GeForce GTX 970M vs Radeon R9 280

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 970M vs Radeon R9 280 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 GTX 970M vs Radeon R9 280: 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 970M

2014

Why buy it

✅Draws 81W instead of 200W, a 119W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2014 hardware with 3 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 19.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $279 MSRP).

Radeon R9 280

2014

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 19.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2014 hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌146.9% higher power demand at 200W vs 81W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce GTX 970M is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 3.1% in PassMark G3D (5,705 vs 5,532), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.

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

GeForce GTX 970M 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?

Radeon R9 280 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R9 280 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 970M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 970M vs Radeon R9 280 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 970M

The GeForce GTX 970M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 7 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 924 MHz to 1038 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 81W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,705 points. Launch price was $2,560.89.

Radeon R9 280

The Radeon R9 280 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 4 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 933 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,532 points. Launch price was $279.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 970M scores 5,705 and the Radeon R9 280 reaches 5,532 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 970M is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon R9 280 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,280 (GeForce GTX 970M) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 280). Raw compute: 2.657 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 970M) vs 3.344 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 280). Boost clocks: 1038 MHz vs 933 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970M	Radeon R9 280
G3D Mark Score	5,705+3%	5,532
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1280	1792+40%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.657 TFLOPS	3.344 TFLOPS+26%
Boost Clock	1038 MHz+11%	933 MHz
ROPs	48+50%	32
TMUs	80	112+40%
L1 Cache	480 KB+7%	448 KB
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+100%	0.75 MB

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 970M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 280 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970M	Radeon R9 280
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 3 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 120 GB/s (GeForce GTX 970M) vs 240 GB/s (Radeon R9 280) — a 100% advantage for the Radeon R9 280. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 970M and 384-bit on the Radeon R9 280. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 970M) vs 0.75 MB (Radeon R9 280) — the GeForce GTX 970M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 970M	Radeon R9 280
VRAM Capacity	3 GB	3 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	120 GB/s	240 GB/s+100%
Bus Width	192-bit	384-bit+100%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB+100%	0.75 MB

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 970M draws 81W versus the Radeon R9 280's 200W — a 84.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 970M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 970M) vs 500W (Radeon R9 280). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin.