NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

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GeForce GTX 970 compared with GeForce GTX 980 Ti

	NVIDIAGeForce GTX 970	NVIDIAGeForce GTX 980 Ti
Overview
Released
Released	September 2014	June 2015
Performance
Chip maker
Chip maker	NVIDIA	NVIDIA
Architecture
Architecture	Maxwell	Maxwell
Shader cores
Shader cores	1,664	2,816
Boost clock
Boost clock	1,178 MHz (better)	1,075 MHz
Architecture
Architecture	Main figures follow NVIDIA's retained 900-series table. The photo shows MSI's GTX 970 4GD5 partner board. NVIDIA's September 18 launch release says the cards are now available; later coverage commonly dates launch September 19.	Reference main figures follow NVIDIA's retained 900-series table. Photo shows MSI's reference-style GTX 980 Ti 6GD5. The first-sale date comes from TweakTown's contemporary coverage, which explicitly states announced and released June 1; the original maker launch page is retired.
Ray tracing
Ray tracing	No dedicated RT Cores	No dedicated RT Cores
AI cores
AI cores	No Tensor Cores	No Tensor Cores
Upscaling and frame generation
Upscaling and frame generation	No NVIDIA DLSS	No NVIDIA DLSS
Base clock
Base clock	1050 MHz reference; MSI GTX 970 4GD5 lists 1051 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost.	1000 MHz; NVIDIA lists 1075 MHz boost, while MSI's GTX 980 Ti 6GD5 datasheet lists 1076 MHz.
Memory
Video memory
Video memory	4 GB GDDR5	6 GB GDDR5 (better)
Memory bus
Memory bus	256-bit	384-bit (better)
Memory detail
Memory detail	7 Gbps GDDR5. NVIDIA confirms 4 GB is usable, divided into a primary 3.5 GB segment and a slower 512 MB segment. EVGA's stock 04G-P4-1970 datasheet lists 7010 MHz effective and 224.3 GB/s; that board figure is not used as a universal main bandwidth value.	7 Gbps GDDR5; MSI lists 7010 MHz effective memory speed. Numerical bandwidth omitted because the maker sources used do not publish it.
Connections and power
Board power
Board power	145 W (better)	250 W
Interface
Interface	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Display outputs
Display outputs	MSI GTX 970 4GD5 has 3 × DisplayPort 1.2, 1 × HDMI 1.4a/2.0 and 1 × dual-link DVI-I; up to 4 displays.	3 × DisplayPort 1.2, 1 × HDMI and 1 × dual-link DVI-I (MSI GTX 980 Ti 6GD5); MSI's datasheet does not state the HDMI version.
Maximum resolution
Maximum resolution	7680 × 4320 (MSI GTX 970 4GD5)	–
Power connector
Power connector	2 × 6-pin (reference)	1 × 6-pin and 1 × 8-pin
Recommended power supply
Recommended power supply	500 W	600 W
Size (reference card)
Size (reference card)	269 × 111 × 38 mm and 890 g (pictured MSI GTX 970 4GD5); EVGA stock 04G-P4-1970 is 241.3 × 111.15 mm, dual-slot.	275 × 110 × 37 mm and 920 g (MSI GTX 980 Ti 6GD5)