NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 970
16,03315% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6900 XT269% better
59,11957% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6900 XT has 269% 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 6900 XT21% better
59.1837% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6900 XT has 21% 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 6900 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q4 2020 with a MSRP of $999. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 21) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6900 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,000 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 512 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 6900 XT includes 5,120 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,825 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,250 MHz. It usually operates at 2,015 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 320 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 128 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 80 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6900 XT is a large graphics card, occupying 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a, USB Type-C display connections. With a thermal design power (TDP) of 300 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 700 W and a case with sufficient space to accommodate the card. Compare your card's model and your case's dimensions to verify compatibility.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6900 XT has the 18th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 56.52% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 59,119 score and $999 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 59.18. This is the 55th 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 6900 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2014Q4 2020
Launch Price (MSRP)$329$999
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Hitman 3
Hitman 3
Display FPS for Cyberpunk 2077 (1.0)
Cyberpunk 2077 (1.0)
Display FPS for Immortals Fenyx Rising
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Display FPS for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Display FPS for Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Display FPS for Watch Dogs: Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion
Display FPS for Mafia: Definitive Edition
Mafia: Definitive Edition

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 Hitman 3
Hitman 3
GeForce GTX 970Radeon RX 6900 XT
Low - 720p
--
353 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
283 FPS
High - 1080p
--
280 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
273 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
213 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
128 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 970 orRadeon RX 6900 XT

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 6900 XT

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 970
16,03315% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6900 XT269% better
59,11957% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6900 XT has 269% 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 6900 XT is ranked 18th with a score of 59,119.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 970
48.7330% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6900 XT21% better
59.1837% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6900 XT has 21% 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 6900 XT is ranked 55th with a performance per dollar of 59.18.

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 3080 Ti60,980+280%
GeForce RTX 407059,969+274%
Radeon RX 6900 XT59,119+269%
Radeon RX 7700 XT57,340+258%
GeForce RTX 3080 (12 GB)56,634+253%
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
Radeon RX 6950 XT65.72+35%
GeForce RTX 409065.41+34%
Radeon RX 6900 XT59.18+21%
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER58.6+20%
GeForce RTX 208057.62+18%
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 6900 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
3,544
18,210
(+413.83%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
3,693
17,549
(+375.2%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
72,819
--
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
11,954
50,587
(+323.18%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
160,895
3DMark 11 Performance Score
13,249
42,418
(+220.16%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
141.6
--
PassMark G3D Mark
9,638
26,809
(+178.16%)
PassMark G2D Mark
767
1,058
(+37.94%)
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 6900 XT
CodenameGM204Navi 21
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Process Size28 nm7 nm
Transistors5,200 million26,800 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 6900 XT
Memory Size4 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth224.4 Gb/s512 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz2,000 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit256 bit
L1 Cache48 KB128 KB
L2 Cache2 MB4 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 6900 XT
Slots2 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)148 W300 W
Suggested PSU300 W700 W
Power Connectors2x 6-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a, USB Type-C

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 6900 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--5,120
CUDA Cores1,664--
Compute Units (CU)--80
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)104320
Render Output Units (ROP)56128
Ray Accelerators--80
Core Clock Speed1,050 MHz1,825 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,178 MHz2,250 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,015 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 6900 XT
Pixel Fill Rate65.97 GPixel/s288 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate122.5 GTexel/s720 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance3.92 TFLOPS23.04 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance122.5 GFLOPS1,440 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 6900 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.