GTX 960 and GTX 770

Daconstaz · Jan 23, 2015

Hi,

Just curious Im not planning on buying anything , but is the 960 and 770 similar in terms of performance?

rockie_ · Jan 23, 2015

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VincentP · Jan 23, 2015

Performance is pretty close. GTX 770 is faster in most benchmarks:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960,4038-4.html
It isn't generally available anymore though.

The GTX 960 is sold as a replacement for the GTX 760, and compared to this card it is faster and uses less power.
The GTX 970 is sold as a replacement for the GTX 770, and compared to this card it is faster and uses less power.

LB3 · Jan 27, 2015

They are very similar in benchmarks although the 770 outperforms almost across the board. The 960 has faster core and memory clocks but seems to not be able to catch up to the 770 in performance.
I recently purchased a refurbished 770 Nvidia reference card. Today is the last day for a full refund and I very strongly considered swapping it for the 960, but after reading numerous reviews and scanning benchmarks, I'm sticking with the 770.
The 960 is more efficient, producing better clock numbers with less power, but the 770 seems to be more solid in overall performance.

Deleted member 362816 · Jan 27, 2015

Next person who says the 960 outpreforms the 770 doesn't know how to read benchmarks.

LB3 · Jan 27, 2015

If you compare numbers, on paper, between the two cards, the 960 should outperform the 770 in every aspect. BUT, for whatever reason (it may be the 128bit vs 256bit interface), the 770 is topping the benchmarks.
So, lesson learned, you can't just look at the numbers. The benchmarks will tell a different story. Thanks for your input again!

opio · Jan 27, 2015

Agreed.

And the 960's 128-bit bus width has EVERYTHING to do with why the 770 is a better card.

Hell, the 960 isn't much of a jump over the 760....

960 < 770

VincentP · Jan 27, 2015

The GTX 960 is a 30% improvement on the GTX 760 and the GTX 970 is a 30% improvement on the GTX 770, both with a significant drop in power usage.
The GTX 960 is not being sold in the same segment as the GTX 770 and isn't meant to replace it.

The reason the GTX 770 is faster than the GTX 960 has nothing to do with the width of the memory bus. Nvidia has proven they can achieve performance with the lower memory bandwidth of the Maxwell cards. The reason the GTX 770 is a faster card is because the GPU carries 1536 unified shaders : 128 Texture Mapping Units : 32 Render output units compared to only 1024:64:32 for the GTX 960. The architecture improvements and increase in clock speed aren't enough to make up for substantially fewer shaders and TMUs. It's impresive enough they can beat the GTX 760 by such a solid margin when it had 1152:96:32.

opio · Jan 27, 2015

VincentP :

The GTX 960 is a 30% improvement on the GTX 760 and the GTX 970 is a 30% improvement on the GTX 770, both with a significant drop in power usage.
The GTX 960 is not being sold in the same segment as the GTX 770 and isn't meant to replace it.

The reason the GTX 770 is faster than the GTX 960 has nothing to do with the width of the memory bus. Nvidia has proven they can achieve performance with the lower memory bandwidth of the Maxwell cards. The reason the GTX 770 is a faster card is because the GPU carries 1536 unified shaders : 128 Texture Mapping Units : 32 Render output units compared to only 1024:64:32 for the GTX 960. The architecture improvements and increase in clock speed aren't enough to make up for substantially fewer shaders and TMUs. It's impresive enough they can beat the GTX 760 by such a solid margin when it had 1152:96:32.

I'd be willing to bet it has at least a little to do with the bus width....

LB3 · Jan 27, 2015

VincentP :

Thanks for the update, I noticed the difference in shaders during my research today and it was one reason I stuck with the 770. Although the cards are not in the same segment, their clocks and price point make them comparable from a budget and purchaser standpoint. The average consumer tends to view items within a certain price range, not in shaders and TMUs.
I recently purchased a GTX 770 for $250 so I was shocked, at first, when the 960 was released at $200 but I was relieved when the benchmarks arrived! I don't believe the 960 is worth the $50 dollars in savings if I decided to switch.

VincentP · Jan 27, 2015

LB3 :

This is because the price on the GTX 770 has been dropped to move the old stock. When this card was released, it sold for over $500 in Australia. The price dropped with the release of the R9 280X and then again with the release of the GTX 970. Prices adjust based on the performance compared to everything else currently available.
It is a little faster than the GTX 960 so it will likely stay a little more expensive until stock disappears. They may even charge a bit of a premium targeting people who already have a GTX 770 and want SLI before they disappear, although in my opinion this would not be a good idea with only 2GB VRAM.

