NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
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The Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 is a desktop graphics card of the upper middle class. It is based on the GM206 Maxwell chip that is produced in 28nm. The GTX960 offers 1024 shader cores, 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs (no deactivated units of the chip). The graphics memory is usually 2 or 4 GB GDDR5 (7 GHz effective clock) connected with a 128 Bit interface.
On average the gaming performance is on a level with the AMD Radeon R9 280 and R9 285. Compared to laptop graphics cards, the 960 is slightly faster than a mobile Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M. The 970M offers more shader cores, but at a lower clock speed. The similar named GeForce GTX 960M for notebooks offers only 640 shader cores and a slightly lower core clock. The performance of the GTX 960 should be suffice for most games in full HD resolution. In our benchmarks only GTA 5 and The Witcher 3 achieved below 30 fps on average (see below for detailed benchmarks).
The GM206 supports CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync / G-SYNC, SLI, DSR, MFAA and Virtual Reality latency improvements. The GTX 960 also includes a H.265 capable de- and encoder as a first.
The power consumption of the GTX 960 on the desktop without load is around 10 Watt and on a similar level to the AMD counterparts. During gaming the 960 reaches around 85-100 Watt (depending on the model) which is a lot less than e.g. the Radeon R9 285 (around 170 Watt) - source tomshardware.com
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
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The Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 is a high end desktop graphics card based on the Maxwell architecture. As the faster GTX 980, the GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip, but with reduced shaders (2048 vs. 1664) and TMUs (128 vs 103). The graphics card is equipped with 4 GB GDDR5 (7 GHz effective). 3.5 GB of the 4 GB are connected with 224 Bit, the rest only with a 32 Bit interface. This can lead to some stuttering or reduced frame rates in games that use the full 4 GB. The similar named mobile GeForce GTX 970M is clearly slower as it features only 1280 shader cores.
Despite the unique memory configuration, the GTX 970 performs on average on par with the older GeForce GTX 780 Ti or a AMD Radeon R9 290X.
The GM204 supports CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync / G-SYNC, SLI, DSR, MFAA and Virtual Reality latency improvements.
The Maxwell architecture is very power efficient. While gaming, the card only uses as much power as the Radeon R9 285 which is more than 35% slower on average.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
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The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 for notebooks (not the GTX 980M, sometimes also referred to as GeForce GTX 990M) is an overclockable high-end graphics card for laptops. It is an desktop Geforce GTX 980 chip with the same specifications (2048 shaders, 1126 MHz base clock, 7 Gbps memory) based on selected GM204 chips (for lower power consumption).
The performance is also on a level with the desktop GTX 980. Due to the different cooling solutions, the long term performance may be slightly lower compared to a well cooled desktop, but Nvidia assures only small degrades in performance. Furthermore, the mobile GTX 980 supports overclocking out of the box and all laptop manufacturers plan to provide an easy to use tool to overclock the card on the fly.
The core features are also the same, so expect support for DirectX 12 (FL 12_1). There will be no support for the new H.265 video engine as found on the desktop GTX 950.
