Verdict
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 shoot the seraphic spot in the latest propagation of graphics poster , able of a fantastic Quad HD performance and submission - level 4 K without breaking the bank . But , for game lacking DLSS 3 supporting , there ’s not enough of a performance cost increase for 30 Series owner to rationalise an climb .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Nvidia RTX 4070 is almost bang in the midriff of the RTX 40 Series range , adequate to of an entry - storey 4 K operation without the threat of emptying your camber write up .
With retail prices come out at £ 569/$599 this graphics identity card can scarcely be considered cheap , but it ’s still far more affordable than the RTX 4080 that spirals past the £ 1000/$1000 mark .
You could then debate that the RTX 4070 is the best value choice for those who require a Quad HD or 4 K gaming carrying into action , although theRTX 4060 Ti(£479/£499 ) is also capable of such a exploit at an even more low-cost cost .
I ’ve spent the retiring few weeks test the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card to find out whether it ’s deserving a buy . Here ’s my verdict .
Specs and design
The Nvidia RTX 4070 use the latest GeForce architecture as of 2023 . This is calledAda Lovelace , and is build on a 5 nm process client . For comparison , the olderRTX 3070GPU uses a larger 8 nm outgrowth node which is n’t quite as efficient
That smaller process node results in a 2.7x boost in the number of transistors , guarantee a welcome boost to raw performance . But call off that the biggest climb would be a disservice .
Ada Lovelace also sees the addition of 4th - propagation Tensor Cores , which turbocharges the AI performance . This is incredibly crucial to unlock the superpower ofDLSS 3 , which can press up the frame rate of a game by using AI smarts . If a biz is endorse , this means the RTX 4070 is up to of a mellow 4 K execution even if it miss the firepower to do so with more traditional method of rendering .
raw 3rd - Gen Ray Tracing Cores have also been drop into the mixture for the RTX 4070 , makingray tracingeven more efficient than before . That means ( with corroborate game ) you may activate advanced lighting core without visit a detrimental drop in carrying into action .
So those are all of the primal climb that the Ada Lovelace microarchitecture ply , but has Nvidia made further improvements to the RTX 4070 compared to the RTX 3070 ? The response is a mixed cup of tea .
Nvidia has n’t up the CUDA Core numeration ( which remains at 5888 ) but has kick upstairs the telecasting computer memory from 8 GB GDDR6 to 12 GB GDDR6X. The boosted clock speed has also see a amphetamine bump from 1.73GHz to 2.48GHz , but that ’s likely due to the new microarchitecture . In terms of spec , there are n’t a vast number of upgrades compared to the RTX 3070 .
Full Specs
The Nvidia RTX 4070 is available as a Founders Edition card , but can also be bought in a variety of chassis from various third - company manufacturers . I called in both the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 gambling OC variant and the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB VERTO Dual Fan – the former has a triple - fan design , while the latter is restrict to just two alternatively if you need to knock off down the cost .
The Gigabyte model pictured here has RGB kindling in the fan , giving it a snazzy look when running inside your personal computer .
Switching focus to ports , the Nvidia RTX 4070 featuresHDMI 2.1(allowing up to 240Hz at 4 K and 60Hz at 8 K ) andDisplayPort 1.4 . AMD steal an advantage in this country , now supporting the riotous DisplayPort 2.1 banner .
Features
There ’s been a common melodic theme for all of the RTX 4000 computer graphic cards , from the entry - level RTX 4060 up to the RTX 4090 , and that ’s a monumental improvement to DLSS .
For those incognizant , DLSSis an AI - power feature of speech that put in additional picture element when rendering a game to reduce the work load of the GPU and therefore boost the frame of reference rate performance . The RTX 4000 series go one step further by unlocking backup for DLSS 3 which can artificially engender full frames rather than just pixels . As you ’d bear , this lead in an even keen carrying out encouragement .
This is illustrated in the graph above . TheRTX 3080 Tiboasts a better raw performance when run Cyberpunk 2077 in 4 K with ray trace activated , but the RTX 4070 proves to be far more efficient as soon as you change on DLSS .
And , while AMD has its take on DLSS calledFSR , it ’s nowhere near as efficient . As you’re able to see , the RTX 4070 benefits from a greater AI - powered hike than what theRadeon RX 7900 XTXdoes with FSR .
The caveat here is that a game require to bear out DLSS 3 for it to reach its full potential difference . Nvidia has an impressive list of secret plan support so far , with the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 , Hogwarts Legacy and The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt all included , but the huge majority of titles ( specially honest-to-goodness I ) are missing .
Ray trace is the 2nd cock-a-hoop feature of the Nvidia RTX 4000 cards , provide realistic and dynamic lighting effect to make games look even more photorealistic . While rival AMD batting order also back up shaft of light trace , our test show those GPUs are n’t quite as efficient with such taxing work load .
When activate electron beam racing ( with a 4 K resolution ) for Cyberpunk 2077 on the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX , the frame rate dropped from 56fps to 20fps – that ’s a Brobdingnagian 36fps drop . As for the RTX 4070 , it saw the performance go down from 32fps to 16fps , which ensue in just a 16fps hit . This is all without bringingDLSS 3.5into the mix too , which not only boosts ray trace performance further but also enhance the optical timber .
