GeForce GTX 970 vs Iris Xe MAX Graphics

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 970 and Iris Xe MAX Graphics. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between GeForce GTX 970 and Iris Xe MAX Graphics. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

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 970 Iris Xe MAX Graphics
Power consumption (TDP) 148 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 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) 500 Watt
  Check Price Check Price
  • GeForce GTX 970 and Iris Xe MAX Graphics have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • GeForce GTX 970 is used in Desktops, and Iris Xe MAX Graphics - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 970 is build with Maxwell architecture, and Iris Xe MAX Graphics - with Gen. 12 Xe.
  • GeForce GTX 970 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 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 Iris Xe MAX Graphics.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 970 Iris Xe MAX Graphics
Architecture Maxwell Gen. 12 Xe
Code name GM204 iDG1LPDEV
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 19 September 2014 31 October 2020
Pipelines 1664 96
Core clock speed 1050 MHz
Boost Clock 1178 MHz 1650 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 10 nm
Texture fill rate 109 billion/sec
Floating-point performance 3,920 gflops
Length 10.5" (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 7.0 GB/s 4266 MHz
Memory bandwidth 224 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) 0.48 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
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 +
  Check Price Check Price