NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
22.5Rasterization73.5
20Ray Tracing68.5
32.4Memoryspec-based74.6
76.3Efficiencyspec-based55.2
29.8Compute86.3
1 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 97010 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
InnoReviews verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 wins this graphics card face-off, 71.8 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in compute (+57) and rasterization (+51). 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
- 68% lower TDP: 145 W vs 450 W
- Lower launch price: $329 vs $1,599
Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
- Stronger rasterization score: 74 vs 23
- Stronger Ray Tracing score: 69 vs 20
- Stronger compute score: 86 vs 30
- 893% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 36,000 vs 3,625
- 885% higher Shading units: 16,384 vs 1,664
General
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2014 | 2022 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Ada Lovelace |
| Process | 28 nm | 5 nm+82% |
| TDP | 145 W+68% | 450 W |
| Power connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 16-pin |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 1,664 | 16,384+885% |
| RT cores | — | 128 |
| Tensor / AI cores | — | 512 |
| Base clock | 1,050 MHz | 2,235 MHz+113% |
| Boost clock | 1,178 MHz | 2,520 MHz+114% |
Memory
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 4 GB | 24 GB+500% |
| VRAM type | GDDR5 | GDDR6X |
| Bus width | 256 bit | 384 bit+50% |
| Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 1,008 GB/s+350% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,625Bottom 7% | 36,000+893%Top 3% |
| 3DMark Speed Way | — | 10,100Top 4% |
| PassMark G3D | 9,635Bottom 13% | 38,500+300%Top 3% |
| 1080p Ultra | — | 225 fpsTop 4% |
| 1440p Ultra | — | 180 fpsTop 4% |
| 4K Ultra | — | 112 fpsTop 4% |
Features
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling | — | DLSS 4 (no MFG) |
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 4090vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080VSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 TiVSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SuperVSNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTXVS