GeForce GTX 960M vs Apple M1 8-Core GPU

M1 7-Core GPU M1 8-Core GPU M1 GPU M1 Max 24-Core GPU M1 Max 32-Core GPU M1 Pro 14-Core GPU M1 Pro 16-Core GPU
VS
940MX 945M GTX 850A GTX 850M GTX 860M GTX 860M OEM GTX 950A GTX 950M GTX 950M Mac Edition GTX 960A GTX 960M

Aggregate performance score

We've compared M1 8-Core GPU and GeForce GTX 960M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

Apple M1 8-Core GPU
2020
13.70
+56.9%

Apple M1 8-Core GPU outperforms GTX 960M by an impressive 57% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

Apple M1 8-Core GPU M1 8-Core GPU
GTX 960M GTX 960M

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking386500
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiencyno data7.99
Architectureno dataMaxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code nameno dataGM107
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date10 November 2020 (4 years ago)13 March 2015 (9 years ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores8640
Core clock speed1278 MHz1096 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1176 MHz
Number of transistorsno data1,870 million
Manufacturing process technology5 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data75 Watt
Texture fill rateno data47.04
Floating-point processing powerno data1.505 TFLOPS
ROPsno data16
TMUsno data40

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).

Laptop sizeno datamedium sized
Bus supportno dataPCI Express 3.0
Interfaceno dataMXM-B (3.0)
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 typeno dataGDDR5
Maximum RAM amountno data4 GB
Memory bus widthno data128 Bit
Memory clock speedno data2500 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data80 GB/s
Shared memory+-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectorsno dataNo outputs
VGA аnalog display supportno data+
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) supportno data+
HDMI-+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream-+
GeForce ShadowPlay-+
GPU Boostno data2.0
GameWorks-+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder-+
Optimus-+
BatteryBoost-+
Ansel-+

API and SDK compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectXno data12 (11_0)
Shader Modelno data5.1
OpenGLno data4.5
OpenCLno data1.2
Vulkan-1.1.126
CUDA-+

Synthetic benchmark performance

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.

Apple M1 8-Core GPU 13.70
+56.9%
GTX 960M 8.73

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

Apple M1 8-Core GPU 280200
+23.8%
GTX 960M 226308

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:

900p140−150
+47.4%
95
−47.4%
Full HD28
−25%
35
+25%
1440p21−24
+40%
15
−40%
4K21−24
+50%
14
−50%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 30−35
+65%
20−22
−65%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+43.8%
16−18
−43.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 30−35
+65%
20−22
−65%
Battlefield 5 55−60
+47.4%
38
−47.4%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+43.8%
16−18
−43.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+57.1%
28
−57.1%
Fortnite 70−75
−33.8%
99
+33.8%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
+54.3%
35
−54.3%
Forza Horizon 5 30−35
+70%
20−22
−70%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
+34.3%
35
−34.3%
Valorant 110−120
+33.7%
80−85
−33.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 30−35
+65%
20−22
−65%
Battlefield 5 55−60
+80.6%
31
−80.6%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+43.8%
16−18
−43.8%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 180−190
+40.6%
120−130
−40.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%
Dota 2 85−90
+39.3%
60−65
−39.3%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+76%
25
−76%
Fortnite 70−75
+85%
40
−85%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
+74.2%
31
−74.2%
Forza Horizon 5 30−35
+70%
20−22
−70%
Grand Theft Auto V 45−50
+58.1%
31
−58.1%
Metro Exodus 24−27
+117%
12
−117%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
+62.1%
29
−62.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+41.7%
24
−41.7%
Valorant 110−120
+33.7%
80−85
−33.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 55−60
+115%
26
−115%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+43.8%
16−18
−43.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%
Dota 2 85−90
+39.3%
60−65
−39.3%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+91.3%
23
−91.3%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
+116%
25
−116%
Forza Horizon 5 30−35
+70%
20−22
−70%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
+161%
18
−161%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+143%
14
−143%
Valorant 110−120
+33.7%
80−85
−33.7%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 70−75
+139%
31
−139%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 95−100
+54%
60−65
−54%
Grand Theft Auto V 20−22
+81.8%
10−12
−81.8%
Metro Exodus 14−16
+87.5%
8−9
−87.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−110
+153%
40−45
−153%
Valorant 130−140
+47.3%
90−95
−47.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+106%
17
−106%
Counter-Strike 2 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+86.7%
15
−86.7%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+72.2%
18
−72.2%
Forza Horizon 5 21−24
+64.3%
14−16
−64.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20−22
+53.8%
12−14
−53.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 27−30
+55.6%
18
−55.6%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Counter-Strike 2 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
+20%
20
−20%
Metro Exodus 9−10
+200%
3−4
−200%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+70%
10
−70%
Valorant 65−70
+64.3%
40−45
−64.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+500%
3
−500%
Counter-Strike 2 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
Dota 2 45−50
+53.3%
30−33
−53.3%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+85.7%
7
−85.7%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+69.2%
12−14
−69.2%
Forza Horizon 5 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 12−14
+140%
5
−140%

This is how Apple M1 8-Core GPU and GTX 960M compete in popular games:

  • Apple M1 8-Core GPU is 47% faster in 900p
  • GTX 960M is 25% faster in 1080p
  • Apple M1 8-Core GPU is 40% faster in 1440p
  • Apple M1 8-Core GPU is 50% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Battlefield 5, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the Apple M1 8-Core GPU is 500% faster.
  • in Fortnite, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 960M is 34% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Apple M1 8-Core GPU is ahead in 66 tests (99%)
  • GTX 960M is ahead in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 13.70 8.73
Recency 10 November 2020 13 March 2015
Chip lithography 5 nm 28 nm

Apple M1 8-Core GPU has a 56.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, and a 460% more advanced lithography process.

The M1 8-Core GPU is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 960M in performance tests.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.

Apple M1 8-Core GPU
M1 8-Core GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
GeForce GTX 960M
Like
Like

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Apple M1 8-Core GPU M1 8 Core GPU
vs
RX Vega M GL / 870 Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870
GTX 960M GeForce GTX 960M
vs
GT 755M SLI GeForce GT 755M SLI
Apple M1 8-Core GPU M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 965M GTX 965M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 870M GTX 870M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
R9 M290X R9 M290X
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 775M GTX 775M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
R9 M390 R9 M390
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
M2000M Quadro M2000M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 770M GTX 770M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 860M GTX 860M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 950M GTX 950M
Apple M1 8-Core GPU Apple M1 8 Core GPU
vs
GTX 850M GTX 850M

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.

4 928 votes

Rate M1 8-Core GPU on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.7 1101 vote

Rate GeForce GTX 960M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can give us your opinion about M1 8-Core GPU or GeForce GTX 960M, agree or disagree with our ratings, or report errors or inaccuracies on the site.