GeForce GTX 970 vs GTX 1080 SLI Mobile

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile with GeForce GTX 970, including specs and performance data.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile
2016
2x 8 GB GDDR5
37.35
+49.3%

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile outperforms GTX 970 by a considerable 49% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking126215
Place by popularitynot in top-10057
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data13.79
Power efficiencyno data11.58
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code namePascal GP104 SLIGM204
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date16 August 2016 (8 years ago)19 September 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$329

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores51201664
Core clock speed1556 MHz1050 MHz
Boost clock speed1733 MHz1178 MHz
Number of transistors14400 Million5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data148 Watt
Maximum GPU temperatureno data98 °C
Texture fill rateno data122.5
Floating-point processing powerno data3.92 TFLOPS
ROPsno data56
TMUsno data104

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 sizelargeno data
Bus supportno dataPCI Express 3.0
Interfaceno dataPCIe 3.0 x16
Lengthno data267 mm
Heightno data4.376" (11.1 cm)
Widthno data2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)no data500 Watt
Supplementary power connectorsno data2x 6-pin
SLI options++

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2x 8 GB4 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed10000 MHz7.0 GB/s
Memory bandwidthno data224 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 Connectorsno dataDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2
Multi monitor supportno data4 displays
HDMI-+
HDCP-+
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
G-SYNC support++
Audio input for HDMIno dataInternal

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream-+
GeForce ShadowPlay-+
GPU Boostno data2.0
GameWorks-+
VR Ready+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX12_112 (12_1)
Shader Modelno data6.4
OpenGLno data4.4
OpenCLno data1.2
Vulkan+1.1.126
CUDA++

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.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile 37.35
+49.3%
GTX 970 25.01

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile 49645
+210%
GTX 970 16033

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile 55056
+30.3%
GTX 970 42263

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile 39902
+234%
GTX 970 11954

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile 172848
+137%
GTX 970 72819

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile 443627
+5.1%
GTX 970 422295

Gaming performance

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

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD137
+71.3%
80
−71.3%
1440p65−70
+44.4%
45
−44.4%
4K89
+134%
38
−134%

Cost per frame, $

1080pno data4.11
1440pno data7.31
4Kno data8.66

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+58.5%
40−45
−58.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 80−85
+45.5%
55−60
−45.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
+51.2%
40−45
−51.2%
Battlefield 5 120−130
+47.6%
80−85
−47.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
+49%
50−55
−49%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+58.5%
40−45
−58.5%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+43.9%
55−60
−43.9%
Far Cry New Dawn 90−95
+44.6%
65−70
−44.6%
Forza Horizon 4 180−190
+28.1%
140−150
−28.1%
Hitman 3 80−85
+60%
50−55
−60%
Horizon Zero Dawn 150−160
+37.4%
110−120
−37.4%
Metro Exodus 120−130
+41.9%
85−90
−41.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 85−90
+36.9%
65−70
−36.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 130−140
+60%
85−90
−60%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
+22.3%
100−110
−22.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 80−85
+45.5%
55−60
−45.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
+51.2%
40−45
−51.2%
Battlefield 5 120−130
+47.6%
80−85
−47.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
+46.2%
52
−46.2%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+58.5%
40−45
−58.5%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+43.9%
55−60
−43.9%
Far Cry New Dawn 90−95
+224%
29
−224%
Forza Horizon 4 180−190
+28.1%
140−150
−28.1%
Hitman 3 80−85
+60%
50−55
−60%
Horizon Zero Dawn 150−160
+37.4%
110−120
−37.4%
Metro Exodus 120−130
+249%
35
−249%
Red Dead Redemption 2 85−90
+36.9%
65−70
−36.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 130−140
+60%
85−90
−60%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 162
+48.6%
109
−48.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
+22.3%
100−110
−22.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 80−85
+45.5%
55−60
−45.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
+51.2%
40−45
−51.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
+111%
36
−111%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+58.5%
40−45
−58.5%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+43.9%
55−60
−43.9%
Forza Horizon 4 180−190
+28.1%
140−150
−28.1%
Hitman 3 80−85
+60%
50−55
−60%
Horizon Zero Dawn 150−160
+37.4%
110−120
−37.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 130−140
+60%
85−90
−60%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 115
+167%
43
−167%
Watch Dogs: Legion 120−130
+22.3%
100−110
−22.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 85−90
+36.9%
65−70
−36.9%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 70−75
+53.2%
45−50
−53.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 55−60
+50%
35−40
−50%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+57.7%
24−27
−57.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45
+70.8%
24−27
−70.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 40−45
+57.1%
27−30
−57.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 27−30
+81.3%
16−18
−81.3%
Far Cry 5 40−45
+48.3%
27−30
−48.3%
Forza Horizon 4 210−220
+49%
140−150
−49%
Hitman 3 45−50
+60%
30−33
−60%
Horizon Zero Dawn 80−85
+55.8%
50−55
−55.8%
Metro Exodus 70−75
+51.1%
45−50
−51.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 90−95
+63.6%
55−60
−63.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 50−55
+74.2%
30−35
−74.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 180−190
+32.6%
140−150
−32.6%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70
+54.8%
40−45
−54.8%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+52%
24−27
−52%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−35
+55%
20
−55%
Hitman 3 30−35
+55%
20−22
−55%
Horizon Zero Dawn 170−180
+38.3%
120−130
−38.3%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+104%
23
−104%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 87
+200%
29
−200%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+66.7%
14−16
−66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
+76.9%
12−14
−76.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
+71.4%
14−16
−71.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+100%
6−7
−100%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+57.1%
14−16
−57.1%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
+52.9%
30−35
−52.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
+70%
30−33
−70%
Watch Dogs: Legion 18−20
+72.7%
10−12
−72.7%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+50%
21−24
−50%

This is how GTX 1080 SLI Mobile and GTX 970 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 1080 SLI Mobile is 71% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 1080 SLI Mobile is 44% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 1080 SLI Mobile is 134% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Metro Exodus, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 1080 SLI Mobile is 249% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 1080 SLI Mobile surpassed GTX 970 in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 37.35 25.01
Recency 16 August 2016 19 September 2014
Chip lithography 16 nm 28 nm

GTX 1080 SLI Mobile has a 49.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and a 75% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 970 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile is a notebook card while GeForce GTX 970 is a desktop one.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile
GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
GeForce GTX 970

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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