NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 vs AMD Radeon HD 6970M

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 960282% better
10,767.510% of 104,598
Radeon HD 6970M
2,818.53% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 960 has 282% better performance than the Radeon HD 6970M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
Radeon HD 6970M
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.

Shop GeForce GTX 960
Shop Radeon HD 6970M
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Summary

#

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 HD 6970M GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 6970M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q1 2011. It is built on the TeraScale 2 GPU microarchitecture (codename Blackcomb) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.

Memory

The HD 6970M has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory, with a 900 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 115.2 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 HD 6970M includes 960 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 680 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 48 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 75 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The HD 6970M has the 310th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 2.69% 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 HD 6970M
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0TeraScale 2
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ1 2015Q1 2011
Launch Price (MSRP)$199--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

#

Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Display FPS for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3
Display FPS for Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V
Display FPS for BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite

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 Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider
GeForce GTX 960Radeon HD 6970M
Low - 768p
113 FPS
--
Medium - 768p
71 FPS
--
High - 1080p
44 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
36 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD
17 FPS
--
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 HD 6970M

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 HD 6970M

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 960282% better
10,767.510% of 104,598
Radeon HD 6970M
2,818.53% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 960 has 282% better performance than the Radeon HD 6970M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960 is ranked 172nd with a score of 10,767.5, and the Radeon HD 6970M is ranked 310th with a score of 2,818.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
Radeon HD 6970M
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%
GeForce MX1302,875-73%
Radeon 610M2,863-73%
Radeon HD 6970M2,818.5-74%
GeForce GT 755M2,800.5-74%
GeForce GTX 485M2,709-75%

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 HD 6970M
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 HD 6970M
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
49,917.5
--
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
7,915.5
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
9,875.5
(+223.36%)
3,054
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
120
--
PassMark G3D Mark
6,079
(+167.8%)
2,270
PassMark G2D Mark
682
(+4.76%)
651
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

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 HD 6970M
CodenameGM206Blackcomb
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0TeraScale 2
Process Size28 nm40 nm
Transistors2,940 million1,700 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 HD 6970M
Memory Size2 GB1,024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth112.2 Gb/s115.2 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz900 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit256 bit
L1 Cache48 KB8 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 HD 6970M
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16MXM-B (3.0)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)120 W75 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 HD 6970M
Stream Processors (SP)--960
CUDA Cores1,024--
Compute Units (CU)--12
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)6448
Render Output Units (ROP)3232
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz680 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,178 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 HD 6970M
Pixel Fill Rate37.7 GPixel/s21.76 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate75.39 GTexel/s32.64 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.41 TFLOPS1,306 GFLOPS
FP64 Performance75.39 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 HD 6970M
DirectX12 (12_1)11.2 (11_0)
OpenCL3.01.2
OpenGL4.64.4
Shader Model6.85.0

Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:

Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:

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