NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
22.5Rasterization33.7
20Ray Tracing—
32.4Memoryspec-based45.7
76.3Efficiencyspec-based76.5
29.8Compute46.5
1 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9709 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 wins this graphics card face-off, 46.4 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in compute (+17) and rasterization (+11). 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 970
- 33% lower TDP: 145 W vs 215 W
- Lower launch price: $329 vs $699
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
- Stronger rasterization score: 34 vs 23
- Stronger compute score: 47 vs 30
- 205% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 11,071 vs 3,625
- 100% higher VRAM: 8 GB vs 4 GB
- 100% higher bandwidth: 448 GB/s vs 224 GB/s
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2018 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Turing |
| Process | 28 nm | 12 nm+57% |
| TDP | 145 W+33% | 215 W |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin + 1x 6-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 2,944+77% |
| RT cores | — | 46 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 368 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,515 MHz+44% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 1,710 MHz+45% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 8 GB+100% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Bus width | 256 bit | 256 bit |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 448 GB/s+100% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 11,071+205%Bottom 45% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 18,575+93%Top 49% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no FG) |
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