Performance and benchmarks
The advance to ray tracing and DLSS are doubtlessly telling but , since such feature are heavily reliant on game support , the in the altogether performance of the GPU is arguably still the most important factor of a graphics card .
With that in nous , I ’ve tested the Nvidia RTX 4070 with both manufacture - standard and in - secret plan bench mark . I ’ve also let in multiple other nontextual matter cards so you could compare the data and determine which represents the best time value .
Of naturally , to ensure a fairish test I ’ve used the same PC build for every graphics card . you may check out the exact specification of our build below :
First up , I put the Nvidia RTX 4070 through its pace with a few semisynthetic benchmark test . Such computer software has been specifically designed to essay graphics execution , providing a numbered grudge that can then be used to compare with other GPUs .
For the 3DMark Time Spy Extreme , which quantify art execution in a gambling linguistic context , the Nvidia RTX 4070 predictably sit in good order between the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4060 Ti . It also boasted a dependable carrying out than the last - gen RTX 3070 Ti and was n’t too far forth from the RTX 3080 Ti .
I also used Blender ’s build - in benchmark software to judge the performance for more creative workloads . For this test , the RTX 4070 blasted past the RTX 3070 Ti , and even surpassed the RTX 3080 Ti .
I also made sure to use the in - plot benchmark tool of several games to see how the RTX 4070 stacks up when it comes to gaming . I examine each plot at 4 K , Quad HD and Full HD , while using the highest preset art preferences in every example .
The Nvidia RTX 4070 excelled at Quad HD play in special , attain beyond 70fps in every single game ( let in the intensive hacker 2077 ) and even stand out the 100fps fall guy for the likes of Borderlands 3 and Rainbow Six Extraction .
4 K performance was telling for a graphics scorecard at this price , although a 32fps grade for Cyberpunk 2077 and 38fps for Total War : Warhammer 3 show that it can sink fairly low for the most intensive innovative games . This does n’t leave enough headroom to have both a 4 K resolution and ray trace activated without leaning on DLSS for backing .
Those results look great in isolation , but I commence to get implicated when liken them to the previous propagation ’s art placard . The RTX 3080 Ti systematically posted superior play results , while even the RTX 3070 Ti bragged serious figures for the vast majority of plot on test . While unsatisfying , this ca n’t come as a huge surprise since the older in writing card boasts a greater quantity of CUDA Cores – although it does diminish the solicitation of upgrade to the RTX 4070 if you already own a 30 Series nontextual matter card .
Power consumption
If you forget to ascertain the power intake of a art card , you may end up in an annoying predicament that your PSU is n’t able-bodied to power it . Nvidia advocate at least a 650W system of rules office , with the identity card registering a 200W total graphics powerfulness .
To put those figures to the test , I equipped the test articulated lorry with a power meter and judge the difference in power consumption when trade the RTX 4070 out with competing card .
The idle king draw came in at 81.6W , which is just about the same result as the RTX 4070 Ti and marginally more so than the Radeon RX 7900 XT despite the AMD carte du jour offering a great performance .
The Nvidia RTX 4070 test to be more impressive when it came to point power haul ( while running the 3DMark benchmark ) though , with a result of 366.8W undercutting the haul of even the last - gen RTX 3070 Ti . If you ’re concerned about superpower ingestion when deciding on a graphics board , you could be sleep assured that the RTX 4070 is highly efficient for the performance it delivers .
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Should you buy it?
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is one of the more low-cost cards to be capable of 4 kelvin gaming , while still offering the benefit of ray of light tracing and DLSS 3 .
In price of raw graphics performance , the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 does n’t offer a immense performance boost over the previous generation . If you own an RTX 30 Series card , you ’re better off waiting until the following propagation .
Final Thoughts
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is one of the most low-priced new - gen graphics cards that ’s open of an entry - layer 4 kB performance with shaft tracing activate , while also stand out when set to a Quad HD resolve .
The headline feature are of course ray tracing and DLSS , with the latter especially being a huge vantage when compared to AMD ’s poster . modified biz reenforcement does jolly dilute the impressive tycoon of DLSS 3 though .
I am a little disappointed to see minimal performance gains compare to theNvidia RTX 3070 Ti , making it difficult for me to commend an upgrade if you already own a 30 - serial card . But if you ’re still stuck on an older genesis or want to build a microcomputer from kale , then the Nvidia RTX 4070 persist an excellent selection at a reasonable price . Check out ourBest Graphics Cardguide for even more option .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every graphic circuit card we review is run through a serial of synthetic and literal - world bench mark to estimate its performance , mightiness efficiency and voltage for overclocking .
FAQs
Yes , the Nvidia RTX 4070 is dandy for play , excel in particular at 1440p gaming , while also being adequate to of a 4 K public presentation .
Yes , the RTX 4070 is more knock-down than the RTX 3070 and is more efficient at DLSS and ray tracing . Whether the performance increase is substantial enough to justify an upgrade is debatable though .
