NVIDIA · GeForce
GeForce GTX 970
A Maxwell graphics card with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory split into a faster 3.5 GB region and a slower 512 MB region.
- Memory
- 4 GB
- Shaders
- 1,664
- Boost clock
- 1,178 MHz
- Bandwidth
- –
- Power
- 145 W
What reviewers say
Launch reviews praise strong 1080p and 1440p performance and efficiency, while finding demanding 4K play needs compromises. TechSpot's 2019 retest highlights greater memory pressure and some weaker results against the Radeon R9 290. These reviews test partner boards, whose cooler behaviour varies.
From gamespot.com, expertreviews.co.uk and techspot.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Chip maker
- NVIDIA
- Architecture
- Maxwell
- Shader cores
- 1,664
- Boost clock
- 1,178 MHz
- 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.
- Ray tracing
- No dedicated RT Cores
- AI cores
- No Tensor Cores
- Upscaling and frame generation
- No NVIDIA DLSS
- Base clock
- 1050 MHz reference; MSI GTX 970 4GD5 lists 1051 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost.
Memory
- Video memory
- 4 GB GDDR5
- Memory bus
- 256-bit
- 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.
Connections and power
- Board power
- 145 W
- Interface
- PCIe 3.0
- 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.
- Maximum resolution
- 7680 × 4320 (MSI GTX 970 4GD5)
- Power connector
- 2 × 6-pin (reference)
- Recommended power supply
- 500 W
- 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.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 4 GB of total video memory
- SLI support
- 145 W reference board power
Cons
- Final 512 MB of memory has lower bandwidth
- No dedicated ray tracing or Tensor Cores
- No NVIDIA DLSS
Closest rivals
Model | Memory | Shaders | Boost clock | Bandwidth | Power | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 GB | 1,920 | 1,683 MHz | – | 150 W | Jun 2016 | |
| 6 GB or 3 GB | 1,280 or 1,152 | 1,708 MHz or – | 192 GB/s or – | 120 W or – | Jul 2016 | |
| 4 GB or 8 GB | 2,048 | 1,244 MHz | 224 GB/s or – | 150 W | Apr 2017 |
Newer model: GeForce GTX 1070.
Sources
- nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/900-series
- storage-asset.msi.com/datasheet/vga/global/GTX-970-4GD5.pdf
- evga.com/products/pdf/04G-P4-1970.pdf
- blogs.nvidia.com.tw/blog/gtx-970
- nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-unveils-full-power-of-maxwell-gpu-architectur…
Photo: storage-asset.msi.com