GeForce 315M vs GTX 960
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 318 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | 52 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.22 | no data |
| Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | GT2xx (2009−2012) |
| GPU code name | GM206 | N11M-GE |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 22 January 2015 (9 years ago) | 1 December 2010 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
| Current price | $440 (2.2x MSRP) | $163 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
Detailed specifications
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 cores | 1024 | 16 |
| CUDA cores | 1024 | 16 |
| Core clock speed | 1127 MHz | 606 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1178 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 2,940 million | 260 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 14 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 72 billion/sec | 4.848 |
| Floating-point performance | 2,413 gflops | 38.78 gflops |
| Gigaflops | no data | 73 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce 315M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). 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.
| Bus support | PCI Express 3.0 | PCI-E 2.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 9.5" (24.1 cm) | no data |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Recommended system power (PSU) | 400 Watt | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pins | no data |
| SLI options | + | no data |
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 | GDDR3, DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | Up to 512 MB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 64 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 7.0 GB/s | Up to 800 (DDR3), Up to 800 (GDDR3) MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 112 GB/s | 12.8 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 Connectors | Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | DisplayPortHDMIVGADual Link DVISingle Link DVI |
| Multi monitor support | 4 displays | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| HDCP | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | 2048x1536 |
| G-SYNC support | + | no data |
| 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 | + | no data |
| GeForce ShadowPlay | + | no data |
| GPU Boost | 2.0 | no data |
| GameWorks | + | no data |
| Power management | no data | 8.0 |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 11.1 (10_1) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 4.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.4 | 4.1 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | + | N/A |
| CUDA | + | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
GTX 960 outperforms 315M by 5180% in Passmark.
3DMark Vantage Performance
3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
GTX 960 outperforms 315M by 2674% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 22 January 2015 | 1 December 2010 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 14 Watt |
We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce 315M. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that GeForce GTX 960 is a desktop card while GeForce 315M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
