Feature Article

Review: Nvidia's GTX 970 is the GPU Bargain of the Year

Bargain Basement.

High-end GPUs like Nvidia's new GTX 980 are all well and good, but not everyone wants to fork out $549 (£429) just to have the latest piece of graphics tech. Traditionally, the sweet spot for GPUs is somewhere in the middle, where the price/performance ratio is more sensibly balanced. Usually, that means taking a significant (if acceptable for the price) performance hit compared to the high-end cards, but something rather special has happened with the GTX 970.

Retailing at around $329 in the US, and £259 in the UK, the GTX 970 features the same GM204 chip as its bigger brother the GTX 980, but comes with less CUDA cores and slightly slower clock speed. However, because The 970 is based on the same power-efficient Maxwell architecture, it's a prime candidate for overclocking. With a stock TDP of just 145W (20W less than the GTX 980), there's a significant amount of headroom available for pushing the GPU--and the results are nothing short of spectacular for the price.

Zotac GTX 970 AMP! Omega Edition Specs

With such potential for overclocking, many Nvidia partners have taken to producing overclocked cards with significant bumps to power and cooling. Notably, while you can buy a cheaper stock version of the GTX 970 and still get a decent boost in performance out of it, these pre-overclocked GPUs don't command too much of price premium over their stock counterparts. The 970 I'm looking at, Zotac's GTX 970 AMP! Omega Edition, goes for £289 in the UK (US pricing TBC). For that price you get a beefy triple-slot cooler, along with two 8-pin power inputs for extra juice when overclocking, letting you boost it all the way to 171W.

GPUGTX 770 (Kepler)Zotac AMP GTX 970 (Maxwell)GTX 980 (Maxwell)
CUDA Cores153616642048
Base Clock1046 MHz1102 MHz1126 MHz
GPU Boost Clock1085 MHz1241 MHz

1216 MHz

Memory Clock7000 MHz7046 MHz7000 MHz
Memory Bandwidth224 GB/sec224 GB/sec224 GB/sec
Memory Bus Width256-bit256-bit256-bit
ROPs326464
TDP230W171W (up to)165W
Manufacturing Process28-nm28-nm28-nm

The Zotac 970 comes with a base clock of 1102 MHz, and a boost clock of 1241 MHz, a significant increase over the 1050 MHz and 1178 MHz of the stock card. Impressively, that boost clock is also slightly higher than the 1216 MHz of a stock GTX 980. With all that power and cooling on board, there's definitely room to overclock the Zotac 970 even more (with some reporting stable boost clocks of 1469MHz), but the benchmarks below are based on the out-of-the box experience. Elsewhere, there's the same 4GB of GDDR5 memory as the GTX 980, tied to a 256-bit bus. You also get all the other benefits of Nvidia's Maxwell architecture, including support for VXGI, DSR, and MFAA, which you can read more about in the GTX 980 review.

Benchmarks

But enough of the fluff: just how did the Zotac 970 perform? I tested it out using the same rig I used for the GTX 980, which featured an Intel Core i5-3570K processor overclocked to 4.2Ghz, an Intel Z77 DZ77GA-70K motherboard, 16GB of 1866 MHz Corsair Dominator GT RAM, a 120GB Corsair Force LS SSD, and a Corsair HX 850 PSU.

Unigine Heaven

GPUUltra @1080p, 8XAA FPSUltra @1440p, 8XAA, Extreme TessellationUltra @4K, 8XAA, Extreme Tessellation
R9 290X553417
GTX 980613720
GTX 970533117
GTX 780 Ti553521
GTX 780493118
GTX 68034214

Tomb Raider

GPUUltra @1080p, TressFX, FXAA FPSUltra @1440p, TressFX, FXAA FPSUltra @4K, TressFX, No AA
R9 290X745227
GTX 980775328
GTX 970734925
GTX 780 Ti744927
GTX 780604222
GTX 6804932-

Metro: Last Light

GPUUltra @1080p, Tessellation Normal, 2XSSAA, Advanced PhysX Off FPSUltra @1440p, Tessellation Normal, 2XSSAA, Advanced PhysX Off FPSUltra @4K, Tessellation Normal, No AA, Advanced PhysX Off FPS
R9 290X724439
GTX 980744743
GTX 970724338
GTX 780 Ti774741
GTX 780643835
GTX 6804827-