The power consumption of the card is a lot higher than other mobile graphics card like the GeForce GTX 980M (100 Watt TDP). According to Nvidia, the TDP of the reference design is still 165 Watt like in the desktop version. Including overclocking headroom, the power consumption may reach up to 200 Watt. Therefore, only big laptops with efficient cooling methods can house the GeForce GTX980 for laptops.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GeForce GTX 900 Series |
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Codename | GM206 | GM204 | N16E-GXX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | Maxwell | Maxwell | Maxwell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pipelines | 1024 - unified | 1664 - unified | 2048 - unified | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Core Speed | 1127 - 1178 (Boost) MHz | 1050 - 1178 (Boost) MHz | 1126 - 1228 (Boost) MHz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memory Speed | 3500 MHz | 3500 MHz | 3500 MHz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memory Bus Width | 128 Bit | 224 + 32 Bit | 256 Bit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Max. Amount of Memory | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shared Memory | no | no | no | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
API | DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.4 | DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.5 | DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Power Consumption | 120 Watt | 145 Watt | 100-200 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transistors | 2.9 Billion | 5.2 Billion | 5.2 Billion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
technology | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync, G-SYNC, SLI, H.265 Decoder/Encoder | CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync, G-SYNC, SLI | CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync, G-SYNC, SLI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of Announcement | 22.01.2015 | 19.09.2014 | 22.09.2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Link to Manufacturer Page | www.geforce.com | www.geforce.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notebook Size | large |
Benchmarks
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
specvp12 sw-03 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 → 100% n=17
Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 → 137% n=17
Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop) → 140% n=17

* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
Game Benchmarks
The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Borderlands 3
2019
Control
2019
F1 2019
2019
Dirt Rally 2.0
2019
Metro Exodus
2019
Apex Legends
2019
Just Cause 4
2018
Darksiders III
2018
Battlefield V
2018
Fallout 76
2018
F1 2018
2018
Fortnite
2018
Rocket League
2017
Resident Evil 7
2017
Watch Dogs 2
2016
Dishonored 2
2016
Titanfall 2
2016
Farming Simulator 17
2016
Battlefield 1
2016
Civilization 6
2016
Mafia 3
2016
Overwatch
2016
Doom
2016
Need for Speed 2016
2016
Hitman 2016
2016
The Division
2016
Far Cry Primal
2016
XCOM 2
2016
Rainbow Six Siege
2015
Just Cause 3
2015
Fallout 4
2015
Anno 2205
2015
FIFA 16
2015
World of Warships
2015
Metal Gear Solid V
2015
Mad Max
2015
The Witcher 3
2015
Dirt Rally
2015
GTA V
2015
Battlefield Hardline
2015
Evolve
2015
Far Cry 4
2014
F1 2014
2014
Ryse: Son of Rome
2014
Alien: Isolation
2014
Fifa 15
2014
Sims 4
2014
GRID: Autosport
2014
Watch Dogs
2014
Thief
2014
Battlefield 4
2013
Metro: Last Light
2013
BioShock Infinite
2013
Tomb Raider
2013
Crysis 3
2013
Guild Wars 2
2012
Sleeping Dogs
2012Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 → 100%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%
Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 → 137%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 140%
Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop) → 150%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 172%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop) | |||||||||||||||||||
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low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | ||||
Ghost Recon Breakpoint | 52 | 36 | |||||||||||||||||||
FIFA 20 | 153 | 86 | |||||||||||||||||||
Borderlands 3 | 74 | 48.6 | 36.7 | ||||||||||||||||||
Control | 153 | 50 | 36 | 22.8 | |||||||||||||||||
F1 2019 | 110 | 72 | 49.3 | 30.3 | |||||||||||||||||
Dirt Rally 2.0 | 46.7 | 35 | 20.6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Metro Exodus | 99 | 49 | 37.2 | 31.1 | 23.9 | 13.2 | |||||||||||||||
Apex Legends | 70 | 45.5 | 23.3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Just Cause 4 | 57.8 | 19.9 | |||||||||||||||||||
Darksiders III | 68 | 20.6 | |||||||||||||||||||
Battlefield V | 47.5 | 19.7 | |||||||||||||||||||
Fallout 76 | 59.8 | 47.9 | |||||||||||||||||||
Hitman 2 | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||||
F1 2018 | 98 | 63 | 25.9 | ||||||||||||||||||
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark | 101 | 55.3 | 35.6 | 12.8 | |||||||||||||||||
Fortnite | 82 | 60 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||
Star Wars Battlefront 2 | 66 | 9.4 | |||||||||||||||||||
Need for Speed Payback | 76 | 24.8 | |||||||||||||||||||
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) | 52.1 | 17.8 | |||||||||||||||||||
Dirt 4 | 46.5 | 28.6 | |||||||||||||||||||
Rocket League | 126 | 60.8 | |||||||||||||||||||
Mass Effect Andromeda | 56.9 | 50.5 | 20.2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Ghost Recon Wildlands | 138 | 70.5 | 64.5 | 33.8 | 22.1 | ||||||||||||||||
For Honor | 31.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Resident Evil 7 | 88 | 30.7 | |||||||||||||||||||
Watch Dogs 2 | 65.5 | 34.8 | 23.3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Dishonored 2 | 106 | 100 | 60 | 57 | 28.5 | ||||||||||||||||
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare | 92 | 87 | 32.6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Titanfall 2 | 59.1 | 87 | |||||||||||||||||||
Farming Simulator 17 | 76 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Battlefield 1 | 87 | 37.5 | |||||||||||||||||||
Civilization 6 | 68 | 57.5 | |||||||||||||||||||
Mafia 3 | 59.9 | 32 | 14.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
FIFA 17 | 273 | 107 | |||||||||||||||||||
Deus Ex Mankind Divided | 51.9 | 28.1 | 16.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mirror's Edge Catalyst | 159.9 | 111.8 | 55.7 | 50 | 17.1 | 151.3 | 136.8 | 80.8 | 73 | 26.1 | 197.4 | 165.5 | 90 | 81.9 | 31 | ||||||
Overwatch | 266.7 | 206.6 | 115.7 | 66.9 | 38.6 | 287.8 | 187.5 | 108 | 58.2 | 299.9 | 299.9 | 212.4 | 122 | 69.4 | |||||||
Doom | 142.8 | 126.8 | 74 | 68 | 21.6 | 170.1 | 161.2 | 108.8 | 99 | 34.3 | 196.4 | 193.6 | 123.4 | 100 | 41.4 | ||||||
Ashes of the Singularity | 80.8 | 60.8 | 54.8 | 20.6 | |||||||||||||||||
Need for Speed 2016 | 118.2 | 104.6 | 68.8 | 51.6 | 21.4 | 70 | 31 | 136.1 | 130.3 | 104.4 | 77.3 | 40.5 | |||||||||
Hitman 2016 | 73.3 | 71.6 | 37.1 | 36 | 18.7 | 68.3 | 67.2 | 54.5 | 52 | 23 | 100.3 | 93.7 | 64.5 | 61.3 | 28.8 | ||||||
The Division | 122.6 | 91.7 | 45 | 33.9 | 16.6 | 191.1 | 138.1 | 72 | 55 | 27 | 227.7 | 156.2 | 83 | 64.6 | 33.3 | ||||||
Far Cry Primal | 115 | 60 | 53 | 37 | 16 | 112 | 100 | 80 | 55 | 27 | 153 | 107 | 94 | 68 | 32 | ||||||
XCOM 2 | 90 | 56.9 | 35.6 | 16.7 | 88.2 | 75.5 | 59.2 | 28 | 15.9 | 136.1 | 95 | 70.9 | 33.4 | 20.1 | |||||||
Rise of the Tomb Raider | 112.6 | 71.3 | 43.7 | 36.1 | 17 | 159.1 | 127.7 | 75.9 | 62 | 25.3 | 225.9 | 144.4 | 88.4 | 69 | 33.7 | ||||||
Rainbow Six Siege | 248.5 | 163.6 | 90.2 | 64.5 | 27.2 | 282 | 230 | 142 | 121 | 44.8 | 327.5 | 247.7 | 149.4 | 114.1 | 50.4 | ||||||
Just Cause 3 | 98 | 94.1 | 60.3 | 52.6 | 21.6 | 101.1 | 86.4 | 79 | 33.5 | 168.1 | 157.4 | 100.6 | 87 | 38.2 | |||||||
