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InnoReviews

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

WINNER
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
37.8Inno Score
VS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
32.6Inno Score
28.4Rasterization22.5
20Ray Tracing20
41.5Memoryspec-based32.4
76.4Efficiencyspec-based76.3
41.2Compute29.8
9 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10801 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

InnoReviews verdict

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 wins this graphics card face-off, 37.8 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in compute (+11) and rasterization (+6). NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 still makes sense if its price or standout specs fit your needs better.

Which would you pick?

Key differences

Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080

  • Stronger rasterization score: 28 vs 23
  • Stronger compute score: 41 vs 30
  • 108% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 7,536 vs 3,625
  • 100% higher VRAM: 8 GB vs 4 GB
  • 62% higher PassMark G3D: 15,607 vs 9,635

Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

  • 19% lower TDP: 145 W vs 180 W
  • Lower launch price: $329 vs $599

General

General comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 versus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Announced20162014
ArchitecturePascalMaxwell
Process16 nm+43%28 nm
TDP180 W145 W+19%
Power connector1x 8-pin2x 6-pin

Cores & Clocks

Cores & Clocks comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 versus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Shading units2,560+54%1,664
Base clock1,607 MHz+53%1,050 MHz
Boost clock1,733 MHz+47%1,178 MHz

Memory

Memory comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 versus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
VRAM8 GB+100%4 GB
VRAM typeGDDR5XGDDR5
Bus width256 bit256 bit
Bandwidth320 GB/s+43%224 GB/s

Benchmarks

Benchmarks comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 versus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
3DMark Time Spy7,536+108%Bottom 27%3,625Bottom 7%
PassMark G3D15,607+62%Bottom 41%9,635Bottom 13%

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