GeForce RTX 3060 8 GB vs 9700M GT

Place in the ranking	1221	106
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	0.84	16.36
Architecture	Tesla (2006−2010)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	G96	GA106
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	29 July 2008 (16 years ago)	12 October 2022 (2 years ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	32	3584
Core clock speed	625 MHz	1320 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1777 MHz
Number of transistors	314 million	12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	65 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	170 Watt
Texture fill rate	10.00	199.0
Floating-point processing power	0.0992 TFLOPS	12.74 TFLOPS
Gigaflops	148	no data
ROPs	8	48
TMUs	16	112
Tensor Cores	no data	112
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	28

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	medium sized	no data
Interface	MXM-II	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	no data	242 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	1x 12-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR3	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	512 MB	8 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	800 MHz	1875 MHz
Memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	240.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	No outputs	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI	-	+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	4.0	6.7
OpenGL	3.3	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	3.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.3
CUDA	+	8.6

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

9700M GT 0.54

RTX 3060 8 GB 39.88
+7285%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

9700M GT 208

RTX 3060 8 GB 15384
+7296%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

3−4
−7233%

220−230

+7233%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 −7150%	290−300 +7150%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2 −6900%	70−75 +6900%
Hitman 3	5−6 −6900%	350−400 +6900%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−11 −6900%	700−750 +6900%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 −6567%	400−450 +6567%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 −7233%	2200−2250 +7233%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 −7150%	290−300 +7150%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2 −6900%	70−75 +6900%
Hitman 3	5−6 −6900%	350−400 +6900%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−11 −6900%	700−750 +6900%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 −6567%	400−450 +6567%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 −6900%	700−750 +6900%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 −7233%	2200−2250 +7233%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 −7150%	290−300 +7150%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Hitman 3	5−6 −6900%	350−400 +6900%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−11 −6900%	700−750 +6900%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 −6567%	400−450 +6567%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 −6900%	700−750 +6900%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 −7233%	2200−2250 +7233%

1440p
High Preset

Far Cry New Dawn

1−2

−6900%

70−75
+6900%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	0−1	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −6900%	70−75 +6900%
Far Cry 5	1−2 −6900%	70−75 +6900%
Hitman 3	6−7 −6567%	400−450 +6567%
Horizon Zero Dawn	3−4 −7233%	220−230 +7233%
Watch Dogs: Legion	1−2 −6900%	70−75 +6900%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

3−4
−7233%

220−230

+7233%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	1−2 −6900%	70−75 +6900%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	0−1	0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

2−3
−6900%

140−150

+6900%

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.54	39.88
Recency	29 July 2008	12 October 2022
Maximum RAM amount	512 MB	8 GB
Chip lithography	65 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	170 Watt

9700M GT has 277.8% lower power consumption.

RTX 3060 8 GB, on the other hand, has a 7285.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 712.5% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3060 8 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9700M GT in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce 9700M GT is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3060 8 GB is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.