Switch 2 GPU vs GeForce GTX 970M
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 412 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.55 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 12.98 | no data |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019) | Ampere (2020−2025) |
| GPU code name | GM204 | GA10B |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 7 October 2014 (11 years ago) | 5 June 2025 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $2,560.89 | $449 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 cores | 1280 | 1536 |
| Core clock speed | 924 MHz | 561 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1038 MHz | 1400 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 5,200 million | no data |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 8 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | unknown | 40 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 83.04 | 67.20 |
| Floating-point processing power | 2.657 TFLOPS | 4.301 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 48 | 16 |
| TMUs | 80 | 48 |
| Tensor Cores | no data | 48 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 12 |
| L1 Cache | 480 KB | 1.5 MB |
| L2 Cache | 1536 KB | 4 MB |
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 size | large | no data |
| Bus support | PCI Express 3.0 | no data |
| Interface | MXM-B (3.0) | no data |
| Length | no data | 272 mm |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | no data |
| 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 type | GDDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Maximum RAM amount | 3 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory bus width | 192 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 2500 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 120 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | no data |
| Resizable BAR | - | + |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | No outputs | No outputs |
| VGA аnalog display support | + | no data |
| DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support | + | no data |
| HDMI | + | - |
| G-SYNC support | + | - |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| GameStream | + | - |
| GeForce ShadowPlay | + | - |
| GPU Boost | 2.0 | no data |
| GameWorks | + | - |
| H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder | + | - |
| Optimus | + | - |
| BatteryBoost | + | - |
| Ansel | + | no data |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 3.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.1.126 | 1.3 |
| CUDA | + | 8.6 |
| DLSS | - | + |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 7 October 2014 | 5 June 2025 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 3 GB | 12 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 8 nm |
Switch 2 GPU has an age advantage of 10 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 250% more advanced lithography process.
We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 970M and Switch 2 GPU. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that GeForce GTX 970M is a notebook graphics card while Switch 2 GPU is a desktop one.
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