GeForce GTX 970M vs GTX 690

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 690 with GeForce GTX 970M, including specs and performance data.

GTX 690
2012
4 GB (4 GB per GPU) GDDR5 GDDR5, 300 Watt
14.28

GTX 970M outperforms GTX 690 by a minimal 4% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking376365
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.48no data
Power efficiency3.2612.55
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code nameGK104GM204
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date3 May 2012 (12 years ago)7 October 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$999 $2,560.89

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

GTX 690 and GTX 970M have a nearly equal value for money.

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 cores3072 ×21280
Core clock speed915 MHz924 MHz
Boost clock speed1019 MHz1038 MHz
Number of transistors3,540 million5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)300 Wattunknown
Texture fill rate130.4 ×283.04
Floating-point processing power3.13 TFLOPS ×22.657 TFLOPS
ROPs32 ×248
TMUs128 ×280

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 datalarge
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0PCI Express 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16MXM-B (3.0)
Length279 mmno data
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors2x 8-pinNone
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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB (4 GB per GPU) GDDR5 ×23 GB
Memory bus width512-bit (256-bit per GPU) ×2192 Bit
Memory clock speed1502 MHz2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth384 GB/s ×2120 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 ConnectorsTwo Dual Link DVI-I. One Dual link DVI-D. One Mini-Displayport 1.2No outputs
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
VGA аnalog display supportno data+
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) supportno data+
HDMIYes (via dongle)+
HDCP+-
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
G-SYNC support-+
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

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

3D Blu-Ray+-
3D Gaming+-
GameStream-+
GeForce ShadowPlay-+
GPU Boostno data2.0
GameWorks-+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder-+
Optimus-+
3D Vision Live+-
BatteryBoost-+
Anselno data+

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_0)12 (12_1)
Shader Model5.16.4
OpenGL4.24.5
OpenCL1.21.1
Vulkan1.1.1261.1.126
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.

GTX 690 14.28
GTX 970M 14.83
+3.9%

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.

GTX 690 5490
GTX 970M 5699
+3.8%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 690 13160
+76.3%
GTX 970M 7463

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GTX 690 18201
GTX 970M 19029
+4.5%

GeekBench 5 Vulkan

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses Vulkan API by AMD & Khronos Group.

GTX 690 14979
GTX 970M 18516
+23.6%

GeekBench 5 CUDA

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses CUDA API by NVIDIA.

GTX 690 12263
GTX 970M 17191
+40.2%

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:

900p130−140
−4.6%
136
+4.6%
Full HD55−60
−5.5%
58
+5.5%
1440p24−27
−12.5%
27
+12.5%
4K18−21
−16.7%
21
+16.7%

Cost per frame, $

1080p18.16
+143%
44.15
−143%
1440p41.63
+128%
94.85
−128%
4K55.50
+120%
121.95
−120%
  • GTX 690 has 143% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • GTX 690 has 128% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • GTX 690 has 120% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Battlefield 5 66
+0%
66
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Far Cry 5 46
+0%
46
+0%
Fortnite 163
+0%
163
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 61
+0%
61
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60
+0%
60
+0%
Valorant 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Battlefield 5 54
+0%
54
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Dota 2 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Far Cry 5 43
+0%
43
+0%
Fortnite 65
+0%
65
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 53
+0%
53
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 49
+0%
49
+0%
Metro Exodus 24
+0%
24
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 49
+0%
49
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 45
+0%
45
+0%
Valorant 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 49
+0%
49
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Dota 2 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Far Cry 5 39
+0%
39
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 36
+0%
36
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 33
+0%
33
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 26
+0%
26
+0%
Valorant 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 49
+0%
49
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Metro Exodus 14
+0%
14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Valorant 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 33
+0%
33
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Far Cry 5 27
+0%
27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 23
+0%
23
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 31
+0%
31
+0%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 33
+0%
33
+0%
Metro Exodus 7
+0%
7
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16
+0%
16
+0%
Valorant 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 15
+0%
15
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Dota 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Far Cry 5 13
+0%
13
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 6
+0%
6
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 12
+0%
12
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 14
+0%
14
+0%

This is how GTX 690 and GTX 970M compete in popular games:

  • GTX 970M is 5% faster in 900p
  • GTX 970M is 5% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 970M is 13% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 970M is 17% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 67 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 14.28 14.83
Recency 3 May 2012 7 October 2014
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB (4 GB per GPU) GDDR5 3 GB

GTX 690 has a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount.

GTX 970M, on the other hand, has a 3.9% higher aggregate performance score, and an age advantage of 2 years.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce GTX 690 and GeForce GTX 970M.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 690 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 970M is a notebook one.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690
GeForce GTX 690
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
GeForce GTX 970M

Other comparisons

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

Community ratings

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3.9 208 votes

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