Is the new Nvidia RTX 4070 worth it for gaming? Specs, price, performance, and more explained

The Nvidia RTX 4070 is available for purchase now. The GPU has been priced at $599, and multiple models are available at the advertised MSRP. The GPU is much cheaper than our expected $650 price tag, which would have made it a bad deal once compared to the high-end last-gen GPUs. However, should gamers pay $600 for Team Green's latest creation? Answers may vary. The GPU is bundled with all of the company's latest innovations. The list includes best-in-class ray tracing performance, support for frame generation, and superior upscaling technology.

This article will review the advertised specs, the performance, and the pricing of the RTX 4070 and try to answer whether gamers should buy it or explore other options on the market.

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The RTX 4070 is more value for money than its elder siblings

The RTX 40 series lineup is well known for its massive performance uplifts over the last-gen graphics cards. However, the 4070 isn't as much of an upgrade as the higher-end models in the series. Gamers can expect a 20-30% performance gain with the new GPU.

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Specs

A quick look at the specs table of the RTX 4070 and the last-gen 3070 reveals that the cards are pretty close in specs. Both the GPUs pack 5,888 CUDA cores and 46 RT cores. Even the Texture Mapping Unit (TMU) and Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) count has been carried over from the older GPU.

However, it is worth noting that with the RTX 40 series lineup, Nvidia has bumped up the performance of each CUDA core and SM to achieve new heights in video games. Thus, the $600 RTX 4070 can easily outperform the last gen offering even with a similar spec sheet.

The latest card packs 12 GB of much faster 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory. 8 GB has already started falling apart in most titles and could be a limiting factor.

Comparison factors	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070	Nvidia Geforce RTX 3070
Market (main)	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	2023 Q2	2020 Q3
Model number	AD104-250-A1	GA104-300-A1
GPU name	AD104	GA104
Architecture	Ada Lovelace	Ampere
Generation	GeForce 40	GeForce 30
Lithography	4 nm	8 nm
Transistors	35,800,000,000	17,400,000,000
Bus interface	PCIe 4.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
GPU base clock	1,920 MHz	1,500 MHz
GPU boost clock	2,475 MHz	1,725 MHz
Memory frequency	1,313 MHz	1,750 MHz
Effective memory speed	21 Gbps	14 Gbps
Memory size	12 GB	8 GB
Memory type	GDDR6X	GDDR6
Memory bus	192 bit	256 bit
Memory bandwidth	504.2 GB/s	448.0 GB/s
TDP	200 W	220 W
Suggested PSU	600W ATX Power Supply	550W ATX Power Supply
Outputs	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Cores (compute units, SM, SMX)	46	46
Shading units (CUDA Cores)	5888	5888
TMUs	184	184
ROPs	64	96
RT cores	46	46
Cache memory	36 MB	27 MB
Pixel fillrate	158.4 GP/s	165.6 GP/s
Texture fillrate	455.4 GT/s	317.4 GT/s
Performance FP16 (half)	29.1 TFLOPS	20.31 TFLOPS
Performance FP32 (float)	29.1 TFLOPS	20.31 TFLOPS
Performance FP64 (double)	455.4 GFLOPS	317.4 GFLOPS

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Performance

The RTX 4070 packs a solid performance. The 70-class GPUs are generally known for their QHD gaming prowess. However, the Ada Lovelace card extends the 4K gaming performance of the lineup. Gamers can expect playable framerates in some of the most demanding AAA titles at any of the most popular resolutions.

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2160p UHD benchmarks

The RTX 4070 pulls off over 30 FPS in most of the latest AAA games. Although the card is not built for 4K, gamers who don't want to spend a fortune on their next rig can consider the 4070 for the resolution.

	Nvidia RTX 4070 12GB
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II	92 FPS
Fortnite	33 FPS
A Plague Tale Requiem	39 FPS
God of War	69 FPS
The Callisto Protocol	50 FPS

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1440p QHD benchmarks

In 1440p, the RTX 4070 pulled off a pretty decent performance. The card hits over 60 FPS with ray tracing turned for in every major title.

	Nvidia RTX 4070 12GB
Resident Evil 4 Remake	98 FPS
The Last of US Part 1	75 FPS
A Plague Tale Requiem	77 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	37 FPS
The Callisto Protocol	86 FPS

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1080p FHD benchmarks

The 4070 can be overkill for 1080p gaming. However, those looking at the card for competitive gaming can opt for the 70-class GPU without a second thought.

	Nvidia RTX 4070 12GB
Resident Evil 4 Remake	135 FPS
The Last of US Part 1	106 FPS
A Plague Tale Requiem	112 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	81 FPS
The Callisto Protocol	89 FPS

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Pricing

The 4070 might deliver a decent performance. However, better options are at or below the $600 price tag. The AMD RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT are faster than Nvidia's latest launch. However, the cards cost much less than the latest 70-class offering.

The RX 6800 was recently discounted to $469 to stay competitive against Team Green's offerings. The card can deliver similar framerates as the 4070. The RX 6800 XT trades blow with the RTX 3080 and the 3080 Ti. It packs 16 GB of video memory and can outperform the 4070 in multiple scenarios. At a starting price of $539, it is a better choice for gaming.

Thus, gamers should consider the last-gen AMD offerings before finalizing the RTX 4070 as their following GPU.