NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
22.5Rasterization45.6
20Ray Tracing41.3
32.4Memoryspec-based51.9
76.3Efficiencyspec-based86.2
29.8Compute55.4
2 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9709 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 wins this graphics card face-off, 53.2 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in compute (+26) and rasterization (+23). 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
- 28% lower TDP: 145 W vs 200 W
- Lower launch price: $329 vs $599
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
- Stronger rasterization score: 46 vs 23
- Stronger Ray Tracing score: 41 vs 20
- Stronger compute score: 55 vs 30
- 397% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 18,000 vs 3,625
- 254% higher Shading units: 5,888 vs 1,664
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2023 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Ada Lovelace |
| Process | 28 nm | 5 nm+82% |
| TDP | 145 W+28% | 200 W |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 16-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 5,888+254% |
| RT cores | — | 46 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 184 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,920 MHz+83% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 2,475 MHz+110% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 12 GB+200% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6X |
| Bus width | 256 bit+33% | 192 bit |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 504 GB/s+125% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 18,000+397%Top 30% |
| 3DMark Speed Way | — | 5,000Top 35% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 21,900+127%Top 34% |
| 1080p Ultra | — | 144 fpsTop 43% |
| 1440p Ultra | — | 105 fpsTop 43% |
| 4K Ultra | — | 56 fpsTop 43% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no MFG) |
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