GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon RX 580
On raw speed the Radeon RX 580 comes out significantly faster — about 20% ahead of the GeForce GTX 970. But the GeForce GTX 970 is the better value, undercutting it by $105 EUR for the performance you get.
Market Value Leader
GeForce GTX 970 is the clear winner, offering 231.7% better value than Radeon RX 580.
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Comparable or lower specs
Radeon RX 580 vs GeForce GTX 970: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX 580 vs GeForce GTX 970
The Radeon RX 580 is significantly faster, around 20% ahead of the GeForce GTX 970. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
The GeForce GTX 970 currently lists from $35 EUR, $105 EUR less than the Radeon RX 580 at $140 EUR. Despite being slower, the GeForce GTX 970 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~232% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The GeForce GTX 970 is trading below its $329 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal. The Radeon RX 580 is trading below its $229 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
At 145W against 185W, the GeForce GTX 970 is both the lower-power and the more efficient card, making it the easier build to cool and power.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon RX 580 carries 8GB versus 4GB on the GeForce GTX 970. The extra 4GB helps at 4K, with high-resolution texture packs, and for content-creation or local-AI workloads that exhaust smaller buffers.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 580 is roughly 3 years newer than the GeForce GTX 970 (GCN 4.0 (Polaris) vs Maxwell), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 970 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon RX 580 offers AMD FSR upscaling and strong rasterization value. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon RX 580?
Choose the Radeon RX 580 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the GeForce GTX 970 stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX 580 better than the GeForce GTX 970?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 970 or the Radeon RX 580?
Is the Radeon RX 580 worth the extra $105 EUR over the GeForce GTX 970?
Does the Radeon RX 580 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon RX 580?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 4.0 (Polaris) |
| Process Node | TSMC 28nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 1,664 | 2,304✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,050 MHz | 1,257 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,178 MHz | 1,340 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 7 Gbps | 8 Gbps✓ |
| Bandwidth | 224.3 GB/s | 256 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 580 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 145 W✓ | 185 W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Sep 2014 | Apr 2017 |
