NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB is unequivocally the faster GPU in this comparison, winning all eight head-to-head benchmarks against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, but that dominance tells only part of the story. The GTX 970M, a Maxwell 2.0 mobile part from 2014, holds a narrow 0.2% advantage in average benchmark score over the RTX 5060 Ti's nearest rivals, yet the data shows the RTX 5060 Ti delivers performance gains ranging from 140.4% to 751.5% across every test. The RTX 5060 Ti is a current-generation desktop card (production status: Active) built on Blackwell 2.0, while the GTX 970M is an end-of-life mobile module, so the comparison is less about competition and more about generational gap.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5060 Ti in the most demanding test?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the RTX 5060 Ti scores 4019 against the GTX 970M's 472, a delta of 751.5%. This is the largest margin in any shared test.

Q: Does the GTX 970M have any benchmark where it wins?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows the RTX 5060 Ti wins all 8 benchmark comparisons, with zero wins for the GTX 970M.

Q: Are these GPUs comparable in raw compute performance?

A: No. The RTX 5060 Ti delivers 23.70 TFLOPS FP32 performance, while the GTX 970M delivers 2.657 TFLOPS — a difference of roughly 8.9x in theoretical compute.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each card?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti ranks in the 29th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 970M ranks in the 27th percentile. Despite the huge performance gap, both cards sit near the middle of the overall database.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti has 448.0 GB/s bandwidth from its 128-bit GDDR7 memory, compared to 120.3 GB/s from the GTX 970M's 192-bit GDDR5 memory.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 4970, while the GTX 970M averages 4628. This places them close in aggregate, but the RTX 5060 Ti's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 at 4979 (-0.2% delta), while the GTX 970M's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M at 4621 (+0.2% delta).

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5060 Ti wins everywhere in this matchup, but the scale of victory varies by workload type. The largest relative win comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the RTX 5060 Ti scores 4019 versus 472 — a 751.5% advantage that reflects the modern GPU's ability to handle current-generation DirectX 12 workloads. The smallest win is in Passmark DirectX 9, where the RTX 5060 Ti scores 238 against 99, a 140.4% lead; this older API test shows the GTX 970M is comparatively less disadvantaged, likely because legacy workloads do not stress the newer architecture's advanced features.

In compute-heavy tasks, the RTX 5060 Ti's dominance is stark. The Passmark GPU Compute test shows 11224 versus 2289, a 390.3% margin, and the Passmark G3D test shows 22618 versus 5704, a 296.5% lead. The GTX 970M's best relative showing is in DirectX 9 (140.4% behind) and its worst is in Steel Nomad (751.5% behind), suggesting that as workloads become more modern and demanding, the generational gap widens. The RTX 5060 Ti also wins the 2D test (Passmark G2D) by 216.5% (1206 vs 381), indicating even basic desktop rendering is significantly faster.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different eras of NVIDIA design. The RTX 5060 Ti uses the GB206 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 21,900 million transistors packed into a 181 mm² die — a transistor density of 121.0M per mm². The GTX 970M uses the GM204 chip on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with only 5,200 million transistors spread across a much larger 398 mm² die, yielding just 13.1M transistors per mm².

Feature support differs dramatically. The RTX 5060 Ti includes 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores, enabling hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration, while the GTX 970M has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 5060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), the GTX 970M only DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 5060 Ti adds modern display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b) versus the GTX 970M's "Portable Device Dependent" output, reflecting its mobile MXM form factor.

The RTX 5060 Ti is a dual-slot desktop card with a 1x 8-pin power connector and 450 W suggested PSU, while the GTX 970M is an MXM Module with no power connectors, designed for laptop integration. The RTX 5060 Ti also has a PCIe 5.0 x8 bus interface versus the GTX 970M's MXM-B (3.0) interface, and the RTX 5060 Ti has explicit dimensions (241 mm length, 111 mm height, 40 mm width) while the GTX 970M has none listed.

