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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
32.6Inno Score
VS
WINNER
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
66.9Inno Score
22.5Rasterization67.6
20Ray Tracing62.7
32.4Memoryspec-based64.6
76.3Efficiencyspec-based66.4
29.8Compute74.1
1 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9709 spec wins — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

InnoReviews verdict

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 wins this graphics card face-off, 66.9 to 32.6, pulling ahead mainly in rasterization (+45) and compute (+44). 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

  • 60% lower TDP: 145 W vs 360 W
  • Lower launch price: $329 vs $999

Reasons to pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

  • Stronger rasterization score: 68 vs 23
  • Stronger Ray Tracing score: 63 vs 20
  • Stronger compute score: 74 vs 30
  • 783% higher 3DMark Time Spy: 32,000 vs 3,625
  • 546% higher Shading units: 10,752 vs 1,664

General

General comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 versus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
Announced20142025+1%
ArchitectureMaxwellBlackwell
Process28 nm5 nm+82%
TDP145 W+60%360 W
Power connector2x 6-pin1x 16-pin

Cores & Clocks

Cores & Clocks comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 versus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
Shading units1,66410,752+546%
RT cores—84
Tensor / AI cores—336
Base clock1,050 MHz2,295 MHz+119%
Boost clock1,178 MHz2,617 MHz+122%

Memory

Memory comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 versus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
VRAM4 GB16 GB+300%
VRAM typeGDDR5GDDR7
Bus width256 bit256 bit
Bandwidth224 GB/s960 GB/s+329%

Benchmarks

Benchmarks comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 versus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
3DMark Time Spy3,625Bottom 7%32,000+783%Top 4%
3DMark Speed Way—9,000Top 6%
PassMark G3D9,635Bottom 13%32,000+232%Top 4%
1080p Ultra—212 fpsTop 6%
1440p Ultra—166 fpsTop 6%
4K Ultra—100 fpsTop 6%

Features

Features comparison: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 versus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
SpecNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
Upscaling—DLSS 4

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