GeForce GTX 970M vs Radeon R9 290X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 970M and Radeon R9 290X. 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 970M and Radeon R9 290X. 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.

GeForce GTX 970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 970M 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 970M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 970M Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 6 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • GeForce GTX 970M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and Radeon R9 290X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 970M has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 290X.
  • GeForce GTX 970M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 290X - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 970M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon R9 290X - with GCN.
  • GeForce GTX 970M and Radeon R9 290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 970M is 1250 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 290X.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 35−40
ultra / 1080p 21−24 24−27
QHD / 1440p 16−18 18−20
4K / 2160p 10−11 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 60−65
medium / 1080p 40−45 45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 3% more, than GeForce GTX 970M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 970M Radeon R9 290X
Architecture Maxwell GCN
Code name GM204 Hawaii XT
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 7 October 2014 24 October 2013
Pipelines 1280 2816
Core clock speed 924 MHz
Boost Clock 1038 MHz 947 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 83.04 176.0
Floating-point performance 2,657 gflops 5,632 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 192 Bit 512 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz 1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth 120 GB/s 320 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 6.3
OpenGL 4.5 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 2.0
Vulkan 1.1.126 +
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.76 kh/s
FreeSync +
CUDA cores 1280
Bus support PCI Express 3.0 PCIe 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI + +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 314 Mh/s 623 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
DisplayPort support +
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 25.75 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 350 Sol/s
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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