Arc A310 vs GeForce GTX 970
The GeForce GTX 970 pulls ahead here — substantially quicker, about 25% ahead of the Arc A310. It also wins on performance-per-dollar, making it the cleaner choice when you can afford it.
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GeForce GTX 970 vs Arc A310: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 970 vs Arc A310
The GeForce GTX 970 is significantly faster, around 25% ahead of the Arc A310. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Pricing has the GeForce GTX 970 at $120 EUR, $18 EUR under the Arc A310's $138 EUR. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the GeForce GTX 970 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 44%. The GeForce GTX 970 is trading below its $329 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
Power draw favors the Arc A310 (30W vs 145W), and it's the more efficient card too, so it's the easy pick if thermals or a smaller PSU matter. Its more modern Alchemist architecture on a TSMC N6 process is part of why it does more with each watt.
Generation & Longevity
The Arc A310 is roughly 8 years newer than the GeForce GTX 970 (Alchemist vs Maxwell), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the Arc A310 brings Intel XeSS upscaling and AV1 encoding, while the GeForce GTX 970 offers NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: Arc A310 or GeForce GTX 970?
The GeForce GTX 970 is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the Arc A310 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 970 better than the Arc A310?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Arc A310 or the GeForce GTX 970?
Is the Arc A310 worth the extra $18 EUR over the GeForce GTX 970?
Which should you buy: Arc A310 or GeForce GTX 970?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Arc A310 | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Alchemist | Maxwell |
| Process Node | TSMC N6 | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (Shading Units / CUDA Cores) | 768 | 1,664✓ |
| Ray Tracing Cores | 6 | — |
| Tensor / AI Cores | 96 | — |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Arc A310 | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 2,000 MHz✓ | 1,050 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 2,000 MHz✓ | 1,178 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | Arc A310 | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 64-bit | 256-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 15.5 Gbps✓ | 7 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 124 GB/s | 224.3 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Arc A310 | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 30 W✓ | 145 W |
| Power Connectors | None | 2x 6-pin |
| Released | Oct 2022 | Sep 2014 |
