NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 970M
9,877.59% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q35% better
13,333.513% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q has 35% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 970M
No data available
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
No data available

We do not have any performance per dollar data for the GeForce GTX 970M and the GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q4 2014. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM204) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 970M has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,253 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 120.3 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 970M includes 1,280 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 924 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,038 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 80 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 81 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The GTX 970M has the 181st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 9.44% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q2 2017. It is built on the Pascal GPU microarchitecture (codename GP106) and is manufactured on a 16 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 1060 Max-Q has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 2,002 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 192.2 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 1060 Max-Q includes 1,280 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,063 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,480 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 80 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 80 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The GTX 1060 Max-Q has the 153rd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 12.75% 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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
ManufacturerNVIDIANVIDIA
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0Pascal
Market SegmentMobileMobile
Release DateQ4 2014Q2 2017
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 Rage 2
Rage 2
Display FPS for Anno 1800
Anno 1800
Display FPS for Tom Clancy's The Division 2
The Division 2
Display FPS for Dirt Rally 2.0
Dirt Rally 2.0
Display FPS for Anthem
Anthem
Display FPS for Far Cry New Dawn
Far Cry New Dawn
Display FPS for Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus

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 Rage 2
Rage 2
GeForce GTX 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
Low - 720p
67 FPS
--
Medium - 1080p
31 FPS
--
High - 1080p
27 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
26 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
17 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 970M orGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q

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 970M orGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

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Performance
GeForce GTX 970M
9,877.59% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q35% better
13,333.513% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q has 35% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 970M is ranked 181st with a score of 9,877.5, and the GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q is ranked 153rd with a score of 13,333.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 970M
No data available
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
No data available

We do not have any performance per dollar data for the GeForce GTX 970M and the GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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 970M or

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 970M orGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Our database does not have enough data to compare the benchmark performance per dollar with other GPUs.

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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
3,324
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
3,415
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
51,247
74,101
(+44.6%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
7,463
10,430
(+39.76%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
9,403
11,973
(+27.33%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
90.5
110.6
(+22.21%)
PassMark G3D Mark
5,724
7,913
(+38.24%)
PassMark G2D Mark
387
403
(+4.13%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
93
--
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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
CodenameGM204GP106
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0Pascal
Process Size28 nm16 nm
Transistors5,200 million4,400 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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
Memory Size6 GB6 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth120.3 Gb/s192.2 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,253 MHz2,002 MHz
Memory Interface192 bit192 bit
L1 Cache48 KB48 KB
L2 Cache1,536 KB1,536 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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
Bus InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)81 W80 W
OutputsDevice DependentDevice 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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
CUDA Cores1,2801,280
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--10
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)8080
Render Output Units (ROP)4848
Core Clock Speed924 MHz1,063 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,038 MHz1,480 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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
Pixel Fill Rate49.82 GPixel/s71.04 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate83.04 GTexel/s118.4 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.66 TFLOPS3.79 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance83.04 GFLOPS118.4 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 970MGeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_1)
OpenCL3.03.0
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.