GeForce GTX 970M vs GTX 980 Mobile

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 980 Mobile and GeForce GTX 970M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 980 Mobile
2015
4 GB GDDR5, 100 Watt
21.46
+45.4%

GTX 980 Mobile outperforms GTX 970M by a considerable 45% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking265362
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation20.01no data
Power efficiency7.4012.57
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code nameGM204GM204
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date21 September 2015 (9 years ago)7 October 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$395.82 $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 980 Mobile 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 cores20481280
Core clock speed1064 MHz924 MHz
Boost clock speed1216 MHz1038 MHz
Number of transistors5,200 million5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100-200 Wattunknown
Texture fill rate136.283.04
Floating-point processing power4.358 TFLOPS2.657 TFLOPS
ROPs6448
TMUs12880

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 sizelargelarge
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0PCI Express 3.0
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectorsno dataNone
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 GB3 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/s2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth224 GB/s120 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 ConnectorsDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2No outputs
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
VGA аnalog display support++
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support++
HDMI++
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.

GameStream++
GeForce ShadowPlay++
GPU Boost2.02.0
GameWorks++
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder++
Optimus++
BatteryBoost++
Anselno data+

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_1)
Shader Model6.46.4
OpenGL4.54.5
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 980 Mobile 21.46
+45.4%
GTX 970M 14.76

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.

GTX 980 Mobile 17201
+74.1%
GTX 970M 9878

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.

GTX 980 Mobile 39702
+37.6%
GTX 970M 28845

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 980 Mobile 13047
+74.8%
GTX 970M 7463

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.

GTX 980 Mobile 76705
+49.7%
GTX 970M 51247

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.

GTX 980 Mobile 347481
+26.5%
GTX 970M 274626

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 maya-04

GTX 980 Mobile 107
+213%
GTX 970M 34

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 sw-03

GTX 980 Mobile 49
+134%
GTX 970M 21

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 snx-02

GTX 980 Mobile 6
+90.6%
GTX 970M 3

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 catia-04

GTX 980 Mobile 54
+122%
GTX 970M 24

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 creo-01

GTX 980 Mobile 35
GTX 970M 37
+6.9%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 mediacal-01

GTX 980 Mobile 31
+181%
GTX 970M 11

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 showcase-01

GTX 980 Mobile 59
+116%
GTX 970M 28

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 energy-01

GTX 980 Mobile 7
GTX 970M 12
+62.5%

SPECviewperf 12 - Showcase

GTX 980 Mobile 59
+116%
GTX 970M 28

SPECviewperf 12 - Maya

This part of SPECviewperf 12 workstation benchmark uses Autodesk Maya 13 engine to render a superhero energy plant static scene consisting of more than 700 thousand polygons, in six different modes.

GTX 980 Mobile 107
+213%
GTX 970M 34

SPECviewperf 12 - Catia

GTX 980 Mobile 54
+122%
GTX 970M 24

SPECviewperf 12 - Solidworks

GTX 980 Mobile 49
+134%
GTX 970M 21

SPECviewperf 12 - Siemens NX

GTX 980 Mobile 6
+90.6%
GTX 970M 3

SPECviewperf 12 - Creo

GTX 980 Mobile 35
GTX 970M 37
+6.9%

SPECviewperf 12 - Medical

GTX 980 Mobile 31
+181%
GTX 970M 11

SPECviewperf 12 - Energy

GTX 980 Mobile 7.2
GTX 970M 11.7
+62.5%

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:

