NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M vs Apple M1 8-Core GPU

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Combined performance score

Apple M1 8-Core GPU
14.03

GeForce GTX 970M outperforms Apple M1 8-Core GPU by 5% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking342327
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for moneyno data3.88
Architectureno dataMaxwell (2014−2018)
GPU code nameno dataGM204
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date10 November 2020 (3 years old)7 October 2014 (9 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$2,560.89
Current priceno data$848 (0.3x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores81280
CUDA coresno data1280
Core clock speed1278 MHz924 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1038 MHz
Number of transistorsno data5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology5 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no dataunknown
Texture fill rateno data83.04
Floating-point performanceno data2,657 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on Apple M1 8-Core GPU and GeForce GTX 970M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizeno datalarge
Bus supportno dataPCI Express 3.0
Interfaceno dataMXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectorsno dataNone
SLI optionsno data+

Memory

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 data6 GB
Memory bus widthno data192 Bit
Memory clock speedno data2500 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data120 GB/s
Shared memory+-

Video outputs and ports

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+
HDMIno data+
G-SYNC supportno data+

Technologies

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

GameStreamno data+
GeForce ShadowPlayno data+
GPU Boostno data2.0
GameWorksno data+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoderno data+
Optimusno data+
BatteryBoostno data+
Anselno data+

API support

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

DirectXno data12 (12_1)
Shader Modelno data6.4
OpenGLno data4.5
OpenCLno data1.1
Vulkanno data1.1.126
CUDAno data+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Apple M1 8-Core GPU 14.03
GTX 970M 14.79
+5.4%

GeForce GTX 970M outperforms Apple M1 8-Core GPU by 5% in our combined benchmark results.


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.

Benchmark coverage: 8%

Apple M1 8-Core GPU 280200
+2%
GTX 970M 274626

Apple M1 8-Core GPU outperforms GeForce GTX 970M by 2% in 3DMark Ice Storm GPU.

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:

900p120−130
−13.3%
136
+13.3%
Full HD28
−107%
58
+107%
1440p24−27
−12.5%
27
+12.5%
4K18−20
−16.7%
21
+16.7%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
−4.5%
21−24
+4.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
−44.8%
42
+44.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%
Battlefield 5 45−50
−37.5%
66
+37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
−5.6%
35−40
+5.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
−4.5%
21−24
+4.5%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−27.8%
46
+27.8%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
−7.9%
41
+7.9%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
−24.5%
61
+24.5%
Hitman 3 35−40
−7.9%
40−45
+7.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
−6.9%
30−35
+6.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27
−48.1%
40
+48.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
−24.1%
36
+24.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%
Battlefield 5 45−50
−12.5%
54
+12.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
−5.6%
35−40
+5.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
−4.5%
21−24
+4.5%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−19.4%
43
+19.4%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+0%
38
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
−8.2%
53
+8.2%
Hitman 3 35−40
−7.9%
40−45
+7.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
−6.9%
30−35
+6.9%
Metro Exodus 21−24
−9.1%
24
+9.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 32
−6.3%
34
+6.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30
−55.2%
45
+55.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
+38.1%
21
−38.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%
Battlefield 5 45−50
−2.1%
49
+2.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
−4.5%
21−24
+4.5%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−8.3%
39
+8.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+8.6%
35
−8.6%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+36.1%
36
−36.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30
+11.5%
26
−11.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 20−22
−10%
21−24
+10%
Hitman 3 21−24
−4.5%
21−24
+4.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Metro Exodus 12−14
−16.7%
14
+16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
−10%
10−12
+10%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 18−20
−11.1%
20
+11.1%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
−21.4%
17
+21.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
−9.1%
12−14
+9.1%
Battlefield 5 27−30
−13.8%
33
+13.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Far Cry 5 21−24
−17.4%
27
+17.4%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
+0%
25
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+17.4%
23
−17.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−7.1%
14−16
+7.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Hitman 3 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+0%
7
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 8−9
−12.5%
9
+12.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
−23.1%
16
+23.1%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Battlefield 5 14−16
−7.1%
15
+7.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−12
−18.2%
13
+18.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+16.7%
12
−16.7%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+217%
6
−217%
Watch Dogs: Legion 5−6
−20%
6−7
+20%

This is how Apple M1 8-Core GPU and GTX 970M compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • GTX 970M is 13.3% faster than Apple M1 8-Core GPU

1080p resolution:

  • GTX 970M is 107% faster than Apple M1 8-Core GPU

1440p resolution:

  • GTX 970M is 12.5% faster than Apple M1 8-Core GPU

4K resolution:

  • GTX 970M is 16.7% faster than Apple M1 8-Core GPU

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

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the Apple M1 8-Core GPU is 217% faster than the GTX 970M.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 970M is 55.2% faster than the Apple M1 8-Core GPU.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Apple M1 8-Core GPU is ahead in 7 tests (10%)
  • GTX 970M is ahead in 53 tests (78%)
  • there's a draw in 8 tests (12%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 14.03 14.79
Recency 10 November 2020 7 October 2014
Chip lithography 5 nm 28 nm

We couldn't decide between Apple M1 8-Core GPU and GeForce GTX 970M. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

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 970M
GeForce GTX 970M

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User ratings: view and submit

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Questions and comments

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