HD Graphics 3000 vs GeForce GTX 960

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 960 with HD Graphics 3000, including specs and performance data.

GTX 960
2015
4 GB GDDR5, 120 Watt
15.80
+2294%

GTX 960 outperforms HD Graphics 3000 by a whopping 2294% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking3421187
Place by popularity55not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation9.10no data
Power efficiency9.02no data
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)Generation 6.0 (2011)
GPU code nameGM206Sandy Bridge GT2+
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date22 January 2015 (9 years ago)1 February 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 no data

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 cores102496
Core clock speed1127 MHz650 MHz
Boost clock speed1178 MHz1300 MHz
Number of transistors2,940 million1,160 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Wattunknown
Texture fill rate75.3915.60
Floating-point processing power2.413 TFLOPS0.2496 TFLOPS
ROPs322
TMUs6412

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).

Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16Ring Bus
Length241 mmno data
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Recommended system power (PSU)400 Wattno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pinno data
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 typeGDDR5System Shared
Maximum RAM amount4 GBSystem Shared
Memory bus width128 BitSystem Shared
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/sSystem Shared
Memory bandwidth112 GB/sno data
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 ConnectorsDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2Portable Device Dependent
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
HDMI+-
HDCP+-
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
G-SYNC support+-
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

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

GameStream+-
GeForce ShadowPlay+-
GPU Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)11.1 (10_1)
Shader Model6.44.1
OpenGL4.43.1
OpenCL1.2N/A
Vulkan+N/A
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 960 15.80
+2294%
HD Graphics 3000 0.66

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.

GTX 960 6085
+2296%
HD Graphics 3000 254

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 960 30751
+1861%
HD Graphics 3000 1568

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 960 49918
+1895%
HD Graphics 3000 2503

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 HD62
+675%
8
−675%
4K28
+2700%
1−2
−2700%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.21no data
4K7.11no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
+733%
3−4
−733%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
+800%
4−5
−800%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+2500%
1−2
−2500%
Battlefield 5 50−55
+2450%
2−3
−2450%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
+967%
3−4
−967%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
+733%
3−4
−733%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+3600%
1−2
−3600%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+2425%
4−5
−2425%
Hitman 3 30−33
+500%
5−6
−500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+618%
10−12
−618%
Metro Exodus 50−55
+2600%
2−3
−2600%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
+750%
6−7
−750%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
+167%
30−33
−167%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
+800%
4−5
−800%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+2500%
1−2
−2500%
Battlefield 5 50−55
+2450%
2−3
−2450%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
+967%
3−4
−967%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
+733%
3−4
−733%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+3600%
1−2
−3600%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+2425%
4−5
−2425%
Hitman 3 30−33
+500%
5−6
−500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+618%
10−12
−618%
Metro Exodus 50−55
+2600%
2−3
−2600%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
+750%
6−7
−750%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 131
+1210%
10−11
−1210%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
+167%
30−33
−167%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
+800%
4−5
−800%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+2500%
1−2
−2500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
+967%
3−4
−967%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
+733%
3−4
−733%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+3600%
1−2
−3600%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+2425%
4−5
−2425%
Hitman 3 30−33
+500%
5−6
−500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+618%
10−12
−618%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
+750%
6−7
−750%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 28
+180%
10−11
−180%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
+167%
30−33
−167%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 30−33
+2900%
1−2
−2900%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
+2300%
1−2
−2300%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18 0−1
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14 0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+700%
1−2
−700%
Far Cry 5 18−20
+1700%
1−2
−1700%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+2667%
3−4
−2667%
Hitman 3 18−20
+217%
6−7
−217%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
+967%
3−4
−967%
Metro Exodus 27−30
+2700%
1−2
−2700%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
+2800%
1−2
−2800%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18 0−1
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+4700%
2−3
−4700%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
+767%
3−4
−767%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 14−16 0−1
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14 0−1
Hitman 3 10−12 0−1
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+2533%
3−4
−2533%
Metro Exodus 16−18 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
+800%
1−2
−800%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9 0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4 0−1
Far Cry 5 8−9 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 21−24 0−1
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 16−18 0−1
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7 0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+600%
2−3
−600%

This is how GTX 960 and HD Graphics 3000 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 960 is 675% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 960 is 2700% faster in 4K

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

  • in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 960 is 4700% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 960 surpassed HD Graphics 3000 in all 35 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 15.80 0.66
Recency 22 January 2015 1 February 2011
Chip lithography 28 nm 32 nm

GTX 960 has a 2293.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and a 14.3% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 960 is our recommended choice as it beats the HD Graphics 3000 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 960 is a desktop card while HD Graphics 3000 is a notebook one.


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

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
GeForce GTX 960
Intel HD Graphics 3000
HD Graphics 3000

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

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4 3812 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 960 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
2.8 2438 votes

Rate HD Graphics 3000 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.