Once I reviewed the RTX 4070 final yr, there have been a couple of issues that held it again. The unique card shipped with 12GB of VRAM, its 4K efficiency didn’t fairly match the RTX 3080, and general, it didn’t really feel like an enormous generational leap. The RTX 4070 Tremendous corrects most of these points on the identical $599 worth level.
Whereas Nvidia has caught to the identical 192-bit reminiscence bus and 12GB of G6X reminiscence with the RTX 4070 Tremendous, the massive bump to CUDA cores places its efficiency rather a lot nearer to the RTX 4070 Ti. The RTX 4070 Tremendous appears like a generational leap, delivering even higher 1440p and 4K efficiency than earlier than.
I wasn’t anticipating fairly the bump in efficiency from the RTX 4070 Tremendous — round 17 p.c on common at 1440p and 15 p.c at 4K — which may make it a really perfect pairing for the brand new 1440p OLED screens beginning to hit the market this yr.
{Hardware}
Little has modified from the RTX 4070 to the RTX 4070 Tremendous when these Founders Version playing cards from the skin. The largest change is that Nvidia has opted for a darker alloy for the whole card, however they’re similar when it comes to the general two-slot card dimension. And sure, there’s a brand new Tremendous label, too. Nvidia’s personal RTX 4070 Tremendous additionally has comparable design components to its upcoming RTX 4080 Tremendous.
On the RTX 4070 Tremendous, Nvidia is utilizing a die-cast aluminum physique, twin axial followers, and an eight-layer PCB. As at all times, third-party playing cards can have a wide range of cooling system designs.
There are three DisplayPort 1.4 ports (as much as 240Hz at 4K with DSC) and a single HDMI 2.1 port (as much as 60Hz at 8K with DSC) on the rear. Nvidia nonetheless hasn’t moved to DisplayPort 2.1, however I believe it’s much less of a problem on a card like this that’s concentrating on 1440p relatively than the excessive body charges required for 4K gaming.
Nvidia continues to make use of the one 12-pin PCIe 5 connector on the RTX 4070 Tremendous, and there’s an included 12VHPWR adapter cable within the field so you may join two common eight-pin PCIe energy cables. I at all times skip this adapter on my private builds as a result of I’m actually not a fan of it. I a lot desire single cable options which can be obtainable from third events or that ship with the most recent energy provides.
By way of energy, Nvidia has truly bumped the ability draw of the RTX 4070 Tremendous by 20 watts. It takes as much as as a lot as 220 watts at peak, in comparison with 200 watts on the RTX 4070. You’ll nonetheless solely want a 650-watt energy provide, although, the identical requirement for the previous-gen RTX 3070. The slight bump to energy utilization helps Nvidia squeeze out that further efficiency at each 1440p and 4K.
Sadly, the RTX 4070 Tremendous nonetheless ships with 12GB of reminiscence, simply 2GB greater than the unique RTX 3080. I used to be disillusioned with this alternative on the unique RTX 4070, and I’m as soon as once more shocked Nvidia hasn’t pushed this as much as 16GB, even when the value level has held at $599. This may not be a right away concern, however fashionable video games are consistently demanding extra VRAM, and 16GB simply provides you extra headroom for years to come back. It’s particularly disappointing when you think about that AMD ships its $499 Radeon RX 7800 XT with 16GB of VRAM.
1440p benchmarks
For 1440p testing, I paired the RTX 4070 Tremendous with AMD’s newest Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor and Samsung’s 32-inch G7 monitor. This monitor helps refresh charges as much as 240Hz in addition to Nvidia’s G-Sync know-how.
I put the RTX 4070 Tremendous head-to-head with the RTX 4070, the RTX 3070, AMD’s RX 7800 XT, and all the pieces in between to see how nicely this $599 GPU performs. I’ve examined a wide range of AAA video games at excessive or extremely settings, and the RTX 4070 Tremendous was in a position to exceed 100fps in most at 1440p or definitely come near hitting that focus on.
The RTX 4070 Tremendous is round 50 p.c quicker than the earlier RTX 3070 in most video games at 1440p and round 17 p.c quicker than the unique RTX 4070. Should you’re trying to step as much as the RTX 4070 Ti, the hole has closed to lower than 10 p.c. However we’ll should see how the RTX 4070 Ti Tremendous performs and extends that hole later this month.
I’m impressed with the RTX 4070 Tremendous’s positive factors over the unique card and former generations. Whereas AMD’s Radeon RX 7800 XT traded blows with the RTX 4070 beforehand, the RTX 4070 Tremendous beats it in each take a look at at 1440p. In Gears 5 and Metro Exodus, the RTX 4070 Tremendous is especially forward of AMD’s closest rival card.
The RTX 4070 Tremendous additionally leaves AMD’s previous-generation RX 6800 XT behind, a $649 GPU that has actually held its personal towards the most recent technology of playing cards. You’re additionally getting DLSS 3 with Nvidia’s RTX 4070 Tremendous, which delivers 186fps on common for Forza Horizon 5 at excessive settings. That’s a 26 p.c efficiency improve over the identical benchmark with out DLSS enabled.
4K benchmarks
The unique RTX 4070 wasn’t as spectacular at 4K, particularly towards the RTX 3080. This time, I paired the RTX 4070 Tremendous with Acer’s 31.5-inch Nitro XV2 monitor that’s able to refresh charges as much as 144Hz. The RTX 4070 Tremendous nonetheless didn’t come near reaching 144fps in most assessments, nevertheless it presents round 15 p.c higher efficiency than the RTX 4070 at 4K.
The RTX 4070 Tremendous comfortably beats the RTX 3080 at 4K and even comes near RTX 4070 Ti ranges of efficiency in some titles. In Forza Horizon 5 with DLSS 3 enabled, you’re getting the identical degree of efficiency as an RTX 4070 Ti, and it’s not far off in Murderer’s Creed Valhalla, Watch Canine: Legion, and Gears 5.
This degree of efficiency makes the $599 RTX 4070 Tremendous extra of a tempting card for 4K, significantly in case you’re prepared to dial again the settings and never run all the pieces at extremely or excessive. DLSS 3 will assist right here, too, particularly as extra video games are beginning to seem with Nvidia’s body technology know-how.
I nonetheless assume the RTX 4070 Tremendous is a perfect 1440p card, although. The RTX 3070 was at all times the candy spot for 1440p gaming, and the RTX 4070 Tremendous provides you much more room for the most recent video games in case you’re trying to improve from 1080p.
The RTX 4070 was a $600 RTX 3080, sort of. Now, the RTX 4070 Tremendous exceeds that to comfortably ship extra efficiency than an RTX 3080 on the identical $599 worth level because the RTX 4070 earlier than it. If I had been nonetheless operating a GTX 10-series or RTX 20-series card, then I’d be severely tempted to improve to the RTX 4070 Tremendous. The one factor that may make it much more interesting can be 16GB of VRAM.
Because it stands, Nvidia’s first RTX 40-series Tremendous card is a powerful efficiency bounce over the unique RTX 4070 and one which I’d severely contemplate for a 1440p PC construct. I’m now ready to see if Nvidia can replicate the identical efficiency boosts with its RTX 4070 Ti Tremendous.
Pictures by Tom Warren / The Verge