Battlefield 4

GPUUltra @1080p, 2XMSAA, HBAO FPSUltra @1440p, 2XMSAA, HBAO FPSUltra @4K, No AA, HBAO FPS
R9 290X775437
GTX 980936444
GTX 970835840
GTX 780 Ti826038
GTX 780785132
GTX 6806040-

Crysis 3

GPUVery High @1080p, 2XMSAA FPSVery High @1440p, 2XMSAA FPSVery High @4K, No AA FPS
R9 290X462917
GTX 980523720
GTX 970523216
GTX 780 Ti543319
GTX 780483016
GTX 6804021-

Bioshock Infinite

GPUUltra @1080p, AO, AA FPSUltra @1440p, AO, AA FPSUltra @4K, AO, AA FPS
R9 290X1208646
GTX 9801409052
GTX 9701349248
GTX 780 Ti1349249
GTX 7801107339
GTX 6809260

Verdict

Ah, the march of progress. The GTX 780 Ti--which commanded a hefty $699 (£559) at launch and used a full 250W of power--is now, less than year later, largely matched by a £289 card that consumes up to just 171W of power. AMD's flagships--the R9 290 and R9 290X--are now essentially irrelevant. They're wildly inefficient, hot GPUs by comparison, and cost around the same price (more in the US), but are easily bested in the benchmarks by the 970. Even AMD's monster dual-gpu R9 295X2, previously the best value choice for 4K gaming, has its work cut out for it. Two 970s would be far cheaper, run cooler, use less power, and--based on the single-gpu benchmarks at least--run faster. Such a setup would only cost slightly more than a single 980 too.

That's a very impressive result, and one that makes the substantially more expensive 980 that much less desirable. Of course, the 980 is more powerful, and if you want the absolute best in performance, it's still the GPU to get. It, too, is a similarly capable overclocker, which'll push its performance even further. But there's not as big a difference between the two as you might expect, and for those with a more modest budget, the 970 is, comparatively speaking, an absolute bargain. You get silky smooth 1080p at the highest settings, and excellent performance at 1440p.

Zotac's AMP! Omega version of the card is a great piece of kit too; under load, temperatures rarely crept above 70 degrees, giving you plenty of headroom for more overclocking, and at only a small bump in price over the stock 970. The only downside to the Zotac is its triple-slot cooler, which means you need a roomy case to fit one, or a pair of them, in. Regardless of whether you pick a stock card or a pre-overclocked one, though, Nvidia's GTX 970 is cool, quiet, and far more powerful than anything in its price range ought to be. Without a doubt, the GTX 970 is the GPU bargain of the year.

Written By

Discussion

346 comments
jonhuggs
jonhuggs

seems to be on par with the the R9 280x, which can be found a little cheaper, and factor in the 3 games for gold, one being star citizen and the AMD looks like a better value, no?

mundus
mundus

I've had Radeon 7970 for over 2 years, never been so happy with a graphic cards before. But i think its time to upgrade soon, should i just get another one for dual 7970? Or just get a new card?

Armyboy5
Armyboy5

So this benchmark shows the GTX 970 at normal stock, correct? I mean both aren't overclocked?

amiga499
amiga499

I think right now 270X is the best value for money thing out there. Plus getting some nice bundle games from ati. I'm happy within the 270X high fps in 1080p and I don't see a reason spending money for 2k/4k gaming yet. I like to get the most with less, and don't drop much more money on my pc.

cratecruncher
cratecruncher

Great review Mark.  I'm in the market for a new gpu and was watching R9 290x price drops. That card however, comes out of the box with the clocks so high it runs at 95C already.  For the same price I can get a card with better benchmarks at stock specs and headroom for some serious overclocking in the future.  What a difference a year makes.

gaz-420
gaz-420

You need 3G+ to do high res gaming (2K/4K).  2G just does not cut it.  If you are only running 1080P or 1200P, don't bother, 2G is awesome.


