Radeon R9 M470X vs GeForce GTX 970M

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 970M and Radeon R9 M470X, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 970M
2014
3 GB GDDR5
14.83
+76.3%

GTX 970M outperforms R9 M470X by an impressive 76% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking354499
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency12.76no data
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)GCN 2.0 (2013−2017)
GPU code nameGM204Emerald
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date7 October 2014 (10 years ago)15 May 2016 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$2,560.89 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 cores1280896
Core clock speed924 MHz1000 MHz
Boost clock speed1038 MHz1100 MHz
Number of transistors5,200 million2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)unknownno data
Texture fill rate83.0461.60
Floating-point processing power2.657 TFLOPS1.971 TFLOPS
ROPs4816
TMUs8056

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 sizelargelarge
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB4 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed2500 MHz1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth120 GB/s96 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 outputsNo outputs
VGA аnalog display support+no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support+no data
HDMI+-
G-SYNC support+-

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+-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+-
Optimus+-
BatteryBoost+-
Ansel+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_0)
Shader Model6.46.3
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL1.12.0
Vulkan1.1.1261.2.131
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 14.83
+76.3%
R9 M470X 8.41

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 5722
+76.4%
R9 M470X 3244

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:

900p136
+81.3%
75−80
−81.3%
Full HD55
+83.3%
30−35
−83.3%
1440p26
+85.7%
14−16
−85.7%
4K21
+110%
10−12
−110%

Cost per frame, $

1080p46.56no data
1440p98.50no data
4K121.95no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+76.9%
12−14
−76.9%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 42
+100%
21−24
−100%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+100%
12−14
−100%
Battlefield 5 52
+108%
24−27
−108%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−33
+76.5%
16−18
−76.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+76.9%
12−14
−76.9%
Far Cry 5 50
+163%
18−20
−163%
Far Cry New Dawn 48
+100%
24−27
−100%
Forza Horizon 4 144
+157%
55−60
−157%
Hitman 3 27−30
+75%
16−18
−75%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+58.3%
45−50
−58.3%
Metro Exodus 53
+112%
24−27
−112%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+78.3%
21−24
−78.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 81
+189%
27−30
−189%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+34.5%
55−60
−34.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 53
+152%
21−24
−152%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+100%
12−14
−100%
Battlefield 5 44
+76%
24−27
−76%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−33
+76.5%
16−18
−76.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+76.9%
12−14
−76.9%
Far Cry 5 41
+116%
18−20
−116%
Far Cry New Dawn 37
+54.2%
24−27
−54.2%
Forza Horizon 4 131
+134%
55−60
−134%
Hitman 3 27−30
+75%
16−18
−75%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+58.3%
45−50
−58.3%
Metro Exodus 44
+76%
24−27
−76%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+78.3%
21−24
−78.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+71.4%
27−30
−71.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 101
+321%
24−27
−321%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+34.5%
55−60
−34.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21
+0%
21−24
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+100%
12−14
−100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−33
+76.5%
16−18
−76.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+76.9%
12−14
−76.9%
Far Cry 5 29
+52.6%
18−20
−52.6%
Forza Horizon 4 36
−55.6%
55−60
+55.6%
Hitman 3 27−30
+75%
16−18
−75%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+58.3%
45−50
−58.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+71.4%
27−30
−71.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 26
+8.3%
24−27
−8.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+34.5%
55−60
−34.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+78.3%
21−24
−78.3%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 26
+62.5%
16−18
−62.5%
Far Cry New Dawn 25
+92.3%
12−14
−92.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 17
+113%
8−9
−113%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
+200%
4−5
−200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
+100%
8−9
−100%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+100%
4−5
−100%
Far Cry 5 19
+90%
10−11
−90%
Forza Horizon 4 80
+135%
30−35
−135%
Hitman 3 18−20
+50%
12−14
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−33
+66.7%
18−20
−66.7%
Metro Exodus 25
+127%
10−12
−127%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
+238%
8−9
−238%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+100%
8−9
−100%
Watch Dogs: Legion 90−95
+68.5%
50−55
−68.5%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
+71.4%
14−16
−71.4%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 12
+50%
8−9
−50%
Far Cry New Dawn 13
+117%
6−7
−117%
Hitman 3 10−12
+120%
5−6
−120%
Horizon Zero Dawn 70−75
+131%
30−35
−131%
Metro Exodus 14
+133%
6−7
−133%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16
+220%
5−6
−220%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
+80%
5−6
−80%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Far Cry 5 8
+100%
4−5
−100%
Forza Horizon 4 6
−66.7%
10−11
+66.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+250%
4−5
−250%
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7
+100%
3−4
−100%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%

This is how GTX 970M and R9 M470X compete in popular games:

  • GTX 970M is 81% faster in 900p
  • GTX 970M is 83% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 970M is 86% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 970M is 110% faster in 4K

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

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 970M is 321% faster.
  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 M470X is 67% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 970M is ahead in 69 tests (96%)
  • R9 M470X is ahead in 2 tests (3%)
  • there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 14.83 8.41
Recency 7 October 2014 15 May 2016
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 4 GB

GTX 970M has a 76.3% higher aggregate performance score.

R9 M470X, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, and a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount.

The GeForce GTX 970M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 M470X in performance tests.


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

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
GeForce GTX 970M
AMD Radeon R9 M470X
Radeon R9 M470X

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.


4.2 308 votes

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4.5 4 votes

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Questions & comments

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