NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs. 4070 Ti: Which GPU is the better value?

• Best Value

  

  Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070

  Graphics RAM Size

  12GB GDDR6X

  Brand

  Nvidia

  Architecture

  Ada Lovelace

  Process

  5nm

  Transistors

  35.8 billion

  Shader Units

  5,888

  NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 is the most affordable entry in the RTX 40 series of cards based on Ada Lovelace. With NVIDIA releasing a FE version at MSRP, it’s the current value champ for NVIDIA.

  Pros & Cons

  • First mainstream price Ada Lovelace GPU
  • Capable 4K performance

  • Only one NVENC encoder

  $600 at Amazon $600 at Best Buy $600 at NVIDIA

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• Better Performance

  

  Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti

  Brand

  Nvidia

  Architecture

  Ada Lovelace

  Process

  4 nm

  Transistors

  35.8 billion

  Shader Units

  7,680

  Ray Accelerators/Cores

  60

  Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is an impressive piece of hardware with capable ray tracing performance even at 4K. It’s also expensive, with few options at MSRP.

  Pros & Cons

  • Better performance at 4K
  • Two encoders for recording

  • No FE version
  • Higher power requirements

  $800 at Amazon $880 at Newegg

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NVIDIA changed its release cadence for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, which came out after the RTX 4070 Ti had already launched. It’s the cheapest graphics card using the Ada Lovelace architecture, which features high core clocks and low power usage. We’re here to determine if the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 deserves a place in the best graphics cards or if you stick with the previously-released 4070 Ti.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs. 4070 Ti: Price, specs, and availability

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the first graphics card released this generation with a mainstream price. It launched for $600, which is still a fair amount of money, but it is the most affordable graphics card from NVIDIA or AMD with their new architectures. Its predecessor, the RTX 3070, launched at $500.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti used to be the cheapest Ada Lovelace graphics card, which was $800 at launch. Although, because it was only available in cards from board partners, the price was often substantially higher. Neither option is what we would consider a budget graphics card, but the pricing this generation is inflated across the board.

The good news for anyone trying to buy one of these graphics cards is that stock seems to be more plentiful than in the previous generation. While the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 were often out of stock, multiple RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti versions are in good supply.

• 	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
  Brand	Nvidia	Nvidia
  Architecture	Ada Lovelace	Ada Lovelace
  Process	5nm	4 nm
  Transistors	35.8 billion	35.8 billion
  Shader Units	5,888	7,680
  Ray Accelerators/Cores	46	60
  Stream Processors	46	60
  Base Clock Speed	1,920MHz	2,310 MHz
  Boost Clock Speed	2,480MHz	2,610 MHz
  Memory Bus	192-bit	192-bit
  Memory Bandwidth	504.2GB/s	504.2 GB/s
  Power Draw	200W	285 W

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs. 4070 Ti: Architecture

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 and 4070 Ti are built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and use the same 4nm AD104 silicon. That means both have the same improvements and feature set over previous generations of NVIDIA hardware, including third-generation ray tracing cores, fourth-generation tensor cores, DLSS 3, and the eighth-generation NVENC encoder.

While the RTX 4070 Ti uses the full 60 streaming multiprocessors available on the chip, the RTX 4070 only has 46 enabled. That results in a CUDA core count of 7,680 versus 5,888 on the cheaper graphics card, the same core count that last generation’s RTX 3070 had.

The Lovelace architecture is more efficient than last-gen Ampere, pulling less from the wall to get higher clocks and performance. Base clocks on the RTX 4070 are 1,920 MHz, with the RTX 4070 Ti capable of a substantially higher 2,310 MHz. Boost clocks narrow the lead, with the RTX 4070 capable of 2,480MHz versus the 2,610MHz of the more expensive RTX 4070 Ti. Both graphics cards being compared have 12GB of GDDR6X, with a 192-bit memory bus capable of 504.2GB/s bandwidth.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs. 4070 Ti: Performance

We haven't had hands-on experience with the RTX 4070 yet, but we do have an RTX 4070 Ti to get some testing results from. With both graphics cards using the same AD104 chip, we can then picture where the RTX 4070 should come in. Will the 33% increase in price from the RTX 4070 to the RTX 4070 Ti correspond to a similar performance increase, or will the lower number ray-tracing cores in the cheaper card cause it to fall behind?

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has 23% fewer stream processors, ray tracing cores, and CUDA cores than the RTX 4070 Ti. That should correspond to a similar reduction in frame rates from the numbers posted by the RTX 4070 Ti.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs. 4070 Ti: Which GPU is right for you?

Both NVIDIA options are among the best gaming graphics cards, capable of playable frame rates at 4K resolution in demanding titles. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the better value for most gamers, with a lower price and all of NVIDIA’s features like RT and DLSS 3.

The $600 MSRP is a relative bargain compared to any other graphics card this generation, like AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XT or 7900 XTX. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti might have higher clocks and more shader units, but the 33% price increase only corresponds to a 30% increase in specifications.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti would be a better choice for anyone who records or livestreams while they play video games due to the additional NVENC encoder, so encoding tasks can be split between the two instead of loading a single encoder. It's also more capable in games that lean on ray tracing, thanks to more ray tracing cores.