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GeForce GTX 970 vs GRID P40-2Q

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 970

2014Core: 1050 MHzBoost: 1178 MHz
Similar parts
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VS

GRID P40-2Q

2015Core: 557 MHzBoost: 1178 MHz
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Buy on Amazon

GeForce GTX 970 vs GRID P40-2Q Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 970
4 GB 150
9,640
+0.6%
brand logoGeForce GTX 670
brand logoGeForce GTX 1050 Ti
brand logoGeForce GTX 980 (móvel)
brand logoGeForce GTX Titan
brand logoGeForce RTX 2070 Super with Max-Q Design
brand logoTITAN V CEO Edition
brand logoRTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation
brand logoGeForce RTX 4080 Mobile
GRID P40-2Q
4 GB 225
9,581
0.0%
brand logoGeForce GTX 670
brand logoGeForce GTX 1050 Ti
brand logoGeForce GTX 980 (móvel)
brand logoGeForce GTX Titan
brand logoGeForce RTX 2070 Super with Max-Q Design
brand logoTITAN V CEO Edition
brand logoRTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation
brand logoGeForce RTX 4080 Mobile

About G3D Mark

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 GTX 970 vs GRID P40-2Q: 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 GTX 970

2014

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $5,370 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 1642.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 29.3 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
  • ✅Draws 150W instead of 225W, a 75W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

GRID P40-2Q

2015

Why buy it

  • ✅More future proof: Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • ❌
    1632.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $5,699 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.7 vs 29.3 G3D/$ ($5,699 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
  • ❌50% higher power demand at 225W vs 150W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX 970 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.6% in PassMark G3D (9,640 vs 9,581), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 970 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 GTX 970 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $5,370 cheaper on MSRP at $329 vs $5,699, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 1642.9% (29.3 vs 1.7), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce GTX 970 vs GRID P40-2Q Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 970

The GeForce GTX 970 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 19 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1050 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1664 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,640 points. Launch price was $329.

NVIDIA

GRID P40-2Q

The GRID P40-2Q is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 30 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 557 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,581 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 970 scores 9,640 and the GRID P40-2Q reaches 9,581 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 970 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the GRID P40-2Q uses Maxwell 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,664 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 2,048 (GRID P40-2Q). Raw compute: 3.92 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 970) vs 4.825 TFLOPS (GRID P40-2Q). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 1178 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
G3D Mark Score
9,640
9,581
Architecture
Maxwell 2.0
Maxwell 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1664
2048+23%
Compute (TFLOPS)
3.92 TFLOPS
4.825 TFLOPS+23%
Boost Clock
1178 MHz
1178 MHz
ROPs
56
64+14%
TMUs
104
128+23%
L1 Cache
624 KB
768 KB+23%
L2 Cache
2 MB
2 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 970 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The GRID P40-2Q leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 970 and 128-bit on the GRID P40-2Q.

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR6
Bus Width
256-bit+100%
128-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB
2 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FL 12_1) (GeForce GTX 970) vs 12.1 (GRID P40-2Q). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
DirectX
12 (FL 12_1)
12.1
Vulkan
1.3+18%
1.1
OpenGL
4.6+2%
4.5
Max Displays
4
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 2nd gen (GeForce GTX 970) vs NVENC 4.0 (2x) (GRID P40-2Q). Decoder: PureVideo VP6 vs PureVideo HD VP6. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 970) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GRID P40-2Q).

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
Encoder
NVENC 2nd gen
NVENC 4.0 (2x)
Decoder
PureVideo VP6
PureVideo HD VP6
Codecs
H.264,H.265/HEVC
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 970 draws 150W versus the GRID P40-2Q's 225W — a 40% difference. The GeForce GTX 970 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 970) vs 500W (GRID P40-2Q). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 85°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
TDP
150W-33%
225W
Recommended PSU
500W
500W
Power Connector
2x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
267mm
267mm
Height
111mm
112mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
80°C-6%
85°C
Perf/Watt
64.3+51%
42.6
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 970 came in at $329, while the GRID P40-2Q launched at $5699. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 970 was 94.2% cheaper ($5370 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 29.3 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 1.7 (GRID P40-2Q) — the GeForce GTX 970 offers 1623.5% better value. The newer card here is GRID P40-2Q (2015 vs 2014).

FeatureGeForce GTX 970GRID P40-2Q
MSRP
$329-94%
$5699
Performance per Dollar
29.3+1624%
1.7
Codename
GM204
GM204
Release
September 19 2014
August 30 2015
Ranking
#269
#433
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