NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture with the GM204 chip, remains a notable entry in the GeForce 900 generation. Produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC, this end-of-life card houses 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die. With a launch MSRP of 329 USD, its benchmark data reveals a product that, while dated, still holds specific utility for legacy systems and 1080p gaming.

Benchmark Performance

The GTX 970’s average benchmark score of 8024 places it at the 40th percentile of all GPUs, indicating a mid-to-low-tier standing in the current landscape. Its synthetic performance is highly variable across APIs. In Geekbench compute tests, the card shows relative strength, scoring 31001 in Vulkan and 28528 in OpenCL, with a Metal score of 13595. However, PassMark results paint a different picture of legacy API performance, with a DirectX 11 score of 71, a DirectX 9 score of 143, and significantly lower scores of 46 for DirectX 10 and 41 for DirectX 12.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields a score of 369, which is a modern, demanding workload where the card clearly struggles. The disparity between its Geekbench compute scores and its low PassMark DX12 score suggests that while the raw compute hardware is functional, driver optimization and architectural support for newer APIs are lacking. The PassMark G3D score of 9638 and G2D score of 764 provide a general baseline, but the compute score of 4073 confirms the card is not designed for heavy parallel workloads.

The data shows that the GTX 970 is virtually tied with its closest rivals in aggregate performance. It is a mere 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M360. Conversely, it trails the NVIDIA GRID K2 by 0.6% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX by 0.9%. These sub-1% deltas are negligible, meaning that in average synthetic benchmarks, the GTX 970 offers no meaningful performance advantage over these older or lower-tier competitors. The card's performance is essentially a plateau, suggesting that its 1664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 56 ROPs are balanced in a way that yields consistent, but not impressive, results across the board.

Memory Subsystem

The GTX 970 is equipped with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.4 GB/s. This configuration was considered ample at its release, but modern high-resolution textures can strain the capacity. The memory operates at a 1753 MHz clock, which translates to 7 Gbps effective data rate.

For high resolutions like 1440p or 4K, the data suggests that the 224.4 GB/s bandwidth is a limiting factor. While the 256-bit bus provides a solid foundation, the total bandwidth is modest by current standards. The 4 GB frame buffer is also a concern, as many contemporary titles at high settings can exceed this capacity, leading to texture pop-in or stuttering. The pixel rate of 65.97 GPixel/s and texture rate of 122.5 GTexel/s are consistent with a card designed for 1080p, where the memory subsystem is adequate for most titles of its era. At higher resolutions, the combination of limited VRAM and bandwidth means the card will likely underperform, as it cannot feed the GPU fast enough to maintain smooth frame rates.

Who Should Consider It

Given its benchmark scores and memory configuration, the GTX 970 is best suited for a specific niche. The data indicates it is a viable option for 1080p gaming at medium to high settings, particularly in titles that rely on DirectX 11 or older APIs. Its PassMark DirectX 11 score of 71 and DirectX 9 score of 143 suggest it handles legacy games with relative ease. Users with an older system looking to play esports titles or games from the 2015-2017 era will find the performance acceptable.

However, the low DirectX 12 score of 41 and the poor 3DMark Steel Nomad result of 369 signal that the card is not a good choice for modern AAA titles that require robust DX12 or Vulkan support. Gamers aiming for high refresh rates at 1440p or any 4K gaming should look elsewhere, as the 4 GB VRAM and 224.4 GB/s bandwidth will be insufficient. The card's power draw of 148 W, with a suggested 300 W PSU, makes it an easy drop-in upgrade for older systems that lack high-wattage power supplies. In summary, this is a card for budget-conscious users reviving an old rig for less demanding, older games, not for those seeking future-proofing or high-end performance.

FAQ

Q: How does the GTX 970 perform in modern DirectX 12 titles?

A: The PassMark DirectX 12 score is 41, which is the lowest of its API scores, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 369, indicating very poor performance in modern DX12 workloads.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth and bus width of the GTX 970?

A: It has a 256-bit memory bus and a bandwidth of 224.4 GB/s, using 4 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Is the GTX 970 suitable for 4K gaming?

A: No, the 4 GB VRAM and 224.4 GB/s bandwidth are not sufficient for high-resolution gaming. The data suggests it is best used at 1080p.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size of this GPU?

A: The GM204 chip contains 5,200 million transistors on a die size of 398 mm², manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Q: How does the GTX 970 compare to the GTX 650 Ti in average performance?

A: The GTX 970 is only 0.1% faster than the GTX 650 Ti in average benchmark scores, making them nearly identical in overall performance.

Q: What is the thermal design power (TDP) requirement?

A: The TDP is 148 W, and NVIDIA suggests a minimum 300 W power supply for the system.

How It Compares

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti: The GTX 970 holds a razor-thin 0.1% performance lead over this older card. This indicates that, despite being a generation newer, the average benchmark scores are virtually indistinguishable, making the GTX 970 a marginal upgrade at best.

AMD Radeon R9 M360: The GTX 970 is 0.2% faster than this mobile-oriented chip. The data shows that in aggregate, the two are effectively equal in performance, highlighting that the GTX 970's desktop pedigree does not translate into a substantial advantage in this comparison.

NVIDIA GRID K2: The GTX 970 is 0.6% slower than this enterprise-focused dual-GPU card. This is a surprising result, as the GRID K2 is designed for virtualization, but the average scores suggest the GTX 970 cannot outpace it in synthetic benchmarks.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX: The GTX 970 trails this mobile GPU by 0.9%. The data clearly shows that the desktop GTX 970 does not have a meaningful performance edge over this older mobile part, with the delta well within the margin of error for benchmark variance.