Radeon RX 9050 vs GeForce GTX 970
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon RX 9050, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
RX 9050 outperforms GTX 970 by a significant 23% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 280 | 237 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 11.98 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 12.11 | 23.95 |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019) | RDNA 4.0 (2025−2026) |
| GPU code name | GM204 | Navi 44 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 19 September 2014 (12 years ago) | 28 July 2026 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $329 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 1664 | 1024 |
| Core clock speed | 1050 MHz | 1330 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1178 MHz | 2600 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 5,200 million | 29,700 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 4 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 148 Watt | 92 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 98 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 122.5 | 166.4 |
| Floating-point processing power | 3.92 TFLOPS | no data |
| ROPs | 56 | 64 |
| TMUs | 104 | 64 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 16 |
| L0 Cache | no data | 256 KB |
| L1 Cache | 624 KB | no data |
| L2 Cache | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| L3 Cache | no data | 32 MB |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Bus support | PCI Express 3.0 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |
| Length | 267 mm | no data |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Recommended system power (PSU) | 500 Watt | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| SLI options | + | - |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 7.0 GB/s | 2250 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
| Resizable BAR | - | + |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a |
| Multi monitor support | 4 displays | no data |
| HDMI | + | + |
| HDCP | + | - |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| G-SYNC support | + | - |
| Audio input for HDMI | Internal | no data |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| GameStream | + | - |
| GeForce ShadowPlay | + | - |
| GPU Boost | 2.0 | no data |
| GameWorks | + | - |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 6.9 |
| OpenGL | 4.4 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.1.126 | 1.4 |
| CUDA | + | - |
Synthetic benchmarks
Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark score.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| Full HD | 81 | 95−100
+17.3%
|
| 1440p | 54 | 65−70
+20.4%
|
| 4K | 39 | 45−50
+15.4%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 4.06 | no data |
| 1440p | 6.09 | no data |
| 4K | 8.44 | no data |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Counter-Strike 2 | 130−140 | 160−170
+21.2%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 50−55 | 60−65
+17.6%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 45−50 | 55−60
+14.6%
|
| Resident Evil 4 Remake | 55−60 | 65−70
+18.2%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Battlefield 5 | 90−95 | 110−120
+17%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 130−140 | 160−170
+21.2%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 50−55 | 60−65
+17.6%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 75−80 | 90−95
+16.9%
|
| Fortnite | 110−120 | 140−150
+19.7%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 90−95 | 110−120
+17%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 45−50 | 55−60
+14.6%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 90−95 | 110−120
+19.6%
|
| Valorant | 160−170 | 200−210
+22.7%
|
Full HD
High
| Battlefield 5 | 90−95 | 110−120
+17%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 130−140 | 160−170
+21.2%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 250−260 | 300−310
+17.6%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 50−55 | 60−65
+17.6%
|
| Dota 2 | 120−130 | 140−150
+15.7%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 75−80 | 90−95
+16.9%
|
| Fortnite | 82 | 100−105
+22%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 90−95 | 110−120
+17%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 71 | 85−90
+19.7%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 45−50 | 55−60
+14.6%
|
| Metro Exodus | 39 | 45−50
+15.4%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 90−95 | 110−120
+19.6%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 81 | 95−100
+17.3%
|
| Valorant | 160−170 | 200−210
+22.7%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 48 | 55−60
+14.6%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 50−55 | 60−65
+17.6%
|
| Dota 2 | 120−130 | 140−150
+15.7%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 75−80 | 90−95
+16.9%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 90−95 | 110−120
+17%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 45−50 | 55−60
+14.6%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 52 | 60−65
+15.4%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 43 | 50−55
+16.3%
|
| Valorant | 160−170 | 200−210
+22.7%
|
Full HD
Epic
| Fortnite | 60 | 70−75
+16.7%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 50−55 | 60−65
+20%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 160−170 | 200−210
+19.8%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 40−45 | 50−55
+16.3%
|
| Metro Exodus | 24 | 27−30
+12.5%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 170−180 | 210−220
+20%
|
| Valorant | 190−200 | 230−240
+21.1%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 65−70 | 80−85
+21.2%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 21−24 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 50−55 | 65−70
+20.4%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 60−65 | 70−75
+16.7%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 24−27 | 30−33
+15.4%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 35−40 | 45−50
+21.6%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 55−60 | 70−75
+22.8%
|
4K
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 21−24 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 46 | 55−60
+19.6%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 14−16 | 18−20
+20%
|
| Metro Exodus | 13 | 14−16
+7.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 29 | 35−40
+20.7%
|
| Valorant | 130−140 | 150−160
+15.4%
|
4K
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 20 | 24−27
+20%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 21−24 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 10−11 | 12−14
+20%
|
| Dota 2 | 75−80 | 95−100
+21.8%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30 | 30−33
+11.1%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45 | 50−55
+22%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 14−16 | 18−20
+20%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 18 | 21−24
+16.7%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 22 | 27−30
+22.7%
|
This is how GTX 970 and RX 9050 compete in popular games:
- RX 9050 is 17% faster in 1080p
- RX 9050 is 20% faster in 1440p
- RX 9050 is 15% faster in 4K
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 22.98 | 28.25 |
| Recency | 19 September 2014 | 28 July 2026 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 4 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 148 Watt | 92 Watt |
RX 9050 has a 23% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 86% more advanced lithography process, and 38% lower power consumption.
The Radeon RX 9050 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 970 in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
