GeForce GTX 590 vs GTX 970

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 970 and GeForce GTX 590, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 970
2014
4 GB GDDR5, 148 Watt
25.01
+188%

GTX 970 outperforms GTX 590 by a whopping 188% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking215497
Place by popularity57not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation13.790.78
Power efficiency11.581.63
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)
GPU code nameGM204GF110
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date19 September 2014 (10 years ago)24 March 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$329 $699

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 970 has 1668% better value for money than GTX 590.

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 cores16641024
Core clock speed1050 MHz607 MHz
Boost clock speed1178 MHzno data
Number of transistors5,200 million3,000 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)148 Watt365 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature98 °C97 °C
Texture fill rate122.538.91
Floating-point processing power3.92 TFLOPS1.244 TFLOPS
ROPs5648
TMUs10464

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 3.016x PCI-E 2.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
Length267 mm279 mm
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width2-slot2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)500 Wattno data
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin2x 8-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 amount4 GB3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)
Memory bus width256 Bit768-bit (384-bit per GPU)
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/s1707 MHz
Memory bandwidth224 GB/s327.7 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 ConnectorsDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2Three Dual Link DVI-IMini DisplayPort
Multi monitor support4 displays+
HDMI++
HDCP+-
Maximum VGA resolution2048x15362048x1536
G-SYNC support+-
Audio input for HDMIInternalInternal

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)12 (11_0)
Shader Model6.45.1
OpenGL4.44.2
OpenCL1.21.1
Vulkan1.1.126N/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 970 25.01
+188%
GTX 590 8.67

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 970 9635
+188%
GTX 590 3341

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 970 16033
+74.9%
GTX 590 9167

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 970 42263
+64.3%
GTX 590 25720

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 970 11954
+79%
GTX 590 6680

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GTX 970 28478
+122%
GTX 590 12811

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:

900p130−140
+177%
47
−177%
Full HD80
−36.3%
109
+36.3%
1200p300−350
+168%
112
−168%
1440p45
+221%
14−16
−221%
4K38
+217%
12−14
−217%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.116.41
1440p7.3149.93
4K8.6658.25

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+193%
14−16
−193%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 55−60
+162%
21−24
−162%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45
+258%
12−14
−258%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+215%
24−27
−215%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55
+183%
18−20
−183%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+193%
14−16
−193%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+185%
20−22
−185%
Far Cry New Dawn 65−70
+171%
24−27
−171%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+152%
55−60
−152%
Hitman 3 50−55
+194%
16−18
−194%
Horizon Zero Dawn 110−120
+135%
45−50
−135%
Metro Exodus 85−90
+231%
24−27
−231%
Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70
+171%
24−27
−171%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 85−90
+193%
27−30
−193%
Watch Dogs: Legion 100−110
+74.6%
55−60
−74.6%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 55−60
+162%
21−24
−162%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45
+258%
12−14
−258%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+215%
24−27
−215%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 52
+189%
18−20
−189%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+193%
14−16
−193%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+185%
20−22
−185%
Far Cry New Dawn 29
+20.8%
24−27
−20.8%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+152%
55−60
−152%
Hitman 3 50−55
+194%
16−18
−194%
Horizon Zero Dawn 110−120
+135%
45−50
−135%
Metro Exodus 35
+34.6%
24−27
−34.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70
+171%
24−27
−171%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 85−90
+193%
27−30
−193%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 109
+354%
24−27
−354%
Watch Dogs: Legion 100−110
+74.6%
55−60
−74.6%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 55−60
+162%
21−24
−162%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45
+258%
12−14
−258%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 36
+100%
18−20
−100%
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45
+193%
14−16
−193%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+185%
20−22
−185%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+152%
55−60
−152%
Hitman 3 50−55
+194%
16−18
−194%
Horizon Zero Dawn 110−120
+135%
45−50
−135%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 85−90
+193%
27−30
−193%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 43
+79.2%
24−27
−79.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 100−110
+74.6%
55−60
−74.6%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70
+171%
24−27
−171%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+176%
16−18
−176%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+192%
12−14
−192%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+225%
8−9
−225%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+500%
4−5
−500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+211%
9−10
−211%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+300%
4−5
−300%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+190%
10−11
−190%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+297%
35−40
−297%
Hitman 3 30−33
+150%
12−14
−150%
Horizon Zero Dawn 50−55
+189%
18−20
−189%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+327%
10−12
−327%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 55−60
+511%
9−10
−511%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+288%
8−9
−288%
Watch Dogs: Legion 140−150
+156%
55−60
−156%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+200%
14−16
−200%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+213%
8−9
−213%
Far Cry New Dawn 20
+233%
6−7
−233%
Hitman 3 20−22
+300%
5−6
−300%
Horizon Zero Dawn 120−130
+276%
30−35
−276%
Metro Exodus 23
+283%
6−7
−283%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 29
+383%
6−7
−383%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+200%
5−6
−200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
+225%
4−5
−225%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+250%
4−5
−250%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+500%
1−2
−500%
Far Cry 5 14−16
+180%
5−6
−180%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+240%
10−11
−240%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 30−33
+650%
4−5
−650%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−12
+267%
3−4
−267%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+175%
8−9
−175%

This is how GTX 970 and GTX 590 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 970 is 177% faster in 900p
  • GTX 590 is 36% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 970 is 168% faster in 1200p
  • GTX 970 is 221% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 970 is 217% faster in 4K

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

  • in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 970 is 650% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 970 surpassed GTX 590 in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 25.01 8.67
Recency 19 September 2014 24 March 2011
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 148 Watt 365 Watt

GTX 970 has a 188.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 146.6% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 970 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 590 in performance tests.


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 970
GeForce GTX 970
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590
GeForce GTX 590

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.


4.2 4836 votes

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Questions & comments

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