Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 vs Nvidia GeForce GTX 980: What is the difference? (2024)

Why is Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 better than Nvidia GeForce GTX 980?

• 17W lower TDP?
  148Wvs165W
• 18 °C lower load GPU temperature?
  63 °Cvs81 °C
• 4 °C lower idle GPU temperature?
  28 °Cvs32 °C

Why is Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 better than Nvidia GeForce GTX 970?

• 76 MHz faster GPU clock speed?
  1126 MHzvs1050 MHz
• 1.2 TFLOPS higher floating-point performance?
  4.6 TFLOPSvs3.4 TFLOPS
• 4.8 GPixel/s higher pixel rate?
  72.1 GPixel/svs67.3 GPixel/s
• 35 GTexels/s higher texture rate?
  144 GTexels/svs109 GTexels/s
• 384 more shading units?
  2048vs1664
• 24 more texture mapping units (TMUs)?
  128vs104

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970

Nvidia GeForce GTX 980

The clock speed of the graphics processing unit (GPU).

When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.

The number of pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.

Floating-point performance is a measurement of the raw processing power of the GPU.

The number of textured pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.

The memory clock speed is one aspect that determines the memory bandwidth.

Shading units (or stream processors) are small processors within the graphics card that are responsible for processing different aspects of the image.

TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene. More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.

The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.

The effective memory clock speed is calculated from the size and data rate of the memory. Higher clock speeds can give increased performance in games and other apps.

This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.

VRAM (video RAM) is the dedicated memory of a graphics card. More VRAM generally allows you to run games at higher settings, especially for things like texture resolution.

Newer versions of GDDR memory offer improvements such as higher transfer rates that give increased performance.

A wider bus width means that it can carry more data per cycle. It is an important factor of memory performance, and therefore the general performance of the graphics card.

Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.

DirectX is used in video games, with newer versions supporting better graphics and features. The latest version is DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes support for ray tracing, mesh shaders, and variable rate shading (VRS).

OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.

Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing. Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.

The graphics card supports multi-display technology. This allows you to configure multiple monitors in order to create a more immersive gaming experience, such as having a wider field of view.

A lower load temperature means that the card produces less heat and its cooling system performs better.

Ray tracing is an advanced light rendering technique that provides more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in games.

Allows you to view in 3D (if you have a 3D display and glasses).

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an upscaling technology powered by AI. It allows the graphics card to render games at a lower resolution and upscale them to a higher resolution with near-native visual quality and increased performance. DLSS is only available on select games.

AMD's Smart Access Memory (SAM) and Intel's Resizable BAR are two technologies that allow the CPU to have faster access to the graphics card, which can give a performance boost. It requires a compatible motherboard, graphics card, and CPU.

You can output high definition video and audio to a display. This could be through an HDMI port, Mini HDMI port, or a USB-C port that supports HDMI.

More HDMI ports mean that you can simultaneously connect numerous devices, such as video game consoles and set-top boxes.

Newer versions of HDMI support higher bandwidth, which allows for higher resolutions and frame rates.

Allows you to connect to a display using DisplayPort.

With more USB-C ports, you are able to connect more devices/peripherals.

Allows you to connect to a display using DVI.

Allows you to connect to a display using mini-DisplayPort.

The name of the GPU architecture.

The thermal design power (TDP) is the maximum amount of power the cooling system needs to dissipate. A lower TDP typically means that it consumes less power.

A higher transistor count generally indicates a newer, more powerful processor.

Small semiconductors provide better performance and reduced power consumption. Chipsets with a higher number of transistors, semiconductor components of electronic devices, offer more computational power. A small form factor allows more transistors to fit on a chip, therefore increasing its performance.

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is a high-speed interface standard for connecting components, such as graphics cards and SSDs, to a motherboard. Newer versions can support more bandwidth and deliver better performance.

When covered under the manufacturer’s warranty it is possible to get a replacement in the case of a malfunction. Note: This may vary by region.

The graphics card uses a combination of water and air to reduce the temperature of the card. This allows it to be overclocked more, increasing performance.

The width represents the horizontal dimension of the product.

The height represents the vertical dimension of the product.

DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.