NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data shows a decisive generational victory for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M. In the two directly comparable compute tests, the GTX 970M outperforms the GTX 760M by a massive margin. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 970M scores 18,946 against the GTX 760M's 5,604, a delta of 70.4% in favor of the newer card. The Geekbench Vulkan result is even more lopsided: the GTX 970M posts 18,292 while the GTX 760M manages 4,868, a 73.4% gap. These are not incremental gains; they represent a complete class change in raw compute throughput.

Looking at the aggregate average benchmark score, the picture becomes more nuanced. The GTX 760M averages 5,236 across its recorded tests, while the GTX 970M averages 4,628. This seems contradictory at first glance, but the explanation lies in the test suites each card was subjected to. The GTX 760M was evaluated only on the two Geekbench workloads, both of which heavily favor the newer architecture. The GTX 970M, by contrast, was run through a broader battery including Passmark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests, plus G2D, G3D, and GPU compute. Its Passmark G3D score of 5,704 is respectable, but the DirectX 10 and 12 scores of 28 and 24 respectively drag the average down. The GTX 970M's percentile placement at 27 versus the GTX 760M's 31 reflects this mixed test profile rather than a true performance hierarchy.

The head-to-head data is unambiguous, though. When both cards run the same workload, the GTX 970M wins both times, and wins by enormous percentages. The GTX 760M's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Quadro 4000M at 5,211 (0.5% behind) and the AMD Radeon R7 M260X at 5,161 (1.5% behind), placing it in a firmly mid-range mobile segment. The GTX 970M's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M at 4,621 (0.2% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB at 4,657 (0.6% behind), show that its average score is dragged down by the Passmark legacy DirectX tests. In modern compute workloads, the GTX 970M is the clear winner.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M wins decisively, scoring 18,946 versus 5,604 for the GTX 760M, a 70.4% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan compute?

A: The GTX 970M again dominates with 18,292 points against 4,868 for the GTX 760M, a 73.4% lead.

Q: Why does the GTX 760M have a higher average benchmark score than the GTX 970M?

A: The GTX 760M was only tested on the two Geekbench workloads, where it scores 5,236 on average. The GTX 970M was tested across ten workloads including several Passmark DirectX tests with very low scores, pulling its average down to 4,628 despite winning the Geekbench tests.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 760M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 64.13 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 970M has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 120.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has higher clock speeds?

A: The GTX 970M runs at 924 MHz base and 1,038 MHz boost, compared to the GTX 760M's 628 MHz base and 719 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: 1,253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) on the GTX 970M versus 1,002 MHz (4 Gbps effective) on the GTX 760M.

Q: What is the pixel rate comparison?

A: The GTX 970M achieves 49.82 GPixel/s, over four times the GTX 760M's 11.50 GPixel/s.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations despite sharing the same 28 nm TSMC process node. The GTX 760M is built on Kepler, using the GK106S chip with 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die. The GTX 970M uses Maxwell 2.0, based on the much larger GM204 chip with 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die. Transistor density improved from 11.5M per mm² on the GTX 760M to 13.1M per mm² on the GTX 970M, reflecting the more efficient design of Maxwell.

Shader throughput tells the story of architectural efficiency. The GTX 760M packs 768 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 970M scales up to 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The ROP count triples, which explains the massive pixel rate advantage. Texture fill rate also jumps from 46.02 GTexel/s to 83.04 GTexel/s. FP32 compute rises from 1,104.4 GFLOPS on the GTX 760M to 2.657 TFLOPS on the GTX 970M, a 2.4x increase.

The API support differs as well. The GTX 760M supports DirectX 12 at feature level 11_0, while the GTX 970M supports DirectX 12 at feature level 12_1. Both offer OpenGL 4.6, but Vulkan support differs: the GTX 760M supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the GTX 970M supports Vulkan 1.4. The bus interface also changed, with the GTX 760M using PCIe 3.0 x16 and the GTX 970M using MXM-B (3.0).

