GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Radeon HD8970M

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Radeon HD8970M FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Radeon HD8970M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2

2011

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 25.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD8970M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2011 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅140.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 25.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $129 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD8970M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 140.9% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (3,369 vs 3,331), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon HD8970M still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Radeon HD8970M Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 15 2011. It features the Fermi 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 783 MHz. It has 192 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 106W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,331 points.

Radeon HD8970M

The Radeon HD8970M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 14 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,369 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 scores 3,331 and the Radeon HD8970M reaches 3,369 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is built on Fermi 2.0 while the Radeon HD8970M uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 192 (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD8970M). Raw compute: 0.6013 TFLOPS (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 2.304 TFLOPS (Radeon HD8970M).

Feature	GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2	Radeon HD8970M
G3D Mark Score	3,331	3,369+1%
Architecture	Fermi 2.0	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	192	1280+567%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6013 TFLOPS	2.304 TFLOPS+283%
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	32	80+150%
L1 Cache	256 KB	320 KB+25%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD8970M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2	Radeon HD8970M
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 and System on the Radeon HD8970M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD8970M) — the Radeon HD8970M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2	Radeon HD8970M
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 draws 106W versus the Radeon HD8970M's 100W — a 5.8% difference. The Radeon HD8970M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 350W (Radeon HD8970M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.

Feature	GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2	Radeon HD8970M
TDP	106W	100W-6%
Recommended PSU	400W	350W-13%
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	210mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Temp (Load)	68°C	—
Perf/Watt	31.4	33.7+7%

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Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD8970M (2013 vs 2011).

Feature	GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2	Radeon HD8970M
MSRP	$129	—
Codename	GF116	Neptune
Release	March 15 2011	May 14 2013
Ranking	#739	#507

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