RTX 2070 Super Max-Q vs GTX 960

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Combined performance score

GTX 960
15.65

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 130% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking315125
Place by popularity53not in top-100
Value for money2.1244.64
ArchitectureMaxwell (2014−2018)Turing (2018−2021)
GPU code nameGM206N18E-G2R
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date22 January 2015 (9 years old)2 April 2020 (3 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 no data
Current price$440 (2.2x MSRP)$812
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q has 2006% better value for money than GTX 960.

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 cores10242560
CUDA cores1024no data
Core clock speed1127 MHz930 MHz
Boost clock speed1178 MHz1155 MHz
Number of transistors2,940 million13,600 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Watt80 Watt
Texture fill rate72 billion/sec184.8
Floating-point performance2,413 gflopsno data

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 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.

Laptop sizeno datalarge
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length9.5" (24.1 cm)no data
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Recommended system power (PSU)400 Wattno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pinsNone
SLI options+no 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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount4 GB8 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/s11000 MHz
Memory bandwidth112 GB/s352.0 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 ConnectorsDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2No outputs
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
HDMI+no data
HDCP+no data
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
G-SYNC support++
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

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 Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+no data
VR Readyno data+

API support

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model6.46.5
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan+1.2.140
CUDA+7.5

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.

GTX 960 15.65
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 36.07
+130%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 130% in our combined benchmark results.


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 6064
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 13977
+130%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 130% 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 30751
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 65101
+112%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 112% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 960 10768
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 27724
+157%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 157% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 960 7916
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 20873
+164%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 164% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 960 49918
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 126747
+154%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 154% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

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%

GTX 960 310860
RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 461648
+48.5%

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q outperforms GTX 960 by 49% 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:

Full HD65
−63.1%
106
+63.1%
1440p30−35
−143%
73
+143%
4K29
−62.1%
47
+62.1%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−163%
60−65
+163%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
−200%
99
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 27−30
−200%
81
+200%
Battlefield 5 50−55
−172%
144
+172%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 40−45
−213%
125
+213%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−163%
60−65
+163%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−188%
118
+188%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
−128%
98
+128%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
−104%
110−120
+104%
Hitman 3 40−45
−165%
110−120
+165%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
−264%
120
+264%
Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
−242%
89
+242%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 30−35
−248%
115
+248%
Watch Dogs: Legion 30−33
−220%
96
+220%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
−145%
81
+145%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 27−30
−159%
70
+159%
Battlefield 5 50−55
−157%
136
+157%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 40−45
−170%
108
+170%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−163%
60−65
+163%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−171%
111
+171%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
−135%
101
+135%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
−104%
110−120
+104%
Hitman 3 40−45
−165%
110−120
+165%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
−203%
100
+203%
Metro Exodus 24−27
−213%
75
+213%
Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
−96.2%
51
+96.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 30−35
−218%
105
+218%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 50
−184%
142
+184%
Watch Dogs: Legion 30−33
−180%
84
+180%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
−87.9%
62
+87.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 27−30
−122%
60
+122%
Battlefield 5 50−55
−138%
126
+138%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−163%
60−65
+163%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−154%
104
+154%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
−112%
91
+112%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
−104%
110−120
+104%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 28
−168%
75
+168%
Watch Dogs: Legion 30−33
−96.7%
59
+96.7%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
−213%
72
+213%
Hitman 3 24−27
−164%
65−70
+164%
Horizon Zero Dawn 21−24
−127%
50−55
+127%
Metro Exodus 14−16
−243%
48
+243%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−12
−200%
33
+200%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 20−22
−240%
68
+240%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
−194%
47
+194%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
−200%
35−40
+200%
Battlefield 5 30−35
−203%
100
+203%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
−238%
27−30
+238%
Far Cry 5 24−27
−150%
65−70
+150%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
−159%
75
+159%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
−145%
75−80
+145%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
−213%
50−55
+213%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−11
−210%
30−35
+210%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
−273%
41
+273%
Hitman 3 14−16
−157%
35−40
+157%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−12
−145%
27−30
+145%
Metro Exodus 8−9
−250%
28
+250%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
−163%
21
+163%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
−260%
36
+260%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−240%
51
+240%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
−256%
32
+256%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9
−175%
21−24
+175%
Battlefield 5 16−18
−241%
58
+241%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−267%
10−12
+267%
Far Cry 5 12−14
−183%
30−35
+183%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
−193%
44
+193%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−127%
50−55
+127%
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%

This is how GTX 960 and RTX 2070 Super Max-Q compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • RTX 2070 Super Max-Q is 63.1% faster than GTX 960

1440p resolution:

  • RTX 2070 Super Max-Q is 143% faster than GTX 960

4K resolution:

  • RTX 2070 Super Max-Q is 62.1% faster than GTX 960

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

  • in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RTX 2070 Super Max-Q is 273% faster than the GTX 960.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, RTX 2070 Super Max-Q surpassed GTX 960 in all 68 of our tests.

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 15.65 36.07
Recency 22 January 2015 2 April 2020
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 8 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 12 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 80 Watt

The GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 960 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 960 is a desktop card while GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q is a notebook one.


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

User ratings

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
GeForce GTX 960
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q

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