GTX 970 Very low 2D score

[Kingfield]

Hi,
I recently got a new graphics card and it seems to be performing slightly less than usual, here are the results from Passmark

Overall: 3035
CPU: 6292 (a bit low but looks okay)
2d mark: 590 (beaten by cards like 550 Ti wtf?!?)
3d mark: 8447 (a bit low again but at least close)
Memory mark: 2076

My CPU is an i5-2500k running @ stock speeds
GPU is Gainward GTX 970 Phantom.

Do I have an issue, or what? My GTX 970 seems to be underperforming by about 10-15% compared to most other benchmarks I've seen but I'm not sure if those problems are related.

Thanks in advance.

[David (PassMark)]

CPU result is within 3% of the average for the CPU type. So nothing to worry about there.

GPU result is within 6% of average. Which makes sense, as on average people using this high end video card have faster CPUs that yours and the 3D test is somewhat dependant on the CPU as well as the GPU.

Modern video cards aren't optimised for 2D. So the high end cards often do not better than the low end cards. The 2D results are also dependant on the CPU and O/S settings.

By definition, not every machine can be above average.

[Kingfield]

CPU result is within 3% of the average for the CPU type. So nothing to worry about there.

GPU result is within 6% of average. Which makes sense, as on average people using this high end video card have faster CPUs that yours and the 3D test is somewhat dependant on the CPU as well as the GPU.

Modern video cards aren't optimised for 2D. So the high end cards often do not better than the low end cards. The 2D results are also dependant on the CPU and O/S settings.

By definition, not every machine can be above average.

Thanks for clearing that up! So the 2D score would be average for my card..? Also, what exactly is the 2D score reflective of (from an application viewpoint).

[David (PassMark)]

Yes, 2D result is roughly what to expect for the CPU / GPU combination running at standard clock speeds. Or like the CPU / 3D results maybe a few percentage points under average.

2D performance still matters for things like smooth scrolling in windows, smooth window resizing, 2D games, document rendering, etc. But the fact of the matter is that you don't need a $500 video card to get good 2D performance.

[MrP]

I experienced the same issue, In fact, my 2 score was below 100, couldn't figure out why, really broke my head over it, until I checked this forum. One of the users suggested that the power mode may be the issue. Lo and behold it was. I changed my power mode and guess what? the 2D low score was resolved. so BIG THANKS, to the user for suggesting that. I really appreciate it. I was worried that my GTX 970 was becoming dated due to the low scores. However, after re-running the test I realize there's no need to upgrade yet.