NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
22.5Rasterization61.5
20Ray Tracing53.6
32.4Memoryspec-based61
76.3Efficiencyspec-based71.3
29.8Compute67.3
1 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9709 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 wins this graphics card face-off, 62.2 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in rasterization (+39) and compute (+38). 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
- 55% lower TDP: 145 W vs 320 W
- Lower launch price: $329 vs $1,199
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
- Stronger rasterization score: 62 vs 23
- Stronger Ray Tracing score: 54 vs 20
- Stronger compute score: 67 vs 30
- 672% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 28,000 vs 3,625
- 485% higher Shading units: 9,728 vs 1,664
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2022 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Ada Lovelace |
| Process | 28 nm | 5 nm+82% |
| TDP | 145 W+55% | 320 W |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 16-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 9,728+485% |
| RT cores | — | 76 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 304 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 2,205 MHz+110% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 2,505 MHz+113% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 16 GB+300% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6X |
| Bus width | 256 bit | 256 bit |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 717 GB/s+220% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 28,000+672%Top 9% |
| 3DMark Speed Way | — | 7,300Top 12% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 27,900+190%Top 9% |
| 1080p Ultra | — | 194 fpsTop 12% |
| 1440p Ultra | — | 149 fpsTop 10% |
| 4K Ultra | — | 88 fpsTop 10% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no MFG) |
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