GeForce GTX 970M vs Iris Xe MAX Graphics

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 970M and Iris Xe MAX Graphics you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce GTX 970M will be the best choice, for others Iris Xe MAX Graphics will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

GeForce GTX 970M and Iris Xe MAX Graphics are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 970M and Iris Xe MAX Graphics are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 970M or Iris Xe MAX Graphics here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 970M Iris Xe MAX Graphics
Interface MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 LPDDR4x
Maximum RAM amount 6 GB 4 MB
Display Connectors No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 970M has 2 GB more memory, than Iris Xe MAX Graphics.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 970M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Iris Xe MAX Graphics - with Gen. 12 Xe.
  • GeForce GTX 970M is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Iris Xe MAX Graphics - by 10 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Iris Xe MAX Graphics is 1766 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 970M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 35−40
ultra / 1080p 21−24 21−24
QHD / 1440p 16−18 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 60−65
medium / 1080p 40−45 40−45
GeForce GTX 970M and Iris Xe MAX Graphics have the same average FPS in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 970M Iris Xe MAX Graphics
Architecture Maxwell Gen. 12 Xe
Code name GM204 iDG1LPDEV
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 7 October 2014 31 October 2020
Pipelines 1280 96
Core clock speed 924 MHz
Boost Clock 1038 MHz 1650 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 10 nm
Texture fill rate 83.04
Floating-point performance 2,657 gflops
Memory bus width 192 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz 4266 MHz
Memory bandwidth 120 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) DirectX 12.1
Shader Model 6.4
OpenGL 4.5
OpenCL 1.1
Vulkan 1.1.126
CUDA +
CUDA cores 1280
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 314 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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