NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M vs NVIDIA Quadro K3100M Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly between these two mobile graphics processors. The NVIDIA Quadro K3100M holds no benchmark wins in the head-to-head comparison, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M takes both available tests. That is a decisive sweep in the direct comparison, but the story is more nuanced when looking at the full database averages.

The Quadro K3100M posts an average benchmark score of 5154 across its three recorded tests (Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan). Its percentile ranking sits at 30, meaning it outperforms 30 percent of all GPUs in the database. The GTX 970M, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 4628 across ten recorded tests spanning 3DMark, Geekbench, and Passmark suites. Its percentile ranking is 27, slightly lower than the Quadro. This creates an interesting situation: the GTX 970M wins every direct head-to-head test it shares with the K3100M, yet its overall average score is dragged down by a broader test portfolio that includes older DirectX 9, 10, and 12 workloads where it scores relatively low.

The K3100M's strengths lie in professional compute workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 6154 and Vulkan score of 5484 are respectable for a Kepler-era workstation part. The GTX 970M, however, turns in OpenCL results more than three times higher and Vulkan results more than three times higher. For users running compute-heavy applications that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan, the GTX 970M is the clear choice. The K3100M does not appear in the same league in these metrics.

For gaming and DirectX workloads, the GTX 970M dominates. Its Passmark DirectX 11 score of 42 and DirectX 12 score of 24 are the highest among its Passmark results, while DirectX 9 shows 99, indicating strong legacy compatibility. The Quadro K3100M has no recorded Passmark results in the database, so direct gaming comparisons are limited to the compute tests. Still, the architecture and clock differences detailed below explain why the GTX 970M is the superior performer in most measurable scenarios.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA architectures built on the same manufacturing process. The Quadro K3100M uses the GK104 chip with Kepler architecture, produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.0 million per square millimeter. The GTX 970M uses the GM204 chip with Maxwell 2.0 architecture, also on a 28 nm TSMC process, but scales up to 5,200 million transistors across a 398 mm² die, achieving 13.1 million transistors per square millimeter.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The K3100M runs at a fixed 706 MHz for both base and boost, with no clock headroom. The GTX 970M starts at 924 MHz base and boosts to 1038 MHz, a 47 percent higher base clock and 47 percent higher boost clock. Memory clocks also favor the GTX 970M: its memory runs at 1253 MHz with 5 Gbps effective data rate, while the K3100M's memory runs at 800 MHz with 3.2 Gbps effective.

Shader resources heavily favor the GTX 970M. The K3100M has 768 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The GTX 970M nearly doubles the shader count to 1280, increases TMUs to 80, and raises ROPs to 48. These differences translate directly into pixel and texture throughput. The K3100M delivers 11.30 GPixel/s and 45.18 GTexel/s, while the GTX 970M delivers 49.82 GPixel/s and 83.04 GTexel/s. That is a 4.4x advantage in pixel rate and 1.8x in texture rate.

Memory configurations also diverge. The K3100M has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 970M has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, yet achieves higher bandwidth at 120.3 GB/s thanks to faster memory clocks. The GTX 970M's larger frame buffer benefits high-resolution textures and larger datasets, while the K3100M's wider bus is partially offset by its slower memory speed.

API support differs in DirectX and Vulkan versions. The K3100M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the GTX 970M supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The GTX 970M's newer DirectX feature level and newer Vulkan version give it access to more modern rendering features.

Power characteristics are only partially recorded. The K3100M has a TDP of 75 W, while the GTX 970M's TDP is not listed in the database. Both use MXM Module slot width with MXM-B (3.0) bus interface and no power connectors. Both are end-of-life products, with the K3100M released in July 2013 and the GTX 970M in October 2014.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The shared benchmark suite between the two GPUs consists of two tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the GTX 970M wins decisively.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the K3100M scores 6154 while the GTX 970M scores 18946. The delta percentage is -67.5, meaning the K3100M trails by roughly two-thirds. The GTX 970M's OpenCL result is more than three times the Quadro's score. This is the largest margin in the direct comparison and reflects the GTX 970M's higher shader count, higher clocks, and newer architecture.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the K3100M scores 5484 while the GTX 970M scores 18292, a delta of -70 percent. Again, the GTX 970M achieves over three times the Quadro's score. The gap is slightly wider in Vulkan than in OpenCL, suggesting the Maxwell 2.0 architecture gains more from Vulkan's modern API model than Kepler does.

These results align with the specs. The GTX 970M's 1280 shaders versus 768, its 1038 MHz boost versus 706 MHz, and its 120.3 GB/s bandwidth versus 102.4 GB/s all contribute to the compute advantage. The K3100M's only path to competitiveness would be in driver-optimized professional applications, but the recorded data shows no such tests.

The average benchmark scores tell a slightly different story. The K3100M's 5154 average exceeds the GTX 970M's 4628 average. This is because the GTX 970M's Passmark results include several low scores: DirectX 10 at 28, DirectX 12 at 24, and DirectX 11 at 42. The K3100M simply has fewer tests in its portfolio, and all three are compute-oriented where it performs adequately. The GTX 970M's G3D score of 5704 and GPU compute score of 2289 are strong, but its DirectX 9 score of 99 (which is likely a percentile-like metric rather than an absolute score) and G2D score of 381 pull the average down when combined with the lower DirectX results.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Quadro K3100M has a higher average benchmark score of 5154 compared to the GTX 970M's 4628. However, the GTX 970M's average is computed over ten tests including multiple Passmark workloads, while the K3100M's average covers only three Geekbench tests.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two in a shared test?

A: The largest margin is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the GTX 970M scores 18292 against the K3100M's 5484, a delta of -70 percent. The GTX 970M also wins Geekbench OpenCL with 18946 versus 6154, a delta of -67.5 percent.

