NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 represent two distinct tiers within NVIDIA’s Maxwell-era lineup, separated by a generation and a substantial gulf in silicon. The data shows a decisive performance hierarchy, yet the comparison reveals more than just a raw speed difference. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, architectural divergence, and practical implications for each card based solely on the provided specifications and test scores.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data is unequivocal, with the GTX 970 winning all three shared tests. The most lopsided result appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the GTX 970 scores 29,982 against the GTX 750’s 9,315. That represents a 68.9% deficit for the older card, meaning the GTX 970 delivers roughly three times the compute throughput in this API. This massive gap aligns with the GTX 970’s larger shader array and wider memory interface, which directly benefit OpenCL’s parallel workload patterns.

In Geekbench Metal, the margin narrows slightly but remains overwhelming. The GTX 970 posts 13,595 points versus the GTX 750’s 4,274, a 68.6% difference. Metal’s lower-level access to the GPU still exposes the same fundamental resource disparity. Interestingly, the Vulkan test shows the smallest relative gap, with the GTX 970 scoring 20,005 against 8,078 for the GTX 750 — a 59.6% lead. While still a dominant victory, Vulkan’s explicit control model appears to allow the GTX 750 to extract a slightly higher proportion of its theoretical peak than in the other APIs.

Looking at the aggregate picture, the GTX 750’s average benchmark score is 7,222, while the GTX 970 sits at 7,157. This near-identical average is misleading because the GTX 970’s average includes a far broader set of tests, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (369) and several Passmark DirectX variants with low scores. The direct head-to-head results are the meaningful comparison, and they show a clean sweep for the GTX 970. In the nearestRivals data, the GTX 970 is listed as a rival to the GTX 750 with a delta of 0.9%, but that figure derives from the skewed averages, not the shared benchmarks. The actual head-to-head deltas of -68.6%, -68.9%, and -59.6% tell the true story.

Architecture Differences

The two cards share a common architectural lineage but diverge sharply in implementation. Both use TSMC’s 28 nm process node, yet the GTX 970’s GM204 chip packs 5,200 million transistors onto a 398 mm² die, while the GTX 750’s GM107 contains just 1,870 million transistors on a much smaller 148 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 13.1M per mm² for the GTX 970 versus 12.6M per mm² for the GTX 750, indicating the newer chip uses its area slightly more efficiently.

The core configurations differ by an order of magnitude. The GTX 970 fields 1,664 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, and 56 ROPs. The GTX 750, by contrast, offers only 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This means the GTX 970 has more than three times the shader count and over six times the texture units. The clock speeds are surprisingly close — the GTX 970 runs at 1050 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost, while the GTX 750 runs at 1020 MHz base and 1085 MHz boost. The performance advantage therefore comes almost entirely from the wider and deeper execution resources, not from higher clocks.

Memory architecture reinforces the divide. The GTX 970 features 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 750 has just 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, producing 80.19 GB/s. The GTX 970’s memory clock is also higher at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the GTX 750. This 2.8x bandwidth advantage is critical for modern game textures and high-resolution rendering.

The API support differs as well. The GTX 750 lists DirectX 12 (11_0), meaning it only supports the feature level 11_0 subset of DX12. The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), which includes additional features like conservative rasterization and rasterizer-ordered views. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 970 also offers more modern display outputs, including HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, compared to the GTX 750’s mini-HDMI 1.4a.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 970 wins every contested benchmark, but the magnitude of its victories varies by workload. In compute-heavy scenarios like OpenCL, the 68.9% lead reflects the 3.25x difference in shading units and the 2.8x bandwidth advantage. For graphics tasks using Metal, the 68.6% gap is nearly identical, suggesting that the scaling of shader throughput is consistent across these two APIs. Vulkan shows the smallest gap at 59.6%, which may indicate that the GTX 750’s simpler architecture benefits from Vulkan’s lower driver overhead relative to its own resource limits.

For the GTX 750, the practical wins are not in raw performance but in physical requirements. Its 55 W TDP requires no power connectors and only a 250 W suggested PSU, whereas the GTX 970 draws 148 W, needs two 6-pin connectors, and asks for a 300 W PSU. The GTX 750 is also a single-slot card at 145 mm in length, while the GTX 970 is a dual-slot design at 267 mm. For compact or legacy systems, the GTX 750 is the only viable option despite its far lower scores.

The GTX 970’s wins extend to memory capacity, where 4 GB versus 1 GB is a decisive factor for modern textures. It also wins on pixel rate (65.97 GPixel/s vs 17.36 GPixel/s) and texture rate (122.5 GTexel/s vs 34.72 GTexel/s), which directly translates to higher frame rates at higher resolutions. In any scenario involving recent games or GPU compute, the GTX 970 is categorically superior.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the GTX 750 and GTX 970?

A: The GTX 750 has an average benchmark score of 7,222, while the GTX 970 averages 7,157, a 0.9% difference in favor of the GTX 750. However, this average includes a different set of tests for each card; in the three shared benchmarks, the GTX 970 leads by 59.6% to 68.9%.

Q: Which card has better compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The GTX 970 scores 29,982 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 9,315 for the GTX 750, representing a 68.9% lead. This is the largest margin of any shared benchmark.

Q: How do the power requirements differ?

A: The GTX 750 has a 55 W TDP with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The GTX 970 has a 148 W TDP, requires two 6-pin power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The GTX 750 has 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 80.19 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 970 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports DirectX 12_1?

A: Only the GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The GTX 750 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0), which lacks certain DX12 features.

Q: What are the physical dimensions of each card?

A: The GTX 750 is 145 mm long and single-slot. The GTX 970 is 267 mm long, 111 mm high, 40 mm wide, and dual-slot.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, while the GTX 750 uses GM107 on first-generation Maxwell. Transistor count is 5,200 million versus 1,870 million, and die size is 398 mm² versus 148 mm². Clock speeds are close: the GTX 970 has a 1050 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost, while the GTX 750 has 1020 MHz base and 1085 MHz boost. Memory speed also favors the GTX 970 at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

The execution resources show the biggest divergence. The GTX 970 has 1,664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 56 ROPs, while the GTX 750 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rate is 65.97 GPixel/s versus 17.36 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 122.5 GTexel/s versus 34.72 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 3.920 TFLOPS versus 1,111.0 GFLOPS. The power envelope differs significantly: 148 W versus 55 W TDP, with the GTX 970 needing dual-slot cooling and two 6-pin connectors, while the GTX 750 is single-slot with no connectors. Dimensions are 267 mm x 111 mm x 40 mm versus 145 mm in length. Display outputs are also distinct, with the GTX 970 offering HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.2, while the GTX 750 has mini-HDMI 1.4a. The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GTX 750 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). Both share the same 28 nm process, PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support.