GeForce GTX 970 vs RTX A2000 Mobile

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

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 29.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌57.9% higher power demand at 150W vs 95W.

RTX A2000 Mobile

2021

Why buy it

✅More future proof: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 95W instead of 150W, a 55W reduction.
✅More future proof: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 29.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 970

2014

RTX A2000 Mobile

2021

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 29.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Why buy it

✅More future proof: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 95W instead of 150W, a 55W reduction.
✅More future proof: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm 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.
❌57.9% higher power demand at 150W vs 95W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 29.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 970 better than RTX A2000 Mobile?

Yes. GeForce GTX 970 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 9,640 vs 9,506 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce GTX 970 is a 2014 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while RTX A2000 Mobile is a 2021 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?

RTX A2000 Mobile is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2021 generation instead of 2014, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 8nm process instead of 28nm. 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 970 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $329 MSRP. GeForce GTX 970 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GTX 970 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $329 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 1.4% higher G3D Mark. RTX A2000 Mobile is the newer 2021 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (95W vs 150W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does RTX A2000 Mobile make more sense than GeForce GTX 970?

Yes. RTX A2000 Mobile is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (95W vs 150W), future-proofing, and staying closer to an unclear MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of GeForce GTX 970. The trade-off is that GeForce GTX 970 currently gives you 1.4% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 100+%.

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

RTX A2000 Mobile Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
1080p
low	81 FPS	111 FPS
medium	69 FPS	94 FPS
high	58 FPS	80 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	47 FPS
1440p
low	70 FPS	96 FPS
medium	62 FPS	82 FPS
high	46 FPS	63 FPS
ultra	29 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	31 FPS
medium	24 FPS	29 FPS
high	17 FPS	20 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	17 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open RTX A2000 Mobile

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
1080p
low	185 FPS	240 FPS
medium	152 FPS	202 FPS
high	122 FPS	155 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	124 FPS
1440p
low	132 FPS	170 FPS
medium	102 FPS	141 FPS
high	81 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	91 FPS
4K
low	63 FPS	99 FPS
medium	50 FPS	80 FPS
high	46 FPS	67 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	51 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open RTX A2000 Mobile

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
1080p
low	405 FPS	428 FPS
medium	347 FPS	342 FPS
high	289 FPS	285 FPS
ultra	217 FPS	214 FPS
1440p
low	325 FPS	321 FPS
medium	260 FPS	257 FPS
high	217 FPS	214 FPS
ultra	163 FPS	160 FPS
4K
low	210 FPS	214 FPS
medium	174 FPS	171 FPS
high	129 FPS	141 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	107 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open RTX A2000 Mobile

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
1080p
low	179 FPS	181 FPS
medium	138 FPS	148 FPS
high	120 FPS	126 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	106 FPS
1440p
low	138 FPS	128 FPS
medium	107 FPS	106 FPS
high	94 FPS	91 FPS
ultra	80 FPS	76 FPS
4K
low	80 FPS	73 FPS
medium	59 FPS	61 FPS
high	46 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	37 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 970 Open RTX A2000 Mobile

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 970 and RTX A2000 Mobile

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.

RTX A2000 Mobile

The RTX A2000 Mobile is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1215 MHz to 1687 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 95W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 20 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,506 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 970 scores 9,640 and the RTX A2000 Mobile reaches 9,506 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 970 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the RTX A2000 Mobile uses Ampere, both on 28 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 1,664 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 2,560 (RTX A2000 Mobile). Raw compute: 3.92 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 970) vs 8.637 TFLOPS (RTX A2000 Mobile). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 1687 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
G3D Mark Score	9,640+1%	9,506
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	Ampere
Process Node	28 nm	8 nm
Shading Units	1664	2560+54%
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.92 TFLOPS	8.637 TFLOPS+120%
Boost Clock	1178 MHz	1687 MHz+43%
ROPs	56+17%	48
TMUs	104+30%	80
L1 Cache	0.61 MB	2.5 MB+310%
L2 Cache	2 MB	2 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
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 video memory. Bus width: 256-bit vs 128-bit.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Bus Width	256-bit+100%	128-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB	2 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FL 12_1) (GeForce GTX 970) vs 12.2 (RTX A2000 Mobile). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
DirectX	12 (FL 12_1)	12.2+2%
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 2nd gen (GeForce GTX 970) vs 7th Gen NVENC (RTX A2000 Mobile). Decoder: PureVideo VP6 vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 970) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (RTX A2000 Mobile).

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
Encoder	NVENC 2nd gen	7th Gen NVENC
Decoder	PureVideo VP6	5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 970 draws 150W versus the RTX A2000 Mobile's 95W — a 44.9% difference. The RTX A2000 Mobile is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 970) vs 500W (RTX A2000 Mobile). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 80°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970	RTX A2000 Mobile
TDP	150W	95W-37%
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	80°C
Perf/Watt	64.3	100.1+56%