GTX 960 for Blender

Blender score 164
Entry-level speed
Light VRAM
GTX 9 series

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

Last updated: May 26, 2026

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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 estimates how many seconds this GPU takes to render one frame of each standard Blender benchmark scene, so you can compare practical rendering speed at a glance.

Blender score 164
seconds
Estimated time to render one benchmark frame. Lower is faster.
OptiXCUDA
Junkshop
522.73s
659.85s
Monster
219.82s
143.13s
Classroom
447.37s
340.14s
0s760s

These are single-frame estimates derived from Blender Open Data benchmark medians at the scene sample counts, not full-animation render times or guarantees for every real project.

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

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