From GTX 970 to GTX 980: The Ultimate GPU Mod
A team of Brazilian modders has pulled off one of the most impressive GPU modifications in history. They took an ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 970, upgraded it with a GTX 980 GPU, doubled its VRAM to 8GB, and overclocked the memory—resulting in a 2.7x performance boost in 8K benchmarks compared to the original “3.5GB” model.
How Did They Do It?
The original GTX 970 famously had a memory segmentation issue, where only 3.5GB of its 4GB VRAM ran at full speed. Modder Paulo Gomes and his team first tackled this by doubling the memory to 8GB, improving performance in modern games.
But they didn’t stop there.
By replacing the GTX 970’s GPU with a GTX 980 chip and modifying the BIOS, they created a hybrid monster. Since the GTX 980 doesn’t natively support 8GB VRAM, this mod required creative engineering—effectively turning the GTX 970’s PCB into a GTX 980 with extra memory.
Performance Results: Faster Than a GTX 980
- Unigine Superposition (1080p):
- Original GTX 970: 4,287 points
- Modded GTX 970@980: 4,483 points
- 8K Benchmark:
- GTX 970 (4GB): 698 points (bottlenecked by slow VRAM)
- GTX 980 (4GB): 1,575 points
- Modded GTX 970@980 (8GB): 1,945 points (23% faster than GTX 980)
The modded card is now 2.7x faster than the original GTX 970 in extreme resolutions, proving that with some ingenuity, older hardware can still compete.
What’s Next? Pushing Maxwell to Its Limits
The team plans to upgrade the memory to 2250 MHz (9 Gbps), the fastest GDDR5 available. Since Maxwell GPUs don’t support GDDR5X or GDDR6, this would be the absolute limit for GTX 970 modding.
Also, Read
- The Great GPU Heist – When RTX 5090 box $1,600 Graphics Cards Turned Into Backpacks
- AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT Shows Promise in Early Benchmarks – 25% Faster Than Predecessor
- Intel’s Arc B770 GPU – The Battlemage Contender Still Coming in Late 2025
While this mod won’t enable ray tracing (Maxwell lacks RT cores), it’s a fascinating example of how enthusiasts can breathe new life into old hardware. And after 10 years, someone finally “fixed” the GTX 970’s infamous memory issue—better late than never!