Specification Differences

The memory configuration shows a clear generational leap. The RTX 5060 Ti offers 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, achieving 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 970M provides 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 120.3 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 5060 Ti's faster memory and newer standard produce over 3.7x the bandwidth.

Core counts are massively in the RTX 5060 Ti's favor: 4608 shading units versus 1280, 144 TMUs versus 80, and 48 ROPs versus 48 (the only equal spec). Clock speeds also differ substantially: the RTX 5060 Ti boosts to 2572 MHz from a 2407 MHz base, while the GTX 970M boosts to 1038 MHz from a 924 MHz base. The RTX 5060 Ti's memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus the GTX 970M's 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

Fill rates and compute throughput tell the same story. The RTX 5060 Ti achieves 123.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 370.4 GTexel/s texture rate, against 49.82 GPixel/s and 83.04 GTexel/s for the GTX 970M. FP32 compute is 23.70 TFLOPS versus 2.657 TFLOPS; the RTX 5060 Ti also lists FP16 at 23.70 TFLOPS (1:1), while the GTX 970M has no listed FP16 figure. The RTX 5060 Ti has a 180 W TDP, while the GTX 970M has no TDP listed. The RTX 5060 Ti was released in 2025-04-15, the GTX 970M in 2014-10-06.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result is the headline: the RTX 5060 Ti scores 4019, the GTX 970M scores 472, giving a 751.5% delta. This is the single largest margin and demonstrates that modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads are essentially unplayable on the older card. In Passmark DirectX 11, the RTX 5060 Ti scores 219 versus 42 (421.4% lead), and in DirectX 10 it scores 144 versus 28 (414.3% lead). The DirectX 12 passmark test shows 89 versus 24 (270.8% lead), a smaller margin than the 3DMark result but still a decisive 3.7x advantage.

The compute tests reinforce the pattern. Passmark GPU Compute shows 11224 versus 2289, a 390.3% lead. The synthetic G3D test shows 22618 versus 5704, a 296.5% advantage. Even the 2D test (Passmark G2D) shows 1206 versus 381, a 216.5% lead. The DirectX 9 result is the closest: 238 versus 99, a 140.4% margin — but still a clear win for the RTX 5060 Ti.

Looking at the aggregate scores, the RTX 5060 Ti's average benchmark score is 4970, just 0.2% below its nearest rival the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 (4979) and 0.6% below the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics (4998). The GTX 970M's average of 4628 is 0.2% above its nearest rival the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M (4621) and 0.6% above the AMD Radeon R5 M320 (4657). This means that despite the RTX 5060 Ti's overwhelming head-to-head victory, both cards occupy similar tiers in the overall database — the GTX 970M is not an outlier in its performance class, just completely outclassed by its modern counterpart.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB is the superior GPU in every measurable way, winning all 8 head-to-head benchmarks with deltas between 140.4% and 751.5%. Anyone choosing between these two for a modern gaming or compute workload should select the RTX 5060 Ti, which offers 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, 23.70 TFLOPS FP32 compute, RT cores, tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support — all features the GTX 970M lacks entirely. The RTX 5060 Ti is an active product with a launch MSRP of 429 USD, while the GTX 970M is end-of-life.

However, the GTX 970M has one context where it makes sense: legacy systems. Its MXM Module form factor and "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs mean it was designed for laptops, and its 28 nm Maxwell architecture with no ray tracing or tensor cores is simply from a different era. In the aggregate database, the GTX 970M's average score of 4628 places it just 0.2% above its nearest rival, showing it remains a functional, if dated, performer in its own tier. But for any task where performance matters — even the oldest DirectX 9 benchmark, where the RTX 5060 Ti leads by 140.4% — the newer card is the only rational choice. The RTX 5060 Ti is not just faster; it is a completely different class of product that renders the GTX 970M obsolete for all but the most basic legacy use.