G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 770

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
100.5% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 14.9 vs 30.8 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌130% higher power demand at 230W vs 100W.
❌10.8% longer card at 267mm vs 241mm.

GeForce GTX 960

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $200 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 106.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.8 vs 14.9 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than GeForce GTX 770: it remains the more sensible modern option while GeForce GTX 770 is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 100W instead of 230W, a 130W reduction.
✅Measures 241mm instead of 267mm, a 26mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

GeForce GTX 770

2013

GeForce GTX 960

2015

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Why buy it

✅Costs $200 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 106.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.8 vs 14.9 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than GeForce GTX 770: it remains the more sensible modern option while GeForce GTX 770 is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 100W instead of 230W, a 130W reduction.
✅Measures 241mm instead of 267mm, a 26mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
100.5% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 14.9 vs 30.8 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌130% higher power demand at 230W vs 100W.
❌10.8% longer card at 267mm vs 241mm.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 960 better than GeForce GTX 770?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 5,961 vs 6,133 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 960 is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (100W vs 230W).

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 960 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2015 generation instead of 2013. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 960 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $199 MSRP. GeForce GTX 960 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GTX 960 is about $200 cheaper on MSRP at $199 MSRP versus $399 MSRP, and you are getting 2.9% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $199 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (100W vs 230W), and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Is GeForce GTX 770 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. GeForce GTX 770 is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $399 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. GeForce GTX 960 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 770 Benchmark Check

GeForce GTX 960 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
1080p
low	79 FPS	103 FPS
medium	67 FPS	87 FPS
high	55 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	42 FPS
1440p
low	69 FPS	90 FPS
medium	60 FPS	77 FPS
high	43 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	28 FPS	32 FPS
4K
low	25 FPS	28 FPS
medium	24 FPS	26 FPS
high	16 FPS	18 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	15 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 770 Open GeForce GTX 960

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
1080p
low	139 FPS	139 FPS
medium	109 FPS	109 FPS
high	85 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	52 FPS	53 FPS
1440p
low	79 FPS	77 FPS
medium	58 FPS	57 FPS
high	42 FPS	42 FPS
ultra	28 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	28 FPS	27 FPS
medium	20 FPS	19 FPS
high	16 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	11 FPS	11 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 770 Open GeForce GTX 960

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
1080p
low	268 FPS	276 FPS
medium	215 FPS	221 FPS
high	179 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	134 FPS	138 FPS
1440p
low	201 FPS	207 FPS
medium	161 FPS	166 FPS
high	134 FPS	138 FPS
ultra	101 FPS	103 FPS
4K
low	134 FPS	138 FPS
medium	107 FPS	110 FPS
high	89 FPS	92 FPS
ultra	67 FPS	69 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 770 Open GeForce GTX 960

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
1080p
low	160 FPS	168 FPS
medium	118 FPS	139 FPS
high	102 FPS	125 FPS
ultra	85 FPS	101 FPS
1440p
low	125 FPS	117 FPS
medium	94 FPS	99 FPS
high	81 FPS	89 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	70 FPS
4K
low	72 FPS	68 FPS
medium	52 FPS	55 FPS
high	40 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	29 FPS	32 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 770 Open GeForce GTX 960

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 770 and GeForce GTX 960

GeForce GTX 770

The GeForce GTX 770 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 30 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 1046 MHz to 1085 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 230W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,961 points. Launch price was $399.

GeForce GTX 960

The GeForce GTX 960 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 22 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1127 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,133 points. Launch price was $199.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 770 scores 5,961 and the GeForce GTX 960 reaches 6,133 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 770 is built on Kepler while the GeForce GTX 960 uses Maxwell 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GTX 770) vs 1,024 (GeForce GTX 960). Raw compute: 3.333 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 770) vs 2.413 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 960). Boost clocks: 1085 MHz vs 1178 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
G3D Mark Score	5,961	6,133+3%
Architecture	Kepler	Maxwell 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1536+50%	1024
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.333 TFLOPS+38%	2.413 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1085 MHz	1178 MHz+9%
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	128+100%	64
L1 Cache	128 KB	384 KB+200%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	1 MB+100%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 224 GB/s (GeForce GTX 770) vs 112 GB/s (GeForce GTX 960) — a 100% advantage for the GeForce GTX 770. Bus width: 256-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (GeForce GTX 770) vs 1 MB (GeForce GTX 960) — the GeForce GTX 960 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	224 GB/s+100%	112 GB/s
Bus Width	256-bit+100%	128-bit
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	1 MB+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (GeForce GTX 770) vs 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 960). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
DirectX	12.0	12 (12_1)
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX 770) vs NVENC (5th Gen) (GeForce GTX 960). Decoder: PureVideo VP5 vs NVDEC (2nd Gen). Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce GTX 770) vs HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8 (GeForce GTX 960).

Feature	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
Encoder	NVENC 1st gen	NVENC (5th Gen)
Decoder	PureVideo VP5	NVDEC (2nd Gen)
Codecs	H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1	HEVC,H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,VP8

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 770 draws 230W versus the GeForce GTX 960's 100W — a 78.8% difference. The GeForce GTX 960 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce GTX 770) vs 400W (GeForce GTX 960). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 6-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 241mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 75 C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 770	GeForce GTX 960
TDP	230W	100W-57%
Recommended PSU	600W	400W-33%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	6-pin
Length	267mm	241mm
Height	111mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	80°C	75 C-6%
Perf/Watt	25.9	61.3+137%

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 770 launched at $399 MSRP, while the GeForce GTX 960 launched at $199. The GeForce GTX 960 costs 50.1% less ($200 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 14.9 (GeForce GTX 770) vs 30.8 (GeForce GTX 960) — the GeForce GTX 960 offers 106.7% better value. The GeForce GTX 960 is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2013).