NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
22.5Rasterization50.6
20Ray Tracing42.9
32.4Memoryspec-based73.7
76.3Efficiencyspec-based64.3
29.8Compute65.4
1 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 97010 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 wins this graphics card face-off, 56.8 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in compute (+36) and rasterization (+28). 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
- 59% lower TDP: 145 W vs 350 W
- Lower launch price: $329 vs $1,499
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
- Stronger rasterization score: 51 vs 23
- Stronger Ray Tracing score: 43 vs 20
- Stronger compute score: 65 vs 30
- 531% higher Shading units: 10,496 vs 1,664
- 500% higher VRAM: 24 GB vs 4 GB
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2020 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Ampere |
| Process | 28 nm | 8 nm+71% |
| TDP | 145 W+59% | 350 W |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 12-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 10,496+531% |
| RT cores | — | 82 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 328 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,395 MHz+33% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 1,695 MHz+44% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 24 GB+500% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6X |
| Bus width | 256 bit | 384 bit+50% |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 936 GB/s+318% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 19,900+449%Top 25% |
| 3DMark Speed Way | — | 5,300Top 31% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 26,300+173%Top 15% |
| 1080p Ultra | — | 158 fpsTop 34% |
| 1440p Ultra | — | 121 fpsTop 30% |
| 4K Ultra | — | 69 fpsTop 26% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no FG) |
Related comparisons
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650VSNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GBVSNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970vs AMD Radeon RX 580VSNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TiVSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070VSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 TiVSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 TiVSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 GREVS