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 970

2014

Why buy it

✅18.8% more average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $71 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
✅Delivers 20.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 29.3 vs 24.4 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌172.7% higher power demand at 150W vs 55W.

Radeon 8040S

2025

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 55W instead of 150W, a 95W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 970 across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌
21.6% HIGHER MSRP
$400 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 24.4 vs 29.3 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 970

2014

Radeon 8040S

2025

Why buy it

✅18.8% more average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $71 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
✅Delivers 20.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 29.3 vs 24.4 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 55W instead of 150W, a 95W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌172.7% higher power demand at 150W vs 55W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 970 across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌
21.6% HIGHER MSRP
$400 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 24.4 vs 29.3 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon 8040S better than GeForce GTX 970?

Yes. Radeon 8040S is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce GTX 970 averages 18.8% more FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 9,756 vs 9,640 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon 8040S is a 2025 card with FSR upscaling, while GeForce GTX 970 is a 2014 model from an older generation with no meaningful modern upscaling stack. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

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

Radeon 8040S is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2025 generation instead of 2014, better upscaling support with FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, and a 4nm process instead of 28nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

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

Radeon 8040S is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon 8040S is about 21.6% more expensive on MSRP at $400 MSRP versus $329 MSRP, and you are getting lower estimated average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data and 1.2% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GTX 970 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is GeForce GTX 970 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. GeForce GTX 970 is 2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 9,640 in G3D Mark, and no meaningful modern upscaling stack. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

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 970 Benchmark Check

Radeon 8040S Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
1080p
low	81 FPS	100 FPS
medium	69 FPS	90 FPS
high	58 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	63 FPS
1440p
low	70 FPS	91 FPS
medium	62 FPS	78 FPS
high	46 FPS	64 FPS
ultra	29 FPS	53 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	45 FPS
medium	24 FPS	41 FPS
high	17 FPS	30 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	27 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open Radeon 8040S

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
1080p
low	185 FPS	135 FPS
medium	152 FPS	101 FPS
high	122 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	132 FPS	88 FPS
medium	102 FPS	59 FPS
high	81 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	32 FPS
4K
low	63 FPS	40 FPS
medium	50 FPS	29 FPS
high	46 FPS	24 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	17 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open Radeon 8040S

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
1080p
low	405 FPS	320 FPS
medium	347 FPS	274 FPS
high	289 FPS	201 FPS
ultra	217 FPS	165 FPS
1440p
low	325 FPS	235 FPS
medium	260 FPS	208 FPS
high	217 FPS	160 FPS
ultra	163 FPS	125 FPS
4K
low	210 FPS	140 FPS
medium	174 FPS	122 FPS
high	129 FPS	85 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	57 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open Radeon 8040S

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
1080p
low	179 FPS	242 FPS
medium	138 FPS	179 FPS
high	120 FPS	149 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	126 FPS
1440p
low	138 FPS	186 FPS
medium	107 FPS	140 FPS
high	94 FPS	110 FPS
ultra	80 FPS	91 FPS
4K
low	80 FPS	90 FPS
medium	59 FPS	68 FPS
high	46 FPS	57 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	46 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open Radeon 8040S

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon 8040S

GeForce GTX 970

The GeForce GTX 970 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 19 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1050 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1664 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,640 points. Launch price was $329.

Radeon 8040S

The Radeon 8040S is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 6 2025. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1295 MHz to 2800 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 55W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,756 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 970 scores 9,640 and the Radeon 8040S reaches 9,756 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 970 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon 8040S uses RDNA 3.5, both on 28 nm vs 4 nm. Shader units: 1,664 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 1,024 (Radeon 8040S). Raw compute: 3.92 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 970) vs 5.734 TFLOPS (Radeon 8040S). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 2800 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
G3D Mark Score	9,640	9,756+1%
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	RDNA 3.5
Process Node	28 nm	4 nm
Shading Units	1664+63%	1024
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.92 TFLOPS	5.734 TFLOPS+46%
Boost Clock	1178 MHz	2800 MHz+138%
ROPs	56+75%	32
TMUs	104+63%	64
L2 Cache	2 MB	8 MB+300%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 970 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon 8040S relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
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)

Both cards feature 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: 256-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 970) vs 8 MB (Radeon 8040S) — the Radeon 8040S has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	224 GB/s	System
Bus Width	256-bit	System
L2 Cache	2 MB	8 MB+300%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FL 12_1) (GeForce GTX 970) vs 12.2 (Radeon 8040S). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.4. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
DirectX	12 (FL 12_1)	12.2+2%
Vulkan	1.3	1.4+8%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 2nd gen (GeForce GTX 970) vs VCN 4.5 (Radeon 8040S). Decoder: PureVideo VP6 vs VCN 4.5. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 970) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Radeon 8040S).

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
Encoder	NVENC 2nd gen	VCN 4.5
Decoder	PureVideo VP6	VCN 4.5
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 970 draws 150W versus the Radeon 8040S's 55W — a 92.7% difference. The Radeon 8040S is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 970) vs 500W (Radeon 8040S). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 85°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon 8040S
TDP	150W	55W-63%
Recommended PSU	500W	500W
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	267mm	0mm
Height	111mm	0mm
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	80°C-6%	85°C
Perf/Watt	64.3	177.4+176%

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 970 launched at $329 MSRP, while the Radeon 8040S launched at $400. The GeForce GTX 970 costs 17.8% less ($71 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 29.3 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 24.4 (Radeon 8040S) — the GeForce GTX 970 offers 20.1% better value. The Radeon 8040S is the newer GPU (2025 vs 2014).