The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 promises to deliver all the power of the Lovelace microarchitecture at a more affordable price, and it largely succeeds. In fact, this GPU would have been a hit had it not been for some flaws in the specs and its higher-than-expected price of $599/£589.
We expected a new mid-range champion to enter the race for the best graphics cards, and the RTX 4070 is exactly what we need for the most part. I’ve been using it for about a week now and during that time I’ve been impressed, especially when compared to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Specifications
Unsurprisingly, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 specs are somewhat similar to the Ti model. However, you don’t have to look very closely to notice the many differences between the two graphics cards.
Here are the specs for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070:
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Specifications | |
| GPUs | AD104 |
| CUDA cores | 5888 |
| tensor nuclei | 184 (Fourth Generation) |
| RT core | 46 (third generation) |
| Basic Clock | 1920MHz |
| speed up the clock | 2475MHz |
| video memory | 12GB of GDDR6X memory |
| memory clock | 2625MHz |
| tire width | 192 bit |
| THP | 200W |
| MSRP | $599 / £569 |
The RTX 4070 has 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, which is on par with the RTX 4070 Ti and provides a welcome boost over the RTX 3070’s 8GB of memory. As much as I love that Nvidia is offering a generational upgrade to this one. Meaning, I’d rather see this graphics card (and its big brother) arm itself a bit more.
While 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this amount of memory can easily fill up when playing some games at 4K resolution, leading to performance issues. I’ll cover this in more detail when I get to my benchmarks, but the bottom line is that 4K gamers are better off with more powerful alternatives like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080.
To the RTX 4070’s credit, this limitation is much easier to swallow given its much lower cost compared to the RTX 4070 Ti, but Nvidia unsurprisingly has reduced clock speeds and core counts to hit this price point. Either way, the value offered by the raw power of this pixel pusher is still high. Additionally, support for DLSS frame generation helps the RTX 4070 stay ahead of relatively powerful last-gen offerings.
Lastly, it should be noted that the power connector on the RTX 4070 can vary. Founders Edition mirrors the rest of the RTX 4000 series in using a 16-pin PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR connector, while some models use a single 8-pin power connector. There doesn’t seem to be a performance difference between the two setups, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you don’t want to deal with unsightly adapters.
Either way, with a 200W TDP, you won’t need a better PSU to power the RTX 4070. In fact, Nvidia suggests pairing it with a perfectly reasonable 650W PSU.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 size and design
If you thought reasonably sized graphics cards were a thing of the past, don’t worry because the sheer size of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 brings the desired degree of normality back to space. Gone is the large RTX 4090 cooler that also appeared on the RTX 4080, replaced by a relatively bland but efficient dual-slot design.
In my tests, the RTX 4070 topped out at 71 °C, successfully maintaining its advertised clock speed of 2475 MHz and pushing higher when it could. There was also no audible coil noise on this Founders Edition model, which means high frame rate gaming can be enjoyed on the best gaming monitors without that pathetic background noise.
Other than size, there’s little about the RTX 4070’s design that sets it apart from its pricier siblings. It uses the same proven display-out configuration with one HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4 ports. Technically, this means that the graphics card can display games at up to 4K/240Hz or even 8K/60Hz using Display Stream Compression (DSC). However, there aren’t many games where you can achieve this if you increase the settings, even with DLSS Frame Generation.
References Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
In my Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 benchmarks, I collected frame rate data for native 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions. I’ve also performed DLSS frame generation tests separately. Each test was run three times for an average result using the highest gaming settings with ray tracing enabled.
Here are the specs of my test system:
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition
- Driver version: 531.61
- Operating System: Windows 11 Pro (22621.1555)
- Motherboard: Asus TUF Gaming X670E-Plus
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5 6000MHz
- SSD: SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
- Power supply: Corsair RMx SHIFT series 1000W
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 performance
Benchmarking the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 at 1440p highlights the high power this graphics card offers. If you’re the type of person who turns ray tracing on for maximum appeal or turns it off for maximum frame rate, this pixel pusher has more than enough benefits.
Cyberpunk 2077 is still one of the most demanding ray tracing games out there, but the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 handles CD Projekt Red’s neon RPG perfectly. When playing native 1440p, the average frame rate is 37 frames per second (fps), but the GPU can boost performance to 115 fps using Nvidia’s full suite of DLSS 3 for DLSS Super Resolution and DLSS Frame Generation. As you’ve seen in our previous graphs, this last feature alone increases speed to a comfortable 63 fps, a 70% increase without the help of scaling.
It’s a similar story in other ray-traced video games: Hitman 3 made the RTX 4070 sweat a lot with an average frame rate of 47fps. Enabling DLSS frame generation shows the pixel pusher passes the test, delivering a 63% boost at 77 fps. This feature also puts the F1 22’s performance at the front of the curve, from a perfectly good 72fps all the way up to 110fps. However, even without frame generation, the graphics card delivered a solid 88 fps in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Naturally, everything is impressive without those visual or performance-enhancing bells and whistles. The RTX 4070 hit 93 fps in Total War: Warhammer 3 and hit triple-digit frame rates of 107 fps in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands.
Given its 1440p performance, the RTX 4070 is also ideal for gaming at high 1080p frame rates. It achieves an average frame rate of over 100fps across all of our Cyberpunk 2077 test sets, which top out at a respectable 60fps.
However, 4K turns out to be something of an Achilles heel for the GPU, mainly due to the amount of video memory it has. In Cyberpunk 2077 and Hitman 3, the RTX 4070’s memory is oversaturated, causing stutters. DLSS super-resolution can mitigate this, as it scales from lower rendering resolutions, but it is by no means a panacea.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Price
At $599 / £589, the Nvidia GeForce RTX is priced in the mid-range, although it’s on the high end. While I’m genuinely upset that this historically most affordable class of GPU is getting more expensive, I’m grudgingly grateful that the $100 price increase isn’t as severe as the rest of the RTX 4000 series.
Despite its higher cost, the RTX 4070 is currently the cheapest current-gen graphics card you can buy right now, as we’ve yet to see a comparable AMD Radeon competitor. As such, the only real competition this graphics card faces is the next-gen second-hand GPU market, given that the RTX 4070 Ti is significantly more expensive with few performance improvements.
The RTX 4070 offers an attractive upgrade path for those with 10-series and 20-series GPUs. DLSS frame generation helps separate it from the 30-series pixel pushers it accurately reflects, but if you’re not interested in this function, you have other options. Comparable used Ampere graphics cards like the RTX 3080 can be had for around $450-$500, but you risk buying an older mining card.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Verdict
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 seems like a necessary change from the RTX 4000 series. It’s more affordable, smaller, and better than its siblings, which certainly makes it a great option for most people looking to upgrade to a new GPU. .
I really wish it had more video memory and didn’t come with price increases over its predecessors. Here’s hoping the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 doesn’t meet the same fate when it arrives. In the meantime, welcome to the (somewhat expensive) new king of media.
Advantages:
- Excellent 1440p and 1080p performance
- Better value for money compared to other RTX 4000 GPUs.
- Support for DLSS framing
Less :
- 12 GB of total VRAM
- more expensive than predecessors
Check out our guide to the best graphics cards for Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 alternatives, including cheap champions and the most popular flagships.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 review
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 makes DLSS frame generation more affordable and offers unprecedented performance at both 1080p and 1440p, but is limited by 12GB of VRAM at 4K.
Source : PC Gamesn
