Switch GPU vs GeForce GTX 970

Primary details

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

Place in performance ranking	200	not rated
Place by popularity	60	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	23.18	no data
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2018)	Maxwell 2.0 (2015−2019)
GPU code name	GM204	GM20B
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	19 September 2014 (9 years ago)	17 March 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$329	no data
Current price	$105 (0.3x MSRP)	$70

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	1664	256
CUDA cores	1664	no data
Core clock speed	1050 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1178 MHz	768 MHz
Number of transistors	5,200 million	2,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	20 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	145 Watt	15 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	98 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	109 billion/sec	12.29
Floating-point performance	3,920 gflops	no data

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).

Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	IGP
Length	10.5" (26.7 cm)	no data
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	IGP
Recommended system power (PSU)	500 Watt	no data
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pins	None
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	DDR4
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	64 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	3200 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224 GB/s	25.6 GB/s
Shared memory	-	no data

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	No outputs
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
HDMI	+	no data
HDCP	+	no data
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
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

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	6.4
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.1.126
CUDA	+	5.3

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	19 September 2014	17 March 2017
Chip lithography	28 nm	20 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	145 Watt	15 Watt

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