Q: Which GPU provides more memory bandwidth despite a narrower memory bus width?

A: The GTX 970M provides 120.3 GB/s of bandwidth over a 6 GB GDDR5 configuration on a 192-bit bus. The K3100M offers 4 GB on a 256-bit bus at 102.4 GB/s. The GTX 970M achieves higher bandwidth through faster memory clocks of 5 Gbps effective.

Q: How do DirectX feature levels compare between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 970M supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and the K3100M supports DirectX 12 (11_0). The GTX 970M's 12_1 feature level is higher than the K3100M's 11_0, giving the newer GPU access to more advanced rendering techniques.

Q: What are the transistor counts and die sizes of the two chips?

A: The GK104 chip in the K3100M has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the GM204 chip in the GTX 970M has 5,200 million transistors on a larger 398 mm² die.

Q: Which GPU has the higher pixel rate and how much higher is it?

A: The GTX 970M has a pixel rate of 49.82 GPixel/s, which is 4.4 times the K3100M's 11.30 GPixel/s. The GTX 970M also leads in texture rate with 83.04 GTexel/s against 45.18 GTexel/s.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward choice for most users. If compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan workloads is the priority, the GTX 970M is the only rational pick. It delivers more than three times the K3100M's score in both shared tests, with a 70 percent margin in Vulkan and 67.5 percent in OpenCL. The GTX 970M's advantage comes from a newer architecture, nearly double the shader units, significantly higher clocks, and faster memory clocks. There is no recorded scenario where the Quadro K3100M wins any head-to-head benchmark, so selecting it for raw performance cannot be justified by the numbers.

The Quadro K3100M remains relevant in one narrow context. It carries the Quadro branding and a TDP of 75 W, which is lower than the GTX 970M's unlisted power draw. For systems that prioritize the Quadro line's workstation heritage over raw throughput, the K3100M offers a Kepler-era professional GPU with 768 shading units and a 256-bit memory interface in a portable-device-dependent output setup. But the recorded metrics do not show any workload where the Quadro's professional positioning leads to a measurable performance benefit.

Gamers and general-purpose compute users should gravitate toward the GTX 970M. Its Passmark G3D score of 5704 is the single highest recorded gaming-oriented score in the comparison set, and its DirectX 9 score of 99 shows strong legacy support. Its 6 GB frame buffer and 120.3 GB/s bandwidth accommodate demanding modern games. The 970M's 5,200 million transistor count and Maxwell 2.0 architecture give it a foundation for sustained performance across varied workloads.

In short, the database shows a clear hierarchy. The GTX 970M wins every shared benchmark by a wide margin, holds better specs in almost every measurable category, and ranks at the 27th percentile versus all GPUs. The K3100M wins no shared tests, has fewer shaders, lower clocks, less bandwidth, and ranks at the 30th percentile. Users should choose accordingly.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field where data is recorded. Process node and foundry are identical at 28 nm and TSMC. Both use MXM Module slot width, no power connectors, MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, portable device dependent display outputs, and TSMC foundry. The K3100M and GTX 970M share the same generation family lineage, but the K3100M belongs to the Quadro Kepler-M (Kx100M series, released 2013) while the GTX 970M is part of GeForce 900M, released in October 2014.

Chip differences are significant: GK104 on the K3100M uses Kepler architecture, and GM204 on the GTX 970M uses Maxwell 2.0. Transistor counts differ, at 3,540 million for the K3100M and 294 mm² die size for the K3100M, and 5,200 million transistors for the GTX 970M on a 398 mm² die. Clock speeds differ in every metric, from base 706 MHz on the K3100M to 924 MHz on the GTX 970M, boost 706 MHz to 1038 MHz on the GTX 970M. Memory speed differs at 800 MHz with 3.2 Gbps effective on the K3100M, 1253 MHz at 5 Gbps effective on the GTX 970M.

Shader resources differ at 768 shading units on the K3100M, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 64 shading units on the GTX 970M, 80 TMUs, 48 ROPs. Pixel rate differs at 11.1 GPixel/s on the K3100M, 64.18 GTexel/s on the GTX 970M, 49.82 GPixel/s on the GTX 970M. FP32 performance differs at 1,084.4 GFLOPS on the K3100M versus 2.657 TFLOPS on the GTX 970M. The K3100M runs TDP of 75 W is listed, but GTX 970M has no TDP listed. API differences: DirectX 12 (11_0) on the K3100M, 4.6 OpenGL 4.6 Vulkan 1.2.175 on the K3100M, while GTX 970M supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6 Vulkan 1.4 on the GTX 970M. The K3100M has 3,540 million transistors, die size 294 mm² on the K3100M, 5,200 million transistors on the GTX 970M, with transistor density of 12.0M per mm² on the K3100M and 13.1M per mm² on the GTX 970M.

Bus width 256 bit on the K3100M and 192 bit on the GTX 970M, 102.4 GB/s bandwidth on the K3100M, 120.3 GB/s on the GTX 970M. The memory size of 4 GB on the K3100M, 6 GB on the GTX 970M. The GTX 970M has 5,200 million transistor count, 398 mm² die size, 13.1M density, 924 MHz base clock, 1038 MHz boost clock, 120.3 GB/s bandwidth, 80 TMUs, 1,084.4 GFLOPS on the K3100M, 2.657 TFLOPS on the GTX 970M, 1,084.4 GFLOPS on the K3100M, 2,657 TFLOPS on the GTX 970M. The K3100M has 3,540 million, 294 mm², 12.0M / mm² density unit on the K3100M, 13.1M / mm² GTX 970M.