NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
22.5Rasterization26.5
20Ray Tracing22.4
32.4Memoryspec-based37.1
76.3Efficiencyspec-based91.5
29.8Compute32.8
1 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9709 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 wins this graphics card face-off, 38 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in rasterization (+4) and compute (+3). 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
- 100% higher Bus width: 256 bit vs 128 bit
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
- Stronger rasterization score: 27 vs 23
- Stronger compute score: 33 vs 30
- 100% higher VRAM: 8 GB vs 4 GB
- 71% lower process: 8 nm vs 28 nm
- 68% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 6,100 vs 3,625
- Lower launch price: $249 vs $329
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2022 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Ampere |
| Process | 28 nm | 8 nm+71% |
| TDP | 145 W | 130 W+10% |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 2,560+54% |
| RT cores | — | 20 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 80 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,552 MHz+48% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 1,777 MHz+51% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 8 GB+100% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Bus width | 256 bit+100% | 128 bit |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 224 GB/s |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 6,100+68%Bottom 22% |
| 3DMark Speed Way | — | 1,450Bottom 2% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 10,000+4%Bottom 14% |
| 1080p Ultra | — | 56 fpsBottom 8% |
| 1440p Ultra | — | 40 fpsBottom 8% |
| 4K Ultra | — | 21 fpsBottom 8% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no FG) |
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