NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 970
16,03315% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6600 XT144% better
39,05137% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6600 XT has 144% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 970
48.7330% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6600 XT111% better
103.0464% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6600 XT has 111% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce GTX 970
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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q3 2014 with a MSRP of $329. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM204) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 970 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 224.4 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 970 includes 1,664 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,050 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,178 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 104 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 56 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 970 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 148 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 970 has the 138th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 15.33% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 16,033 score and $329 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 48.73. This is the 66th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q3 2021 with a MSRP of $379. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 23) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6600 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,000 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 256 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 RX 6600 XT includes 2,048 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,968 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,589 MHz. It usually operates at 2,359 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 64 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 32 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6600 XT occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 160 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6600 XT has the 41st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 37.33% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 39,051 score and $379 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 103.04. This is the 14th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

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

InfoGeForce GTX 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2014Q3 2021
Launch Price (MSRP)$329$379
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
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Black Myth: Wukong
Display FPS for The Finals
The Finals
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 Riders Republic
Riders Republic
Display FPS for Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6

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 Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
GeForce GTX 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
Low - 1080p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
41 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
33 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
23 FPS
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 970 orRadeon RX 6600 XT
GPUFrames Per Second
Our database does not have enough FPS data to compare with other GPUs.

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 970 orRadeon RX 6600 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 970
16,03315% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6600 XT144% better
39,05137% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6600 XT has 144% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 970 is ranked 138th with a score of 16,033, and the Radeon RX 6600 XT is ranked 41st with a score of 39,051.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 970
48.7330% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6600 XT111% better
103.0464% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6600 XT has 111% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 970 is ranked 66th with a performance per dollar of 48.73, and the Radeon RX 6600 XT is ranked 14th with a performance per dollar of 103.04.

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 970 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER40,963+155%
GeForce RTX 208040,278+151%
Radeon RX 6600 XT39,051+144%
GeForce RTX 406038,191+138%
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti37,941+137%
Radeon R9 Nano17,282+8%
Radeon R9 290X16,167.5+1%
GeForce GTX 97016,033
GeForce GTX 780 Ti15,619-3%
GeForce GTX 165013,645-15%

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 970 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (8 GB)119.81+146%
Radeon RX 5600 XT112.22+130%
Radeon RX 6600 XT103.04+111%
GeForce RTX 4070100.12+105%
Radeon RX 660096.58+98%
GeForce GTX 96054.11+11%
GeForce GTX 95052.52+8%
GeForce GTX 97048.73
Radeon R9 390X41.83-14%
Radeon R9 280X36.09-26%

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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
3,544
9,565
(+169.89%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
3,693
9,971
(+170%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
72,819
156,297
(+114.64%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
11,954
28,342
(+137.09%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
13,249
31,304
(+136.27%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
141.6
308
(+117.51%)
PassMark G3D Mark
9,638
16,509
(+71.29%)
PassMark G2D Mark
767
913
(+19.04%)
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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
CodenameGM204Navi 23
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Process Size28 nm7 nm
Transistors5,200 million11,060 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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
Memory Size4 GB8 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth224.4 Gb/s256 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz2,000 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit128 bit
L1 Cache48 KB128 KB
L2 Cache2 MB2 MB

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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x8
Thermal Design Power (TDP)148 W160 W
Suggested PSU300 W450 W
Power Connectors2x 6-pin1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a

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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--2,048
CUDA Cores1,664--
Compute Units (CU)--32
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)104128
Render Output Units (ROP)5664
Ray Accelerators--32
Core Clock Speed1,050 MHz1,968 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,178 MHz2,589 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,359 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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
Pixel Fill Rate65.97 GPixel/s165.7 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate122.5 GTexel/s331.4 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance3.92 TFLOPS10.6 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance122.5 GFLOPS662.8 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 970Radeon RX 6600 XT
DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.8

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