GeForce 9800 GT vs GTX 970M

Place in the ranking	355	1041
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.07
Power efficiency	12.62	0.68
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)	Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code name	GM204	G92
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	7 October 2014 (10 years ago)	21 July 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$2,560.89	$160

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 970M and 9800 GT have a nearly equal value for money.

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	1280	112
Core clock speed	924 MHz	600 MHz
Boost clock speed	1038 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	5,200 million	754 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	unknown	105 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	83.04	33.60
Floating-point processing power	2.657 TFLOPS	0.336 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	16
TMUs	80	56

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	large	no data
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	229 mm
Height	no data	1-slot
Width	no data	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 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 type	GDDR5	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2500 MHz	900 MHz
Memory bandwidth	120 GB/s	57.6 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	HDTVDual Link DVI
Multi monitor support	no data	+
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	-
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
G-SYNC support	+	-
Audio input for HDMI	no data	S/PDIF

Supported technologies

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

GameStream	+	-
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	-
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	-
Optimus	+	-
BatteryBoost	+	-
Ansel	+	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	6.4	4.0
OpenGL	4.5	2.1
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	1.1.126	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 970M 14.85
+1098%

9800 GT 1.24

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 970M 5710
+1095%

9800 GT 478

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:

900p	136 +1260%	10−12 −1260%
Full HD	56 +1300%	4−5 −1300%
1440p	25 +1150%	2−3 −1150%
4K	22 +2100%	1−2 −2100%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	45.73 −14.3%	40.00 +14.3%
1440p	102.44 −28%	80.00 +28%
4K	116.40 +37.5%	160.00 −37.5%

9800 GT has 14% lower cost per frame in 1080p
9800 GT has 28% lower cost per frame in 1440p
GTX 970M has 37% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +1200%	2−3 −1200%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
Elden Ring	45−50 +1400%	3−4 −1400%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	46 +1433%	3−4 −1433%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +1200%	2−3 −1200%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +1100%	5−6 −1100%
Metro Exodus	41 +1267%	3−4 −1267%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +1100%	3−4 −1100%
Valorant	55−60 +1375%	4−5 −1375%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	46 +1433%	3−4 −1433%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +1200%	2−3 −1200%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
Dota 2	33 +1550%	2−3 −1550%
Elden Ring	45−50 +1400%	3−4 −1400%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +1275%	4−5 −1275%
Fortnite	59 +1375%	4−5 −1375%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +1100%	5−6 −1100%
Grand Theft Auto V	49 +1125%	4−5 −1125%
Metro Exodus	29 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	149 +1142%	12−14 −1142%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +1100%	3−4 −1100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	44 +1367%	3−4 −1367%
Valorant	55−60 +1375%	4−5 −1375%
World of Tanks	190−200 +1106%	16−18 −1106%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	40 +1233%	3−4 −1233%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +1200%	2−3 −1200%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
Dota 2	50−55 +1225%	4−5 −1225%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +1275%	4−5 −1275%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +1100%	5−6 −1100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	38 +1167%	3−4 −1167%
Valorant	55−60 +1375%	4−5 −1375%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	21−24 +2000%	1−2 −2000%
Elden Ring	21−24 +2200%	1−2 −2200%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +2100%	1−2 −2100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	130−140 +1220%	10−11 −1220%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
World of Tanks	100−110 +1200%	8−9 −1200%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	27 +1250%	2−3 −1250%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12	0−1
Far Cry 5	35−40 +1100%	3−4 −1100%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +1100%	3−4 −1100%
Metro Exodus	25 +1150%	2−3 −1150%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 +1800%	1−2 −1800%
Valorant	35−40 +1133%	3−4 −1133%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−11	0−1
Dota 2	33 +1550%	2−3 −1550%
Elden Ring	10−11	0−1
Grand Theft Auto V	33 +1550%	2−3 −1550%
Metro Exodus	7	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	38 +1167%	3−4 −1167%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11	0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	33 +1550%	2−3 −1550%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	13 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5	0−1
Dota 2	24−27 +1200%	2−3 −1200%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +1800%	1−2 −1800%
Fortnite	15 +1400%	1−2 −1400%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 +2000%	1−2 −2000%
Valorant	16−18 +1500%	1−2 −1500%

This is how GTX 970M and 9800 GT compete in popular games:

GTX 970M is 1260% faster in 900p
GTX 970M is 1300% faster in 1080p
GTX 970M is 1150% faster in 1440p
GTX 970M is 2100% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	14.85	1.24
Recency	7 October 2014	21 July 2008
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	65 nm

GTX 970M has a 1097.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 200% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 132.1% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 970M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9800 GT in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 970M is a notebook card while GeForce 9800 GT is a desktop one.

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