Deleted member 362816 · Jan 27, 2015

VincentP :

LB3 :

This is because the price on the GTX 770 has been dropped to move the old stock. When this card was released, it sold for over $500 in Australia. The price dropped with the release of the R9 280X and then again with the release of the GTX 970. Prices adjust based on the performance compared to everything else currently available.
It is a little faster than the GTX 960 so it will likely stay a little more expensive until stock disappears. They may even charge a bit of a premium targeting people who already have a GTX 770 and want SLI before they disappear, although in my opinion this would not be a good idea with only 2GB VRAM.

If you are going to game over 1080p the 770 and 960 are a waste of money, And as we all know if they make a 960 4gb the car itself is now powerfull enough to handle it, even the 4gb 770's didnt have a big performance gain.

VincentP · Jan 27, 2015

I'm not sure what you mean by "a waste of money". The GTX 960 or GTX 770 are good for high detail settings at 1920x1080. If you want ultra settings in the latest games you need something more powerful, e.g. GTX 970.

The GTX 770 4GB showed very little performance gain over the 2GB model as a single card in titles available at the time.
Skyrim with mods and some newer titles have exceeded 2GB at 1920x1080 with the highest detail settings.
You will only see a performance gain if the application requires more than 2GB of memory.

The GTX 770 4GB models were mostly aimed at SLI setups where the two cards gave extra processing power to run higher resolutions or detail settings than a single card, but each card required more than 2GB of VRAM to run these same settings.

I guess they could release a GTX 960 4GB card for SLI, but I don't think it would be a big market since a single GTX 980 would have close to the same performance with less compatibility issues and power usage.
A GTX 970 8GB seems more likely, as two of these cards in SLI would be great for 4K setups.

Deleted member 362816 · Jan 27, 2015

VincentP :

I'm not sure what you mean by "a waste of money". The GTX 960 or GTX 770 are good for high detail settings at 1920x1080. If you want ultra settings in the latest games you need something more powerful, e.g. GTX 970.

The GTX 770 4GB showed very little performance gain over the 2GB model as a single card in titles available at the time.
Skyrim with mods and some newer titles have exceeded 2GB at 1920x1080 with the highest detail settings.
You will only see a performance gain if the application requires more than 2GB of memory.

The GTX 770 4GB models were mostly aimed at SLI setups where the two cards gave extra processing power to run higher resolutions or detail settings than a single card, but each card required more than 2GB of VRAM to run these same settings.

I guess they could release a GTX 960 4GB card for SLI, but I don't think it would be a big market since a single GTX 980 would have close to the same performance with less compatibility issues and power usage.
A GTX 970 8GB seems more likely, as two of these cards in SLI would be great for 4K setups.

Waste of money if over 1080p is what I was saying.

VincentP · Jan 27, 2015

You mean if running a resolution higher than 1920x1080?
A GTX 770 or GTX 960 will handle medium settings at 2560x1440.
A GTX 970 would be better suited to this resolution, allowing at least high detail settings.

LB3 · Jan 27, 2015

VincentP :

I'm not sure what you mean by "a waste of money". The GTX 960 or GTX 770 are good for high detail settings at 1920x1080. If you want ultra settings in the latest games you need something more powerful, e.g. GTX 970.

The GTX 770 4GB showed very little performance gain over the 2GB model as a single card in titles available at the time.
Skyrim with mods and some newer titles have exceeded 2GB at 1920x1080 with the highest detail settings.
You will only see a performance gain if the application requires more than 2GB of memory.

The GTX 770 4GB models were mostly aimed at SLI setups where the two cards gave extra processing power to run higher resolutions or detail settings than a single card, but each card required more than 2GB of VRAM to run these same settings.

I guess they could release a GTX 960 4GB card for SLI, but I don't think it would be a big market since a single GTX 980 would have close to the same performance with less compatibility issues and power usage.
A GTX 970 8GB seems more likely, as two of these cards in SLI would be great for 4K setups.

There's already rumors of a 4GB edition GTX 960 being released sometime in March.

VincentP · Jan 27, 2015

LB3 :

There were rumours of an 8GB version of the GTX 970 and GTX 980 at release time, as well as persistent rumours of a GTX 980 Ti. Both Nvidia and AMD don't like to give too much away until they are ready to ship.

Premi · Jun 14, 2015

VincentP :

Is the 770 in the benchmarks the 2gb or 4gb version?

VincentP · Jun 14, 2015

Premi :

Both the GTX 960 and GTX 770 tested in the linked benchmark have 2GB of VRAM.

Peppe Pascale · Mar 7, 2016

ok, benchmarks says that 770 is a little bit better in most cases than the 960 but, for video editing experience, what about H265 encoding/decode? 960 seems to have this native function included, can't find a solution and details for 770. 770 has more cuda cores but lower cpu frequency. As a Adobe Premiere and Efter Effects user, wich is a better choice in terms of workflow and compatibility? considering also 4k editing.. 770 or 960?
sorry for bad english

LB3 · Apr 6, 2016

This is a very old thread you need to start a new thread. Thanks.

GTX 960 and GTX 770

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