Oh yeah, I also have an Xbox One and a PS4....Don't even come close.  They do look good, but side to side, not even close.

mantiis
mantiis

Impressive. But I think I'll stick with my "incredible" bargain of last year's cards. My GTX 650 Ti Boost OC 2GB Windforce. The card has given me performance that has made me rather disinterested in the current market at large.

FuzzyPancakes
FuzzyPancakes

Does the m series normally come out around the same time? because I was thinking about getting a laptop with an 860m should I wait for the 960m?

YoungSinatra25
YoungSinatra25

Hope the 960 is as impressive and competitively priced. Sub $250 please!!!

IJONOI
IJONOI

So I suppose the question is.. Should I sell my 690 and get two 970s? Hmmmmmm

pyosisified
pyosisified

LOL Okay PC fanboys, I'll wait till PC's catch up to PS4 till I consider 'upgrading'. 

sephirothsfan02
sephirothsfan02

This cards are almost 500$ in Europe right now, and thus more expensive than their AMD counterparts, I wonder why that is...

saturatedbutter
saturatedbutter

If it's that much of a bargain, they must see something coming in the future nobody knows about and they're trying to get these sold as fast as possible.

lon3wolf2002
lon3wolf2002

My 970 should be turning up today, I have been an AMD/ATI user for years jumping ship for 2 reasons:


1) AMD drivers are not getting released quick quick enough (last non beta driver was April)

2) For that price it would be stupid not to get one of these

danjammer69
danjammer69

Damn.

That is cheaper than I paid for my MSI GTX 770 in April.

wexorian
wexorian

Soo 970 is good pick also , there's not much difference between those two.

mobywv
mobywv

k, guess I'll sell my 280x then.

skrypa
skrypa

Anyone here understands why laptop gpus comes with more vram than their desktop counterparts?A laptop gtx 880m has 8gb of vram!While the much stronger gtx 980 has only 4gb of vram?Why?

CrackDima
CrackDima

@mundus i wouldnt recommend getting a second 2 year old card.  A new single card this year and definitely next year will be faster than 2 of your cards. If you are doing fine with your current card, then I'd say get a big dog next year

BestJinjo
BestJinjo

@cratecruncher That's only a reference 290/X. Cards like MSI Gaming 290 or XFX 290X or Sapphire Tri-X 290 run at 70-85C and are quiet too. I still think a 970 at $330 is a good value but MSI Gaming 290 at $250 is even better. Even though 290X has dropped to $330 now, the $80 premium over R9 290 isn't worth it at all. The Zotac Omega reviewed is actually $370, 48% more expensive than R9 290 for 10% more performance.

CrackDima
CrackDima

@mantiis you might have been fine..but the new games coming out now will be needed more than 2gigs of ram to run at the highest settngs. I have the 650 too..and I'm thinking of upgrading after the new year

gamefreak215jd
gamefreak215jd

@mantiis 600 series is getting old now. I'll replace my gtx 660 with a gtx 960 if it comes out.

danielguzman21
danielguzman21

@mantiis Huh? How would a 650 Ti make you disinterested? These cards are immensely stronger than one of those... 

rusher25
rusher25

@FuzzyPancakes I don't think laptops will get the 900 series since the 800 series (800m) is only for laptops and also has maxwell. 

danielguzman21
danielguzman21

@IJONOI Honestly, if you're up for it yes, but if you're willing to wait about a year or two then wait for their next line-up, pascal, it is going to be way more innovative and cost affective, as well as strong.

randalldorm
randalldorm

So you're considering already then? I mean the ps4 was old technology when it released bro. How can you buld a high end gaming PC for 400 dollars? The answer is you couldnt then and you still can't now. Anyone who buys a console for anything but console exclusives is being lied to

randalldorm
randalldorm

So you're considering then? Ps4 was already old technology when it released

wm3sv
wm3sv

@pyosisified Incredible you're isolated from the world, PS4 it's like having a 2010 PC, hard to run 1080p.

etgbrown
etgbrown

@pyosisified By comparison. if the war between PS4 and PC was an arm wrestling match,  PC would smack PS4's hand  so hard  it would hit the table so hard it would make a sonic boom. 