Star Wars Battlefront | 196.9 | 144.9 | 70.1 | 60.8 | 21.2 | 188.9 | 111 | 96 | 34.7 | 200 | 199 | 121 | 103 | 40 | |||||||
Assassin's Creed Syndicate | 82.3 | 70.3 | 47.3 | 18.9 | 16.5 | 81.8 | 75.5 | 74.9 | 32 | 25.2 | 96 | 95 | 78 | 32 | 28 | ||||||
Fallout 4 | 163.6 | 103.4 | 56.7 | 44.8 | 18.5 | 131.7 | 91.4 | 74 | 30 | 185 | 171 | 98 | 79 | 34 | |||||||
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 | 146.2 | 117.3 | 63.6 | 55.8 | 20.4 | 29.7 | 168 | 164 | 101 | 91 | 35 | ||||||||||
Anno 2205 | 175.2 | 124.7 | 57 | 20.6 | 20.9 | 126.2 | 92 | 27 | 34.1 | 158 | 145 | 95 | 32 | 38 | |||||||
FIFA 16 | 72 | 254 | 114 | 352 | 319 | 282 | 124 | ||||||||||||||
World of Warships | 183.9 | 147.9 | 125.3 | 110.8 | 36.4 | 153 | 58.6 | ||||||||||||||
Metal Gear Solid V | 59.9 | 59.9 | 59.9 | 59.9 | 28.2 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 59.9 | 46 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 46 | ||||||
Mad Max | 172.4 | 89.2 | 80.5 | 27.6 | 237.9 | 139.3 | 126 | 44 | 262 | 148 | 137 | 48 | |||||||||
The Witcher 3 | 142.8 | 86.6 | 49.8 | 27.7 | 146.2 | 81.2 | 43 | 29.1 | 221 | 147 | 84 | 44 | 30 | ||||||||
Dirt Rally | 441.4 | 180.3 | 130.9 | 61.3 | 47.1 | 139.3 | 108.7 | 94 | 143 | 382 | 157 | 124 | 95 | 83 | |||||||
GTA V | 147.3 | 146.1 | 69.8 | 28.3 | 167.9 | 159 | 97.8 | 44 | 46 | 168 | 160 | 117 | 51 | 60 | |||||||
Battlefield Hardline | 163.1 | 157.2 | 95.8 | 58.3 | 176 | 171.1 | 129.1 | 78.4 | 174 | 171 | 153 | 99 | |||||||||
Evolve | 159.4 | 117.9 | 65.6 | 57.1 | 211.4 | 176.4 | 94.6 | 85.7 | 223 | 191 | 115 | 101 | |||||||||
Dragon Age: Inquisition | 125.7 | 109.4 | 58.4 | 38.6 | 175.3 | 171.4 | 79.5 | 61 | 190 | 175 | 97 | 65 | |||||||||
Far Cry 4 | 113.6 | 112.2 | 65.8 | 50.4 | 130.8 | 130.6 | 89.6 | 67.9 | 119 | 117 | 96 | 81 | |||||||||
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | 229.9 | 139.3 | 94.6 | 55.3 | 219.4 | 162 | 125.3 | 77 | 248 | 191 | 116 | 72 | |||||||||
F1 2014 | 117 | 118 | 118 | 114 | 118 | 118 | 118 | 118 | 117 | 104 | |||||||||||
Ryse: Son of Rome | 67.1 | 64.9 | 54 | 49.2 | 64 | 63.7 | 62.7 | 61.4 | |||||||||||||
Alien: Isolation | 275 | 217 | 113.3 | 80.9 | 291.6 | 272.1 | 160.5 | 112.9 | 273 | 253 | 189 | 136 | |||||||||
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | 194.7 | 131.8 | 71.8 | 48.6 | 238.4 | 186.9 | 100.8 | 78 | 230 | 195 | 122 | 92 | |||||||||
Fifa 15 | 332.8 | 259.7 | 210.6 | 103.3 | 419.6 | 357.7 | 297.2 | 150.5 | |||||||||||||
Sims 4 | 178.8 | 141.3 | 107 | 98.3 | 183.9 | 167.7 | 140 | 127.3 | 180 | 150 | 130 | 121 | |||||||||
GRID: Autosport | 327.5 | 173.4 | 149.1 | 85.5 | 403.8 | 216.2 | 187.8 | 126.8 | 316 | 179 | 156 | 129 | |||||||||
Watch Dogs | 89.7 | 76.4 | 52.8 | 34.4 | 122.9 | 102 | 73.4 | 53.9 | 119 | 103 | 82 | 62 | |||||||||
Thief | 108.6 | 100.9 | 91 | 50.6 | 131 | 126.9 | 121.6 | 73 | 124 | 120 | 111 | 81 | |||||||||
Battlefield 4 | 198.8 | 193.2 | 147.5 | 58 | 199.8 | 199.7 | 195 | 89 | 45 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 99 | 53 | |||||||
Metro: Last Light | 111.2 | 106.4 | 95.9 | 56.8 | 144.2 | 143.9 | 130.9 | 84 | 153 | 150 | 133 | 90 | |||||||||
BioShock Infinite | 279.2 | 208.9 | 185.4 | 75.8 | 264.9 | 234.4 | 219.2 | 113 | 273 | 243 | 214 | 116 | |||||||||
Tomb Raider | 484.4 | 301.2 | 187.5 | 89.1 | 554 | 433 | 285.8 | 135 | 498 | 468 | 332 | 158 | |||||||||
Crysis 3 | 139.7 | 123.9 | 91.7 | 36.1 | 167.6 | 145.4 | 111.4 | 53 | 150 | 137 | 107 | 61 | |||||||||
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop) | |||||||||||||||||||
low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 1 13 26 | 2 19 19 | 14 20 7 | 5 22 13 1 | | 16 3 2 | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 11 25 | 4 13 28 | 12 29 15 | 3 22 35 9 | 2 4 1 | 29 19 5 2 | < 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 5 32 | 7 30 | 23 16 | 5 27 7 | | 3 16 3 1 |
For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List