900p190−200
+39.7%
136
−39.7%
Full HD99
+70.7%
58
−70.7%
1440p35−40
+29.6%
27
−29.6%
4K46
+119%
21
−119%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.00
+1004%
44.15
−1004%
1440p11.31
+739%
94.85
−739%
4K8.60
+1317%
121.95
−1317%
  • GTX 980 Mobile has 1004% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • GTX 980 Mobile has 739% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • GTX 980 Mobile has 1317% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 50−55
+50%
35−40
−50%
Counter-Strike 2 35−40
+52%
24−27
−52%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+48.3%
27−30
−48.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 50−55
+50%
35−40
−50%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+25.8%
66
−25.8%
Counter-Strike 2 35−40
+52%
24−27
−52%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+48.3%
27−30
−48.3%
Far Cry 5 65−70
+47.8%
46
−47.8%
Fortnite 100−110
−55.2%
163
+55.2%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+34.4%
61
−34.4%
Forza Horizon 5 55−60
+50%
35−40
−50%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
+28.3%
60
−28.3%
Valorant 140−150
+26.5%
110−120
−26.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 50−55
+50%
35−40
−50%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+53.7%
54
−53.7%
Counter-Strike 2 35−40
+52%
24−27
−52%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 230−240
+25.3%
190−200
−25.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+48.3%
27−30
−48.3%
Dota 2 110−120
+25.8%
85−90
−25.8%
Far Cry 5 65−70
+58.1%
43
−58.1%
Fortnite 100−110
+61.5%
65
−61.5%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+54.7%
53
−54.7%
Forza Horizon 5 55−60
+50%
35−40
−50%
Grand Theft Auto V 84
+71.4%
49
−71.4%
Metro Exodus 40−45
+83.3%
24
−83.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
+57.1%
49
−57.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 84
+86.7%
45
−86.7%
Valorant 140−150
+26.5%
110−120
−26.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 80−85
+69.4%
49
−69.4%
Counter-Strike 2 35−40
+52%
24−27
−52%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+48.3%
27−30
−48.3%
Dota 2 110−120
+25.8%
85−90
−25.8%
Far Cry 5 65−70
+74.4%
39
−74.4%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+128%
36
−128%
Forza Horizon 5 55−60
+50%
35−40
−50%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
+133%
33
−133%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 44
+69.2%
26
−69.2%
Valorant 140−150
+26.5%
110−120
−26.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 100−110
+114%
49
−114%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 140−150
+39.4%
100−110
−39.4%
Grand Theft Auto V 35−40
+59.1%
21−24
−59.1%
Metro Exodus 24−27
+85.7%
14
−85.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+35.2%
120−130
−35.2%
Valorant 180−190
+28.3%
140−150
−28.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 55−60
+72.7%
33
−72.7%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+31.3%
16−18
−31.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 18−20
+58.3%
12−14
−58.3%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+70.4%
27
−70.4%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
+122%
23
−122%
Forza Horizon 5 35−40
+44%
24−27
−44%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+50%
21−24
−50%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 45−50
+51.6%
31
−51.6%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%
Grand Theft Auto V 60
+81.8%
33
−81.8%
Metro Exodus 16−18
+143%
7
−143%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30
+87.5%
16
−87.5%
Valorant 110−120
+52.6%
75−80
−52.6%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
+107%
15
−107%
Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+60%
5−6
−60%
Dota 2 65−70
+38%
50−55
−38%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+69.2%
13
−69.2%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+483%
6
−483%
Forza Horizon 5 18−20
+50%
12−14
−50%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
+66.7%
12
−66.7%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 21−24
+50%
14
−50%

This is how GTX 980 Mobile and GTX 970M compete in popular games:

  • GTX 980 Mobile is 40% faster in 900p
  • GTX 980 Mobile is 71% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 980 Mobile is 30% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 980 Mobile is 119% faster in 4K

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

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 980 Mobile is 483% faster.
  • in Fortnite, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 970M is 55% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 980 Mobile is ahead in 66 tests (99%)
  • GTX 970M is ahead in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 21.46 14.76
Recency 21 September 2015 7 October 2014
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 3 GB

GTX 980 Mobile has a 45.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 months, and a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount.

The GeForce GTX 980 Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 970M in performance tests.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Mobile
GeForce GTX 980
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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