NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
22.5Rasterization31.2
20Ray Tracing26.4
32.4Memoryspec-based47.7
76.3Efficiencyspec-based86.5
29.8Compute40.4
2 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9709 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 wins this graphics card face-off, 42.4 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in compute (+11) and rasterization (+9). 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% higher Bus width: 256 bit vs 192 bit
- 15% lower TDP: 145 W vs 170 W
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
- Stronger rasterization score: 31 vs 23
- Stronger Ray Tracing score: 26 vs 20
- Stronger compute score: 40 vs 30
- 200% higher VRAM: 12 GB vs 4 GB
- 140% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 8,700 vs 3,625
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2021 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Ampere |
| Process | 28 nm | 8 nm+71% |
| TDP | 145 W+15% | 170 W |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 3,584+115% |
| RT cores | — | 28 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 112 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,320 MHz+26% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 1,777 MHz+51% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 12 GB+200% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Bus width | 256 bit+33% | 192 bit |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 360 GB/s+61% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 8,700+140%Bottom 32% |
| 3DMark Speed Way | — | 2,200Bottom 14% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 13,800+43%Bottom 30% |
| 1080p Ultra | — | 80 fpsBottom 15% |
| 1440p Ultra | — | 57 fpsBottom 15% |
| 4K Ultra | — | 30 fpsBottom 15% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no FG) |
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