Nvidia ruled the roost last year with the launch of their Maxwell series of graphics cards. In fact, it wasn’t the series as a whole, but rather the GTX 970 in particular. It delivered incredible performance for a moderate price, but it still sits well above the mid-range spectrum. That’s where the GTX 960 is meant to fit, but it’s not looking too great yet.
Videocardz has the lowdown on Nvidia’s mid-range Maxwell, which looks like a much smaller version of the flagship GTX 980. In fact, it looks like it has been split exactly down the middle.
The first talking point has to be the memory. Both the GTX 970 and 980 feature 4GB, which is enough to keep up with the rising demands of modern games at their highest settings. Cards with 2GB configurations have been around for a while, and slowly but surely they’re not cutting it anymore. The GTX 960 is definitely aimed at the mid-range market, but 2GB simply isn’t enough anymore.
On the plus side, the clock speeds are pretty impressive. The GTX 960 weighs in with a Base and Boost clock of 1127MHz and 1178MHz respectively, which sits in the same range as the GTX 970. It does, however, feature far less CUDA cores, with only 1024 being piled on. And sticking with Maxwells attention to efficiency, the GTX 960 has a low TDP of 120W, leaving a lot of room for overclocking.
It is possible for third-party manufacturers to bump up things like memory and clock speeds after launch, but these usually only happen many months down the line. The NDA for GTX 960 reviews lifts next week, so we’ll personally be able to tell you all about the card very soon.
Last Updated: January 16, 2015
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:09
“2GB simply isn’t enough anymore”
I can’t agree. I run a 1GB SLI rig and have no issues with memory being an issue. 2GB is plenty and it will be a while before 2GB is the absolute minimum
Mossel
January 16, 2015 at 15:10
560Ti FTW!!
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:12
SLI 560Ti’s FTUW (For The Ultimate Win)
Matthew Holliday
January 17, 2015 at 13:08
the 560ti is an exception to the rule.
no other 1gb card can compete, especially considering the 560ti is 256 bit.
a single one would struggle with the current games.
two of them SHOULD be fine, you’re essentially running a 1gb 512bit card, its the 512 bit and high core speed that makes that combination work.
the main difference between the 560 and more recent cards isnt the memory or bitrate, its the efficiency, nvidia is big on power consumption, its been their main focus for years.
the biggest problem you’re lilkely to face is the lack of SLI and crossfire support from some of the new games.
games like thief and evolve dont have SLI or crossfire support, so dual card rigs wont work out so well with those.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 19, 2015 at 14:24
For sure, I hear you, but my point is that with an efficient enough card you won’t need a 4GB card. 1GB’s are still good. 2GB is more than enough. 4GB far too much.
Yes there’s a lot of other factors. 128bit 1GB cards simply won’t cut it. 256 and up is what one really needs.
Matthew Holliday
January 19, 2015 at 14:28
tl;dr
560ti is made of demon magik
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 19, 2015 at 14:50
I know what you mean lol 🙂
Admiral Chief
January 16, 2015 at 15:10
2 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 7!!!
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:12
Eish
Quo Vadis?
January 16, 2015 at 15:14
LOL poor guy! I’ll STAHP making fun of you…. for now….
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:19
Aw thanks 🙂
Alessandro Barbosa
January 16, 2015 at 15:20
Memory isn’t shared using SLI, so you’re effectively still on 1GB 🙂
2GB is ok for now, but if you’re looking to upgrade it’s not a fantastic idea. Most modern games are pushing the 2GB limit and leaning more towards 3-4. So if you want a card to last longer than 2015, I would advise against it.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:24
I know it’s not shared. Hence my comment 🙂 My 1GB is doing fantastic even now.
JGabriel
January 16, 2015 at 23:55
Alessandro, if you’re gaming at 1920×1080 then 2GB is more than enough. Most games, even most new games, will still run fine with 1GB at 1920×1080 – you only need two gig at that rez if your game has some pretty massive textures.
Multi-monitor, or anything above 1080p, then, yes, you’ll want more than 2GB RAM. But most people aren’t moving to 1440p or 4k screens yet.
I’d much rather have 2GB of fast RAM right now than 4GB of average speed RAM. To my mind, the 128 bit bus on the 960 is a bigger concern than only having 2 GB of RAM.
