GeForce GTX 960M vs Radeon HD8970M

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 960M

2015

Why buy it

✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
✅Draws 75W instead of 100W, a 25W reduction.
✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Radeon HD8970M

2013

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌33.3% higher power demand at 100W vs 75W.

GeForce GTX 960M

2015

Radeon HD8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
✅Draws 75W instead of 100W, a 25W reduction.
✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌33.3% higher power demand at 100W vs 75W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 960M better than Radeon HD8970M?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 3,375 vs 3,369 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 960M is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (75W vs 100W).

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

GeForce GTX 960M is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2015 generation instead of 2013, more VRAM at 4 GB instead of 2 GB, and the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That extra memory headroom makes it the safer pick for newer games, heavier textures, and higher settings over time.

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

GeForce GTX 960M can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around Unknown MSRP. GeForce GTX 960M is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GTX 960M is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 0.2% higher G3D Mark. Moving to an unclear MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (75W vs 100W), and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Is Radeon HD8970M still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon HD8970M 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 an unclear MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. GeForce GTX 960M 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 960M Benchmark Check

Radeon HD8970M Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	27 FPS	99 FPS
medium	17 FPS	80 FPS
high	11 FPS	63 FPS
ultra	6 FPS	37 FPS
1440p
low	13 FPS	82 FPS
medium	7 FPS	68 FPS
high	4 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	27 FPS
4K
low	5 FPS	26 FPS
medium	3 FPS	25 FPS
high	2 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	14 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960M Open Radeon HD8970M

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	79 FPS	140 FPS
medium	49 FPS	105 FPS
high	37 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	22 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	37 FPS	96 FPS
medium	27 FPS	67 FPS
high	17 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	12 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	12 FPS	47 FPS
medium	10 FPS	35 FPS
high	8 FPS	27 FPS
ultra	5 FPS	18 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960M Open Radeon HD8970M

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	152 FPS	152 FPS
medium	122 FPS	121 FPS
high	101 FPS	101 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	76 FPS
1440p
low	114 FPS	114 FPS
medium	91 FPS	91 FPS
high	76 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	57 FPS	57 FPS
4K
low	76 FPS	76 FPS
medium	61 FPS	61 FPS
high	51 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	38 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960M Open Radeon HD8970M

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	152 FPS	152 FPS
medium	121 FPS	121 FPS
high	101 FPS	101 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	76 FPS
1440p
low	111 FPS	114 FPS
medium	91 FPS	91 FPS
high	76 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	57 FPS	57 FPS
4K
low	63 FPS	71 FPS
medium	49 FPS	55 FPS
high	38 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	30 FPS	30 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 960M Open Radeon HD8970M

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 960M and Radeon HD8970M

GeForce GTX 960M

The GeForce GTX 960M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1096 MHz to 1176 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,375 points.

Radeon HD8970M

The Radeon HD8970M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 14 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,369 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 960M scores 3,375 and the Radeon HD8970M reaches 3,369 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 960M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD8970M uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 640 (GeForce GTX 960M) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD8970M). Raw compute: 1.505 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 960M) vs 2.304 TFLOPS (Radeon HD8970M). Boost clocks: 1176 MHz vs 900 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
G3D Mark Score	3,375	3,369
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	640	1280+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.505 TFLOPS	2.304 TFLOPS+53%
Boost Clock	1176 MHz+31%	900 MHz
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	40	80+100%
L1 Cache	320 KB	320 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 960M gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon HD8970M relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 960M comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD8970M has 2 GB. The GeForce GTX 960M offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 960M) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD8970M) — the GeForce GTX 960M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 960M	Radeon HD8970M
VRAM Capacity	4 GB+100%	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 960M draws 75W versus the Radeon HD8970M's 100W — a 28.6% difference. The GeForce GTX 960M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 960M) vs 350W (Radeon HD8970M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.