GeForce GTX 960 vs Iris Xe MAX Graphics

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 960 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 960 will be the best choice, for others Iris Xe MAX Graphics will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Iris Xe MAX Graphics is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Iris Xe MAX Graphics 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 Iris Xe MAX Graphics here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 960 Iris Xe MAX Graphics
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pins
Memory type GDDR5 LPDDR4x
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 MB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Recommended system power (PSU) 400 Watt
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  • GeForce GTX 960 and Iris Xe MAX Graphics have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • GeForce GTX 960 is used in Desktops, and Iris Xe MAX Graphics - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 960 is build with Maxwell architecture, and Iris Xe MAX Graphics - with Gen. 12 Xe.
  • GeForce GTX 960 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 4259 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 960.

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 960 and Iris Xe MAX Graphics have the same average FPS in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 960 Iris Xe MAX Graphics
Architecture Maxwell Gen. 12 Xe
Code name GM206 iDG1LPDEV
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 22 January 2015 31 October 2020
Pipelines 1024 96
Core clock speed 1127 MHz
Boost Clock 1178 MHz 1650 MHz
Transistor count 2,940 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 10 nm
Texture fill rate 72 billion/sec
Floating-point performance 2,413 gflops
Length 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Memory bus width 128 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 7.0 GB/s 4266 MHz
Memory bandwidth 112 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) DirectX 12.1
Shader Model 6.4
OpenGL 4.4
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.126
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.27 kh/s
CUDA cores 1024
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) 318 Mh/s
Decred / DCR (Decred) 0.92 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 8 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 141.47 Sol/s
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
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