Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Nvidia ’s Goldilocks GPU this contemporaries has been theRTX 4070 . For microcomputer gaming in 2024 , with the cost of building a personal computer moving upward , it hit the everlasting balance of carrying out , toll , and features . It ’s a GPU that can do anything , delivering that premium gambling experience in flagship titles likeCyberpunk 2077 : Phantom LibertyandAlan Wake 2without costing as much as a used gondola .
But it ’s falling behind .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
The RTX 4070was a Goldilocks GPU , but the $ 500 to $ 600 market has become heatedly contested over the last few month , and far better option are available now . The RTX 4070 was easy thebest artwork cardof last year , but it ’s getting increasingly hard to recommend .
The AMD angle
A pile of the contender between $ 500 and $ 600 comes from AMD , which has intensely focalise on this section of the market with its RDNA 3 GPUs . We have the RX 7700 XT at $ 420 , the RX 7800 XT at $ 500 , and now , the RX 7900 GRE at $ 550 . AMD has seven full GPUs this generation , three of which are focalize foursquare at this market place .
The most unmediated competition for the RTX 4070 has been the RX 7800 XT . As you’re able to read in ourRX 7800 XT reassessment , the graphics card trades blows with the RTX 4070 , coming out slightly ahead overall . It ’s a classic answer from AMD — the RX 7800 XT provide slimly secure carrying out overall and for a broken price , but you do n’t get memory access toDLSS 3.5and trade some ray of light tracing performance .
This is the dynamic we ordinarily see in a GPU coevals . AMD is able-bodied to clap back at Nvidia with a slimly more powerful GPU overall while swap approach to features and ray - tracing public presentation in the unconscious process . It work specially well this generation , too , prompting Nvidia to promptly drop the toll of the RTX 4070 from $ 600 to $ 550 in a bid to detain private-enterprise .
But then AMD secrete the RX 7900 GRE . This GPU has a storied history , releasing in the midriff of last year only in China as the Golden Rabbit Edition . At the time , AMD harbinger a U.S. price of $ 650 , but after several calendar month exclusively across the Pacific , it did n’t seem like it would show up across the world . It just did , however , and with a new damage of $ 550 .
The RX 7900 GRE is AMD at its most militant , and in ourRX 7900 GRE review , we called it the good graphics wag AMD has released this generation . That ’s in the main due to the very aggressive cost . At the same terms as the RTX 4070 , AMD delivers around 15 % well performance overall , and that accounts forray trace . In many lighter ray follow workloads , AMD even has a lead .
Although tardy - gen refreshes are distinctive , we rarely see them upend the status quo of what came before . AMD has sure put the RTX 4070 in that position , originally with the RX 7800 XT but now more concretely with the RX 7900 GRE . Nvidia itself has upend the RTX 4070 , as well .
Nvidia’s apology
Nvidia ’s Super refreshfelt like an apology . That came through clearly with GPUs like the RTX 4080 Super , but the RTX 4070 Super was in a slightly different situation . It was Nvidia getting back at the RX 7800 XT , assay to claim an undeniable lead at the full of life price between $ 550 and $ 600 .
And Nvidia claimed that lead , as you’re able to read about in ourRTX 4070 Super reassessment . It ’s by far the most impressive Super refresh , and it manage to knock the RX 7800 XT down in the ranking . Even with the new RX 7900 GRE make the rounds , spending a bit more on the RTX 4070 Super is worth it to unlock beneficial ray hound performance and DLSS .
The problem is that Nvidia is continue to sell the base RTX 4070 . For the other GPUs that received a Super refresh , Nvidia retire the base version . The RTX 4070 instead go from $ 600 to $ 550 , with the RTX 4070 Super claiming the spot at $ 600 . It ’s only a departure of $ 50 , which is an easy premium to vindicate , deliberate the Super adaptation is around 11 % faster on median at 1440p .
It exit the RTX 4070 in a tough spot . The summit jewel of Nvidia ’s current - gen lineup has found itself outclassed by GPUs arriving in the same price one-armed bandit , and even with the prices of base RTX 4070 models going down , it ’s hard for the nontextual matter card to stand out as much as it once did .
The late-gen refresh
The RTX 4070 is n’t the GPU it once was . We typically see late - gen refreshes have a long posterior , unremarkably offering slight performance improvement while the base models pretermit in price . With this multiplication , however , these tardy - gen refreshes have knocked what we antecedently had out of relevancy .
Unfortunately , the RTX 4070 is the biggest dupe in that process . It was Nvidia ’s golden goose throughout last year , showcasing what the Ada Lovelace genesis could offer in a GPU that was actually affordable enough to buy . With the RX 7900 GRE and RTX 4070 Super float around now , the RTX 4070 is hard to recommend , despite the fact that Nvidia is still sell it .
The ripe news show is that the GPUs we have today are much faster . If you ’ve been eyeing an RTX 4070 for some time , you ’re much better off go with an RX 7900 GRE or RTX 4070 Super today . They ’re pronto available , and both provide a vast excrescence in performance .
