NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 vs AMD Radeon 540X

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 960163% better
10,767.510% of 104,598
Radeon 540X
4,0974% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 960 has 163% better performance than the Radeon 540X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
Radeon 540X
No data available

The GeForce GTX 960 has 34% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.

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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2015 with a MSRP of $199. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM206) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 960 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 112.2 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GTX 960 includes 1,024 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,127 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,178 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 960 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 120 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 960 has the 172nd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.29% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,767.5 score and $199 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 54.11. This is the 61st best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon 540X GPU

The AMD Radeon 540X is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q3 2018. It is built on the GCN 4.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Lexa) and is manufactured on a 14 nm process.

Memory

The 540X has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 64 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The 540X includes 512 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 980 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,046 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 32 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The 540X occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 50 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The 540X has the 273rd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 3.92% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 4.0
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ1 2015Q3 2018
Launch Price (MSRP)$199--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest
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Counter-Strike 2
Display FPS for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Display FPS for Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3
Display FPS for F1 23
F1 23
Display FPS for Riders Republic
Riders Republic
Display FPS for Diablo 4
Diablo 4

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest
GeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
Low - 1080p
--
13 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
--
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 orRadeon 540X
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile35.8+186%
GeForce MX35026.2+110%
Radeon 660M24.7+98%
GeForce MX25020+60%
Radeon 540X12.5
Radeon RX 550 Mobile12.1-3%
GeForce MX1307.88-37%

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 orRadeon 540X
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 960163% better
10,767.510% of 104,598
Radeon 540X
4,0974% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 960 has 163% better performance than the Radeon 540X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960 is ranked 172nd with a score of 10,767.5, and the Radeon 540X is ranked 273rd with a score of 4,097.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
Radeon 540X
No data available

The GeForce GTX 960 has 83% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

GeForce GTX 960's 54.11 performance per dollar ranks it 61st among the other benchmarked GPUs in our database.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792+0%
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti9,453-12%
FirePro W5170M4,197-61%
Quadro P5204,185.5-61%
Radeon 540X4,097-62%
GeForce GTX 765M4,019-63%
GeForce GTX 675MX3,978.5-63%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 orRadeon 540X
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti68.01+26%
Radeon R9 38061.26+13%
GeForce GT 103059.84+11%
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)58.2+8%
Radeon R7 37057.17+6%
GeForce GTX 96054.11
GeForce GTX 95052.52-3%
GeForce GTX 97048.73-10%
Radeon R9 390X41.83-23%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti36.09-33%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
797
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
933.5
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
49,917.5
(+229.12%)
15,167
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
7,915.5
(+184.83%)
2,779
3DMark 11 Performance Score
9,875.5
(+135.19%)
4,199
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
120
(+80.72%)
66.4
PassMark G3D Mark
6,079
(+323.92%)
1,434
PassMark G2D Mark
682
(+141.84%)
282
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
--
30.1
Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL
--
24.8
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
CodenameGM206Lexa
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0GCN 4.0
Process Size28 nm14 nm
Transistors2,940 million2,200 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
Memory Size2 GB2 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth112.2 Gb/s48 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz1,500 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit64 bit
L1 Cache48 KB16 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB512 KB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x8
Thermal Design Power (TDP)120 W50 W
Suggested PSU300 W--
Power Connectors1x 6-pin--
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2Device Dependent

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
Stream Processors (SP)--512
CUDA Cores1,024--
Compute Units (CU)--8
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)6432
Render Output Units (ROP)3216
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz980 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,178 MHz1,046 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
Pixel Fill Rate37.7 GPixel/s16.74 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate75.39 GTexel/s33.47 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.41 TFLOPS1,071 GFLOPS
FP64 Performance75.39 GFLOPS66.94 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon 540X
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_0)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.7

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.