GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon R9 280X

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 280X, 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 970 stacks up against Radeon R9 280X, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 970 Check Price

Radeon R9 280X Check Price

Main Specs

	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon R9 280X
Power consumption (TDP)	148 Watt	250 Watt
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pins	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	3 GB
Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Recommended system power (PSU)	500 Watt
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon R9 280X has 68% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 970.
Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
GeForce GTX 970 has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 280X.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
GeForce GTX 970 is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon R9 280X - with GCN.
GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon R9 280X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
Radeon R9 280X is 265 mm longer, than GeForce GTX 970.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	50−55	35−40
ultra / 1080p	30−35	21−24
QHD / 1440p	27−30	16−18
4K / 2160p	14−16	10−11
low / 720p	75−80	60−65
medium / 1080p	60−65	40−45
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 37% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
high / 1080p	75−80	55−60
ultra / 1080p	70−75	45−50
QHD / 1440p	50−55	35−40
4K / 2160p	27−30	18−20
low / 720p	130−140	100−110
medium / 1080p	85−90	60−65
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Battlefield 5 is 38% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	45−50	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280X in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than GeForce GTX 970.
low / 768p	250−260	250−260
medium / 768p	230−240	220−230
ultra / 1080p	−	180−190
QHD / 1440p	150−160	110−120
4K / 2160p	100−110	70−75
high / 768p	220−230	210−220
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 10% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	70−75	60−65
medium / 1080p	50−55	55−60
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 3% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	120−130	120−130
medium / 768p	110−120	110−120
ultra / 1080p	110−120	100−110
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Dota 2 is 2% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
high / 1080p	60−65	45−50
ultra / 1080p	60−65	40−45
QHD / 1440p	40−45	27−30
4K / 2160p	21−24	14−16
low / 720p	100−110	80−85
medium / 1080p	65−70	45−50
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Far Cry 5 is 39% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
high / 1080p	90−95	60−65
ultra / 1080p	70−75	45−50
QHD / 1440p	45−50	27−30
4K / 2160p	21−24	27−30
low / 720p	220−230	180−190
medium / 1080p	140−150	110−120
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Fortnite is 29% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
high / 1080p	85−90	60−65
ultra / 1080p	65−70	45−50
QHD / 1440p	45−50	30−35
4K / 2160p	30−35	24−27
low / 720p	130−140	100−110
medium / 1080p	90−95	65−70
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Forza Horizon 4 is 37% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	160−170	140−150
medium / 768p	150−160	120−130
high / 1080p	95−100	70−75
ultra / 1080p	45−50	30−35
QHD / 1440p	40−45	21−24
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Grand Theft Auto V is 27% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
high / 1080p	35−40	24−27
ultra / 1080p	30−35	20−22
QHD / 1440p	24−27	16−18
4K / 2160p	14−16	8−9
low / 720p	95−100	65−70
medium / 1080p	50−55	30−35
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Metro Exodus is 53% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	120−130	130−140
medium / 1080p	−	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280X in Minecraft is 8% more, than GeForce GTX 970.
high / 1080p	75−80	−
ultra / 1080p	55−60	14−16
4K / 2160p	18−20	−
low / 720p	120−130	100−110
medium / 1080p	85−90	18−20
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 95% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
high / 1080p	35−40	24−27
ultra / 1080p	24−27	16−18
QHD / 1440p	16−18	10−11
4K / 2160p	10−12	7−8
low / 720p	90−95	65−70
medium / 1080p	55−60	35−40
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 48% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	180−190	130−140
medium / 768p	120−130	85−90
high / 1080p	70−75	45−50
ultra / 1080p	40−45	24−27
4K / 2160p	24−27	16−18
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 45% more, than Radeon R9 280X.
low / 768p	120−130	90−95
medium / 768p	−	60−65
ultra / 1080p	65−70	50−55
high / 768p	−	60−65
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970 in World of Tanks is 33% more, than Radeon R9 280X.

Full Specs

	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon R9 280X
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN
Code name	GM204	Thaiti XTL
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	19 September 2014	8 October 2013
Pipelines	1664	2048
Core clock speed	1050 MHz
Boost Clock	1178 MHz	1000 MHz
Transistor count	5,200 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	109 billion/sec	128.0
Floating-point performance	3,920 gflops	4,096 gflops
Length	10.5" (26.7 cm)	275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s
Memory bandwidth	224 GB/s	288 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-
G-SYNC support	+
DirectX	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	+
CUDA	+
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight)	0.48 kh/s	0.5 kh/s
FreeSync		+
CUDA cores	1664
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)
SLI options	+
Multi monitor support	4 displays
HDMI		+
HDCP	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)	478 Mh/s	494 Mh/s
Eyefinity		+
HD3D		+
TrueAudio		+
Design		reference
DisplayPort support		+
CrossFire		+
DDMA audio		+
Decred / DCR (Decred)	1.51 Gh/s	1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)	22.21 Mh/s	14.42 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash)	291.61 Sol/s	285 Sol/s
GameStream	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	+
GPU Boost	2.0
GameWorks	+
AppAcceleration		+
LiquidVR		+
TressFX		+
UVD		+
	Check Price	Check Price

GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon R9 280X

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

Similar compares