NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960

Blender score 164

Maxwell 2.0 GPU best suited to lighter Blender scenes, learning workflows, and budget-conscious rendering setups.

Last updated: March 31, 2026

Blender benchmark score

164

Entry-level speed — fine for learning and lighter scenes.

VRAM

2 GB

Limited — best for simpler scenes and lighter workflows.

CUDA cores

1,024

Lower core count — adequate for lighter rendering workloads.

Architecture

Maxwell 2.0

Older architecture — check benchmark scores for a practical performance picture.

Memory bandwidth

112.2 GB/s

Lower bandwidth may become a bottleneck in texture-heavy or complex scenes.

Boost clock

1178 MHz

Lower clock speed — typical of older or workstation-class GPUs.

Render support

OptiX, CUDA

OptiX is typically the fastest option; CUDA provides a reliable fallback.

TDP

120 W

Low power — easy to cool and efficient for smaller builds.

Release year

2015

More technical details

Core specs

  • Base clock: 1127 MHz
  • Process size: 28 nm

Memory specs

  • Memory type: GDDR5
  • Memory bus: 128-bit

Benchmark performance

This chart gives a compact estimate of how this GPU handles Blender benchmark scenes, so you can compare practical rendering speed without reading raw benchmark tables.

Blender score 164

These timings are derived from Blender Open Data benchmark medians and should be treated as comparative estimates, not guaranteed real-project render times.

View Blender Open Data source

Is GTX 960 good for Blender?

A concise editorial read on where this GPU looks strong, the tradeoffs to keep in mind, and who it suits best.

What stands out

  • Maxwell 2.0 architecture
  • 28 nm process size
  • Base clock speed of 1127 MHz
  • Boost clock speed of 1178 MHz

Tradeoffs to know

  • Limited VRAM at 2 GB
  • Older architecture may struggle with current Blender demands

Who should choose it

  • Suitable for basic Blender tasks and learning purposes
  • Lower power consumption compared to newer models

Compare GTX 960 to…

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