Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti review: Midrange GPU by name, not nature

The Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti is a graphics card that I didn’t expect to see so soon. Yet here it is, spinning inside my gaming PC, running high frame rates at 4K resolution with the ultra settings enabled. Sounds good right? Eh bien, pas vraiment, car bien qu’il ait a potentiel de nouvelle génération respectable à un prix inférieur à celui du RTX 4080, le prix ne lui permet toujours pas d’être le gladiateur GPU de milieu de gamme que je veux qu’ ‘be.

Like a phoenix, the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti rises from the ashes of the RTX 4080 12GB, a launch-day graphics card that was quickly shelved due to backlash from enthusiasts. Like its Lovelace siblings, the latest version of the green team lineup offers a wide range of GPU tricks like DLSS 3 and Frame Generation, but it comes at a price point that premium cards often come with.

In our Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti review, we’ll be looking at the Gigabyte Eagle OC variant, as the Founder’s Edition model is out of date this time around. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as perks like factory overclocking are sure to give the AD104 GPU an edge. However, extreme performance still comes at a price, and the 4070 Ti’s lower MSRP only applies to non-overclocked cards.

Features

On paper, the RTX 4070 Ti has the same specs as its canceled counterpart. Armed with 7680 CUDA cores, 60 RT cores, and 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, it falls well short of the card featured in our Nvidia RTX 4080 review, but it’s designed to trade blows with Nvidia’s former leaders.

Unlike the RTX 3090, the 4070 Ti isn’t a graphics powerhouse, as you can overdrive it with a 285W TDP from a 700W PSU. A dual 8-pin card adapter is required, but I wouldn’t push myself by upgrading unless absolutely necessary.

Ignoring VRAM, the 4070 Ti’s specs put it in the same circle as the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and XTX, though the latter falls short of the RTX 4080 for the money. Look, I know it’s strange to pit something with a 70-series badge against the best Red Team GPUs right now, but until Nvidia stops offering silly model names on its RTX 4000 graphics cards, this is how it should be.

Design

Someone needs to tell the RTX 4070 Ti to pick someone for size because it’s so much bulkier than its RTX 3000 predecessor. That makes sense, especially since it’s not really a 70-class graphics card when you dig below the surface. However, if you’re used to choosing Ti-powered mid-range graphics cards, you’ll be surprised at how tall and big this Lovelace card is. It’s a bit smaller than the RTX 4090 and 4080, but that’s hardly a blessing considering the monstrous size of both.

Nvidia won’t give the RTX 4070 Ti a founder’s edition this time around, so you’ll have to make do with custom models like the Eagle OC. Sadly, my hopes for a fancy Lovelace GPU have been dashed yet again, as Gigabyte’s custom skin is unabashedly brutal. Granted, it’s not quite as ugly as the Asus TUF Gaming card featured in our RTX 4090 review, but it’s still just a bulky piece of metal.

Of course, all the junk inside the RTX 4070 Ti’s trunk serves a purpose, and Gigabyte’s thick casing helps absorb a lot of heat. Its three-fan setup also helps with freezing under load, but I can’t help feeling that this arrangement borders on overkill. Under load, the card barely rises above 80 °C, which leads me to believe that the settings were perhaps a bit on the thin side.

Like most custom graphics cards, the Gigabyte RTX 4070 Ti has an RGB logo that adds a much-needed pop of color. I still think Nvidia’s Founder’s Edition approach is the winner when it comes to lighting, but the Eagle OC’s lighting is subtle enough to appeal to minimalists and provide some peace of mind for light show enthusiasts.

Performance

As always, performance pudding is the test when it comes to top graphics card contenders, and the RTX 4070 Ti is no slouch in the Lovelace brood. Sure, his boots are planted firmly on the ground as he watches the RTX 4090 soar through the sky at frame rates, but benchmarks show it to be somewhere between the RTX 3090 and 4080.

In Hitman 3, the RTX 4070 Ti hits 94fps at 4K resolution with settings set to ultra, with ray tracing dropping to 30fps. These numbers imply that the 4070 Ti could just about outperform the 4080 in the test, slightly outperforming the 3090 with the RT setting enabled.

Total War: Warhammer 3 is one of the best strategy games out there, but it also makes graphics cards sweat in tests. While the RTX 4080 can push frame rates past that still-payable 60fps threshold, the 4070 Ti can’t handle 4K Ultra setups averaging 55fps.

Cyberpunk 2077 is something of a problematic example of the benefits of DLSS 3, but first let’s talk raw performance in an RPG. The 4070 Ti can manage an average of 80fps, which is around 16% fewer frames than the 4080 and just doesn’t hit the 60fps mark with ray tracing shenanigans on. Not bad considering the MSI RTX 3090 Suprim X delivers similar results, but the Nvidia newcomer still has a way of leaving the Ampere in the dust.

ADSL 3

Adding Nvidia DLSS 3 fairy dust to the mix makes a world of difference, and we’ve already witnessed its potential with the RTX 4090 and 4080. Frame generation helps boost the capabilities of the 4070 Ti in much the same way as Cyberpunk 2077. .a 30fps boost with the likes.

In F1 2022, Frame Generation increases the frame rate of ray tracing from 44 to 145 fps, compared to the 114 that only Nvidia DLSS provides in its only variant. If you’d rather ditch that last feature entirely, you can use FG alone and output at 60+ fps while avoiding the typical AI scaling warnings.

The 4070 Ti can crank out around 60fps in A Plague Tale: Requiem without DLSS 3, but full use of Nvidia’s graphics wizardry almost doubles the frame rate. Again, only frame generation can be used and you’ll still get 80+ fps on screen.

RTX 4070 Ti 8K Performance

Can the RTX 4070 Ti run games at 8K resolution? The answer is yes, but you’ll have to ditch the crawl and grab the DLSS with both hands. As before with my RTX 4080 tests, I opted to use Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) to mimic an 8K monitor setup and managed to avoid the slideshow.

During testing, I was able to run Hitman 3 at 8K 60fps with the ultra settings enabled, which seems like an incredible feat. Naturally, this was only possible thanks to DLSS, since without it the same benchmark works at a speed of less than 30 frames per second. You can turn all the settings to low and add ray tracing instead, but going for lower-quality assets probably isn’t your choice, especially if you’re the type to buy tomorrow’s best gaming monitor.

Of course, 8K gaming probably won’t be an issue with the RTX 4070 Ti, and I probably wouldn’t suggest actively using the RTX 4080 for that purpose. The shiny new RTX 5000 graphics cards are likely to be on the scene when resolution becomes the norm, although AMD is actively using them as a selling point for the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Still, it’s fun to play with, and you can technically play the latest games on the latest Nvidia card at acceptable frame rates.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a cheaper way to outfit the best gaming PC with a Lovelace GPU, the RTX 4070 Ti is probably your best bet. It pains me to describe it as affordable because it always costs more than I personally feel comfortable with. However, it’s still $400 less than the RTX 4080 while doing the same DLSS tricks, albeit on a smaller scale.

In an ideal world, there would already be an Nvidia RTX 4070 with similar specs and a much lower price. It can still happen, especially if the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT enters the midrange scene. However, it looks like Nvidia is still dancing at the premium performance party, and the RTX 4070 Ti is the cheapest way to get in on the action.