The Nvidia RTX 4070 is a well-rounded graphics card with strong points in power efficiency, cooling, and advanced features like ray tracing and DLSS 3 frame generation. It performs very well in 1080p and 1440p gaming, often beating the RTX 3070 and approaching the RTX 3080’s capabilities. However, its higher price makes its value very debatable. While it’s definitely a solid choice, you should weigh their needs and the current market situation before deciding to buy it.  I think NVIDIA is kind of trying to uplift RTX 4070 by making its other options look bad like the outrageous price of RTX 4080 and 4090. 

In this blog we will find out everything NVIDIA got right and wrong with RTX 4070 and also give you a brief review of it by comparing it to previous generations RTX 3070 and 3080, so you can make better choice while upgrading your GPU.

At a Glance

Pros of the RTX 4070:

1. Power Efficiency: The RTX 4070 features a TDP of just 200W, making it highly power-efficient compared to its predecessors, reducing energy consumption and heat output. The RTX 4070 is built on a smaller 5nm chip . This advanced manufacturing process boosts efficiency and performance, leading to better power and thermal management. The compact chip design allows for more transistors, which enhances capabilities and supports features like improved ray tracing and DLSS 3.
2. Thermal Performance: Thanks to improved cooling solutions, the RTX 4070 maintains low temperatures even under heavy loads, ensuring stability and longevity.
3. DLSS 3 Frame Generation: The latest iteration of DLSS boosts performance significantly by generating additional frames, enhancing smoothness in games.
4. Future-Proof: RTX 4070 is most likely to get driver updates for much longer period of time.
5. Compact Size: The RTX 4070 often comes in smaller form factors compared to high-end models, making it suitable for compact builds without compromising on performance.
6. Boost clocks have risen a tremendous 43% .
7. Video Memory: RTX 407 features a 12GB GDDR6X memory as compared to 8GB GDDR6 in RTX 3070.

Cons of the RTX 4070:

1. Questionable Value: The higher price point makes its value debatable, especially considering the performance gains over the RTX 3070 aren’t as substantial as expected.
2. Memory Bandwidth: The 192-bit memory bus while its predecessor RTX 3070 has a 256 bit memory bus, while 192 is sufficient for most current games, might become a bottleneck in future titles that demand higher bandwidth.
3. Market Positioning: Nvidia’s pricing strategy for higher-end models like the RTX 4080 and 4090 may make the RTX 4070 seem like a better deal, but it’s still expensive for its performance bracket.
4. Limited VRAM for Future Titles: While 12GB of VRAM is adequate now, future AAA games might push these limits, potentially impacting performance in the long run.
5. Same CUDA core (higher is better) counts as RTX 3070: It’s the first time ever that NVIDIA have not given us more shaders in the next generation.

Gaming benchmarks for the RTX 4070

Although we tested all the below games with an intel i9-13900k processor on windows 11 with 32GB DDR5-6800 RAM ,AMD( Ryzen 7 CPUs)  will perform very similar.

• Cyberpunk 2077 gave a fps range of 125-130 in 1080p resolution high settings and no ray tracing.
• Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and ultra settings and no ray tracing gave an average fps of 80-85.
• Modern warfare 2 at 1440p with highest settings and no ray tracing gave an average fps of 100.
• Farcry-6 on the other hand gave an average fps of 130 at ultra settings no raytracing and 1440p resolution.
• Forza horizon-5 averaged on 130 fps with extreme settings and no ray tracing (1440p res).
• Hitman-3 was around 190 fps ,Max settings and no ray tracing (1440p res).
• Red dead redemption was around 100 fps in max settings and no raytracing in (1440p res) but red dead redemption was made on a older gaming engine so its hard to squeeze fps from it.

Relative comparison of RTX 4070 with other GPUs.

At 4k gaming the RTX 3080 ends up performing better than 4070 by almost 12% on an average but after turning on ray tracing they end up on very similar performance.

• Modernwarfare-2 at gave an average of 60fps at 4k at extreme settings and no raytracing.
• Cyberpunk 2077 at 40 fps (4k , ultra settings , no raytracing).
• Farcry-6 at 75 fps (4k , ultra settings , no raytracing).
• Forza horizon 5 at 90 fps (4k , extreme settings , no raytracing).
• Red Dead Redemption-2 at 65fps (4k , max settings , no raytracing).
• Hitman 3 at 100 fps (4k , max settings , no raytracing).

Pricing and Value:

Despite its strong performance (when compared to RTX 3070 its has increased upto 21%), the RTX 4070’s pricing is not justified . The MSRP of $600USD for founders edition places it in a higher bracket, leading to questions about its value, especially when compared to the RTX 3070 and other competitive offerings. The current market situation, characterized by fluctuating availability and pricing due to supply chain issues, further complicates the value proposition. 

Power Consumption and Cooling:

One of the standout features of the RTX 4070 is its power efficiency. With a TDP of 200W, it offers better performance per watt compared to its predecessors. The card maintains good thermal performance, staying within safe temperature limits even during prolonged gaming sessions.

This efficiency not only reduces energy costs but also minimizes heat output, which is beneficial for maintaining overall system stability and longevity.

Here is a table comparing different RTX4070s ,4080 and 4090 

Personal Opinion:

 With the new line of RTX 90 series NVIDIA is hoarding all its performance for top end cards like 4090 and 4080 also charging a very premium price for them .4070 doesn’t feel like a next generation leap in performance neither does 4060 but cards which do feel like next gen 4080s and 90 are way out of the price range of a normal customer .

Also considering how modern AAA games demand a more and more VRAM 4070 might become the next basic card. But there is some advantages too 4070 went neck to neck with 3080 which was around $700USD at the time of release which makes 4070 a good deal compared to previous generation.

RTX 4070 super on the other hand might be good choice for you as it offers a 12-25% more increase in performance for 9% increase in money. My recommendation would be either you should save some money by choosing the standard 4060, invest a bit more for the 4070 Super, or explore options from AMD like (Radeon RX 7800 XT).

If you’re looking for high frame rates at 1440p or a solid 60 fps at 4K, the 7800 XT is a great option and is priced closer to $500 than $600. On the other hand, if you value lower power consumption, better ray-tracing performance, and DLSS support, the 4070 Super or even the regular 4070 are worth considering.

Conclusion

The RTX 4070 is a solid graphics card with clear strengths in power efficiency, thermal management, and future-proofing . However, it doesn’t quite deliver the expected leap in performance relative to its price, 4070 with its 4nm architecture should outperform 3070 by a mile but it just feels like a 3080 with DLSS 3.

I would recommend the potential buyers  to consider specific needs: if ray tracing and DLSS are important, the RTX 4070 is a strong choice and. For those focused solely on traditional gaming performance, waiting for a price drop or exploring alternative options might be more logical decision to make this is why rating RTX 4070 is kind of hard . When compared to AMD’s offerings, such as the RX 6800 XT or 7800 XT the RTX 4070 holds its own value, particularly in ray tracing and DLSS performance. However, in pure performance, the competition can sometimes offer better value for money.