GTX 970 at 29,982 versus 8,099 for the 945M.

The GTX 970 was launched with a launch MSRP of 329 USD, but the database does not list current pricing. The 945M has no launch MSRP recorded. For anyone choosing between these two for a new build, the GTX 970 is the only reasonable performance choice. The 945M is a legacy mobile part that should only be considered if the use case is a laptop where power consumption is critical and performance expectations are modest.

The GTX 970’s nearest rivals in the average score list, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 and AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile, are all within 1% of its average score, which indicates that its average is dragged down by the numerous low-scoring PassMark tests. The 945M’s nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its single OpenCL score, showing how tightly clustered that mobile segment is. The real comparison between these two cards is not close: the GTX 970 is in a different performance class entirely. Choose the GTX 970 for any desktop application, and the 945M only for a laptop that cannot accommodate a discrete desktop GPU. The recorded data supports only one conclusion: the GTX 970 is the superior GPU by a wide margin.