GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q vs GeForce GTX 970

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q and GeForce GTX 970, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q stacks up against GeForce GTX 970, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q GeForce GTX 970
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 148 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 2x 6-pins
Memory type GDDR5X GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Recommended system power (PSU) 500 Watt
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  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q has 1% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 970.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q has 4 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 970.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is used in Laptops, and GeForce GTX 970 - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is build with Pascal architecture, and GeForce GTX 970 - with Maxwell.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is 51 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 970.
  • GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is manufactured by 16 nm process technology, and GeForce GTX 970 - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q is 9993 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 970.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 50−55 50−55
ultra / 1080p 35−40 30−35
QHD / 1440p 27−30 27−30
4K / 2160p 16−18 14−16
low / 720p 80−85 75−80
medium / 1080p 60−65 60−65
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 4% more, than GeForce GTX 970.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 1080 Max Q GeForce GTX 970
Architecture Pascal Maxwell
Code name N17E-G3 Max-Q GM204
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 30 May 2017 19 September 2014
Pipelines 2560 1664
Core clock speed 1101 - 1290 MHz 1050 MHz
Boost Clock 1278 - 1468 MHz 1178 MHz
Transistor count 7,200 million 5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 16 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 234.9 109 billion/sec
Floating-point performance 7,516 gflops 3,920 gflops
Length 10.5" (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 10000 MHz 7.0 GB/s
Memory bandwidth 320.3 GB/s 224 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support + +
VR Ready +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 6.4
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131 1.1.126
CUDA 6.1 +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.48 kh/s
CUDA cores 1664
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
Height 4.376" (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support 4 displays
HDCP +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 478 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.51 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 22.21 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 291.61 Sol/s
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
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