Nvidia RTX 4070 vs RTX 3070: Which should you buy?
Nvidia has just announced the GeForce RTX 4070 graphics chip. The new GPU brings with it all the benefits of the new 40-series card and we’re pitting it against its RTX 3070 predecessor.
Nvidia’s already released a few 40-series cards, like the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, and the RTX 4070 GPU is the latest release. This card is aimed at mid-tier gaming, pushing upwards slightly into the higher end of things. Nvidia is making some big claims with regard to what we can expect from this GPU. Keep an eye out for our full review down the line. For now, here’s how it compares to its previous model.
An appealing price
- RTX 4070 starts at £589
- Previous model RTX 3070 currently £469
The RTX 4070 may have a price that’s more expensive than what you can currently buy the older RTX 3070 for but the package is an appealing one. Nvidia says you can expect a performance that tops not only the RTX 3070 but also the 3080 chip at 1440p gaming. The new card will be available from April 13th.
RTX 4070 comes with improved Lovelace architecture
- Based on 4nm TSMC vs 8nm Samsung process
- RTX 4070 has a greatly increased number of transistors
The Nvidia 40-series chips offer up the new Lovelace architecture compared with Ampere on the 30-series. The TSMC 4nm tech the new architecture is based on equates to a 50% smaller size than the previous generation.
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 | |
| Total Power Usage | 200W | 220W |
| CUDA Cores | 5888 | 5888 |
| RT Cores | 46 | 46 |
| Tensor Cores | 184 | 184 |
| Boost Clock | 2475MHz | 1725MHz |
The addition of DLSS 3
- DLSS 3 on RTX 4070, up from DLSS 2 on the 3070
- 36MB L2 cache on 4070
- 12GB GDDR6X memory, up from 8GB on RTX 3070
DLSS 3 brought about a significant improvement in the technology for 40-series chips versus what you get on the 30-series. The result is higher frame rates at a more detailed resolution, a win across the board. Nvidia is stating you can expect 100+ FPS at 1440p, coming in at 1.4x faster than the RTX 3080. There are benefits for raytracing as well, with a 16x jump in performance over the past five years.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