The GTX 760M has a 55 W TDP; the database does not record a TDP for the GTX 970M. Both use MXM modules with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The GTX 760M belongs to the GeForce 700M generation and launched in May 2013, while the GTX 970M belongs to the GeForce 900M generation and launched in October 2014. The GTX 760M's predecessor is the GeForce 600M and its successor is the GeForce 800M; the GTX 970M's predecessor is the GeForce 800M and its successor is GeForce 10 Mobile.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the GTX 970M is the far stronger GPU for any modern workload. The 70.4% lead in OpenCL and 73.4% lead in Vulkan are enormous, and the hardware specifications back up those results. The GTX 970M has double the VRAM (6 GB versus 2 GB), nearly double the memory bandwidth (120.3 GB/s versus 64.13 GB/s), more than triple the ROPs (48 versus 16), and more than double the texture units (80 versus 64). Its FP32 compute of 2.657 TFLOPS dwarfs the GTX 760M's 1,104.4 GFLOPS.

The GTX 760M's higher average benchmark score (5,236 versus 4,628) and higher percentile (31 versus 27) are artifacts of test coverage, not real performance advantages. Only two benchmarks were recorded for the GTX 760M, both Geekbench compute tests. The GTX 970M was subjected to ten tests, including Passmark DirectX 9 through 12, and its low legacy DirectX scores (28 in DX10, 24 in DX12, 42 in DX11, 99 in DX9) disproportionately lower its average. In every head-to-head comparison, the GTX 970M wins.

For gaming, the GTX 970M's 48 ROPs and 83.04 GTexel/s texture rate make it far more capable at higher resolutions and with more demanding effects. The 6 GB framebuffer also provides headroom for modern game assets that would exhaust the GTX 760M's 2 GB. For compute applications, the Maxwell architecture's efficiency and the doubled shader count translate directly into the Geekbench results. The GTX 760M remains a functional entry-level mobile GPU, but the GTX 970M is in a different performance tier entirely.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every recorded specification. The GTX 760M uses the GK106S chip on Kepler architecture, while the GTX 970M uses GM204 on Maxwell 2.0. Transistors increase from 2,540 million to 5,200 million, and die size grows from 221 mm² to 398 mm². Transistor density improves from 11.5M per mm² to 13.1M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the GTX 970M substantially: 924 MHz base and 1,038 MHz boost versus 628 MHz base and 719 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1,253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) versus 1,002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). Memory capacity triples from 2 GB to 6 GB, bus width grows from 128-bit to 192-bit, and bandwidth nearly doubles from 64.13 GB/s to 120.3 GB/s. Shading units increase from 768 to 1,280, TMUs from 64 to 80, and ROPs from 16 to 48. Pixel rate goes from 11.50 GPixel/s to 49.82 GPixel/s, texture rate from 46.02 GTexel/s to 83.04 GTexel/s, and FP32 from 1,104.4 GFLOPS to 2.657 TFLOPS.

Both cards use MXM modules with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent outputs. The GTX 760M records a 55 W TDP while the GTX 970M's TDP is not recorded. Bus interface changes from PCIe 3.0 x16 to MXM-B (3.0). DirectX support moves from 12 (11_0) to 12 (12_1), and Vulkan from 1.2.175 to 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. Release dates are May 2013 for the GTX 760M and October 2014 for the GTX 970M. Both are end-of-life products. No launch MSRP is recorded for either card.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 970M wins in every head-to-head benchmark recorded, and its advantages span all meaningful categories. In compute-heavy workloads like OpenCL and Vulkan, the 2.4x FP32 advantage and doubled shader count produce the 70% plus margins seen in the data. Gamers benefit from the triple ROP count and higher pixel rate, which matter at higher resolutions and with anti-aliasing enabled. The 6 GB memory capacity and 120.3 GB/s bandwidth provide room for high-resolution textures and larger scenes. The Maxwell 2.0 architecture's DirectX 12_1 feature level also makes it more future-proof for modern game APIs.

The GTX 760M's only statistical advantage is its higher average benchmark score and percentile ranking, both artifacts of the limited test set applied to it. In practical terms, the GTX 760M suits older games and light productivity tasks where its 55 W TDP and smaller footprint are acceptable. It also has the advantage of lower power draw, which matters in thin-and-light laptops where thermal headroom is minimal. The GTX 760M supports Vulkan 1.2.175, which covers most current titles, though at lower performance levels.

For anyone choosing between these two for a new purchase, the data is clear: the GTX 970M dominates in compute, memory, and rendering throughput. The GTX 760M's only real use case is in legacy systems where it is already installed and the workload is modest. The GTX 970M's Passmark G3D score of 5,704, its strongest single result outside Geekbench, reinforces its position as the superior all-around mobile GPU. The GTX 760M's 5,604 OpenCL score is its best recorded result, and it is still less than a third of the GTX 970M's 18,946 in the same test.