FuzzyPancakes
FuzzyPancakes

@pyosisified a single card is running next gen games at almost max settings in 4k at mostly playable frame rates... Most games on PS4 and Xbox one are struggling to get some games to play at 720p at 30 fps where most cards that are a few years old can run the same games at 1080 above 60 fps. although you do get a good deal on consoles if you are considering price, and some PC's do get around similar specs currently for the same price, and the only way you are going to get the same specs for less than console is if you build it your self... so console is not a bad deal, but if you're not talking about price than PC's are obviously pretty far ahead.

Bumblebee1138
Bumblebee1138

@pyosisified Have you been living in a deserted island? PCs surpassed New-gen consoles years ago mate. ;)

wm3sv
wm3sv

@Kristhomas123 More or less, talking about nvidia Zotac is good but i always go Gigabyte, the best cooling system

lib53
lib53

@saturatedbutter These cards are still using 28nm. It was rumored that these were going to use 20nm. I think the 980 is a bad deal. Upgrading the 970 a few years later with the money you save would be smarter. Play the waiting game though, and you'll never buy new hardware lol

astrix_au
astrix_au

@lon3wolf2002 Good luck, Nvidia had a shocker beta and didn't fix it for ages (cards overheating). At least AMD will quickly re release beta and they work just fine. I always use beta on my 290x's and they release them pretty often. If you have a new card use beta drivers as they are constantly releasing drivers when new GPU and games come out. Much better system IMO.

lon3wolf2002
lon3wolf2002

@danjammer69


Yeah must be a bit annoying for people that have just done that, someone at work bought a 780 ti not so long ago, bet he is a bit mad now.

lon3wolf2002
lon3wolf2002

@skrypa


Onboard graphics use the system RAM as well as what is on the dedicated chip, well that's how it used to always work before.

wexorian
wexorian

@skrypa because 980 has more cuda cores and speed it don't need so much vram.

cratecruncher
cratecruncher

@BestJinjo  Interesting.  I actually prefer AMD products having had Nvidia issues in the past.  I'll take a second look.  I have an AMD 5770 ridiculously overclocked at the moment so it's just a matter of time.....  Surely AMD has got something new in the pipeline too.  At the very least, a new AMD card would cause a 970 price drop to $250.

IJONOI
IJONOI

This is the problem with PC upgrading. You could play the waiting game indefinitely :) seems the price of the 690 has dropped dramatically as well lately. Even though it's still the most powerful single unit out there. Hmmm what to do. I don't know if I can deal with just 4gb of vram going forward.

BestJinjo
BestJinjo

@ecter1216 @Kristhomas123 The only advantage EVGA has is extended 5 and 10 year warranty. MSI Gaming and Asus Strix turn off the fans up to 60C which makes them inaudible at idle. They also have less chance of coil whine that's common in EVGA 970 non-reference cards. And of course the coolers on Asus Strix, MSI Gaming and especially Gigabyte G1 970 are far superior in temperatures and noise levels at load than the EVGA ACX 2.0. EVGA really dropped the ball this generation.

lon3wolf2002
lon3wolf2002

@astrix_au


I used AMD/ATI for 10 years before swapping back to NVidia it is only lately they have been bad with drivers for their cards. Was time for an upgrade anyway and the 970 sounds like an excellent mid price card, if I have enough issues with NVidia software/hardware then I'll swap back. Simples

skrypa
skrypa

@lon3wolf2002 @skrypa Actually, the gtx 880m is a top laptop gpu and it really has 8gb of gddr5 dedicated video ram!This 8gb is not shared with the main ram.

CrackDima
CrackDima

@IJONOI You should be ok with a 690. I would wait till next year if I were you

wm3sv
wm3sv

@lon3wolf2002 @astrix_au i went from nvidia to amd because of 3d problems, and i realize latest amd drivers and mantle are something nvidia will have to fight to. Is amazing how good mantle games perform.

lon3wolf2002
lon3wolf2002

@skrypa @lon3wolf2002


Actually that's why I said "well that's how it used work before", things change and I have not had to look Onboard/Laptop graphics in years as I game on a desktop. :D

danielguzman21
danielguzman21

@skrypa @lon3wolf2002 They most likely are just doing it for marketing, as I doubt the thing can even utilize all 8 gb. Don't take me up on that though, just an inference.