Matthew Holliday
January 17, 2015 at 13:12
agreed on the bitrate part.
i was concerned about 128bit cards five years ago when i built my old pc, thinking that theyr still using 128bit on their most popular model is a bit worrying.
Matthew Holliday
January 17, 2015 at 13:09
memory doesnt share, but bitrate does.
2×256 bit is pretty potent.
Mossel
January 16, 2015 at 15:10
And any rumours on price?
Capt. Bob of the Blood Ravens
January 16, 2015 at 15:14
Given that the 980’s are close to R10k and the 970’s range from R5k to R6.5k I would estimate they’d come in at the R3.5k to R4k mark. No solid evidence for this just my humble guestimate.
Mossel
January 16, 2015 at 15:20
Yeah was also thinking it will be in that range. Then I don’t know, the R9 280x sounds more appealing.
Capt. Bob of the Blood Ravens
January 16, 2015 at 15:23
Possibly. I’d wait for the actual price and then wait a bit for the benchmarks. Generally you can find good Nvidia card vs AMD card reviews with stats.
Uberutang
January 16, 2015 at 18:17
You can get 970’s for sub 5k…
http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-97nqh6dnb4tx-geforce-gtx-970-exoc-black-edition-4096mb-gddr5-256-bit-pci-express-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:16
People are hoping below $300 and many believe even sub $200
Capt. Bob of the Blood Ravens
January 16, 2015 at 15:21
I wish we could pay close to the dollar price but shipping and import duties push the price for hardware here is SA right up. And then we have the mark-up for our local retailers/wholesalers etc.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 16, 2015 at 15:23
Yeah, I know. It’s sick actually. But when it comes to GFX card prices in broad terms I like to use the $ because it shows just how cheap the cards are. I mean the 980 and 970, in $’s, are cheaper than their respective “same type” cards. They really started to shake the market. I honestly believe the 960 will hit at around $250.
$250 for a $400 type of performance card (rumored to be close to the 770 in performance) will be EPIC and a good thing for the GFX card market. Mid range will become cheaper and far more powerful than ever before
Admiral Chief
January 16, 2015 at 15:22
*sub
Capt. Bob of the Blood Ravens
January 16, 2015 at 15:26
Haven’t had one of those in years. Could really go for one about now 🙂
Admiral Chief
January 16, 2015 at 15:31
NomNomNom
Viking Of Science
January 16, 2015 at 15:26
Alrighty then, The New Rig wil still Sport a 970 then….
ToshZA
January 16, 2015 at 16:05
Just what I was thinking
mido
January 16, 2015 at 16:51
rich folk 🙂
ToshZA
January 16, 2015 at 16:58
I have to save for 4 – 6 months to be able to get one, but it’s looking like buying the cheaper 960 is going to be a waste.
RinceThis
January 16, 2015 at 15:27
Yes, that’s all fine. But where the fuck do you put the dilithium crystal?
Admiral Chief
January 16, 2015 at 15:31
To the left
RinceThis
January 16, 2015 at 15:32
Ah, gotcha 😉
Dutch Matrix
January 16, 2015 at 15:32
What I would love to know is this: If I were to walk into a PC store today, wanting a GFX card that will last me a good two years, what would I ask for? Oh, and I should not need to sell a kidney…
Uberutang
January 16, 2015 at 18:18
Not in a shop. They will rape you. Online shopping. Wootware etc. Get a 970. R4899 and it will last more than 2 years.
AmaRossi46
January 21, 2015 at 03:35
And I did just that, bought the Galax 970 from Wootware…awesome card 😉
CypherGate
January 16, 2015 at 16:24
They could have given the 960 at least 3 gigs of ram.
b1nd3r
January 19, 2015 at 10:39
Thats ok ill only be able to afford a decent card “Many months down the line” >.<
Kikmi
January 19, 2015 at 12:22
128bit? Ag no man. Whats up with these pathetic bit rates these days? Mid range green cards used to do 256 and 384 by the bucket load not too many years ago. With hires/UHD becoming the typical benchmark why on earth are we limiting buses to 128?
Andre Gabriel Coetzee
January 19, 2015 at 16:24
I agree with you. Obviously it`s still a step up and it will be faster than the GTX 760, but the 128-bit part feels a bit…disconcerning. I wouldn`t feel comfortable buying that. Would rather just go for the GTX 970, which is probably exactly what they want hahaha.
Kikmi
January 20, 2015 at 09:30
Swak style from team green IMO