Let’s compare Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070, RTX 2070, 3070, and 4070

Ever because the introduction of the GTX 470 greater than a decade in the past, the xx70 card has been one thing of an ordinary for PC gaming, the go-to tier of efficiency that gained’t wreck your finances for greater than a month or so. But with graphics card costs climbing ever larger, is that also the case? PCWorld’s Keith May took it upon himself to reply that query, testing and evaluating the enhancements within the final 4 generations of playing cards: the GTX 1070 (2016), RTX 2070 (2018), RTX 3070 (2020), and RTX 4070 (proper freakin’ now).

Using a few of our regular gaming benchmarks throughout 4 generations of playing cards reveals a reasonably regular and predictable delta for efficiency, even in some older video games with out the advantage of extra trendy graphics optimization strategies. There are just a few exceptions, like Modern Warfare 2, however typically you’ll see the efficiency curve enhance with every card.

But since bounce from GTX to RTX, Nvidia has been boasting much less tangible enhancements like assist for ray tracing and DLSS, and used a few of these claims to justify the will increase in pricing. Are they price it? Running via Cybeprunk’s benchmark on the RTX 2070, 3070, 4070, and 4070 with ray tracing and DLSS turned on, you possibly can see a gentle enchancment in framerates thanks to those graphical shortcuts. The bounce is even larger while you allow the improved DLSS 3, unique to the RTX 40 collection. You can see comparable jumps when enabling the brand new Overdrive Mode with path tracing.

And do these jumps in efficiency justify the relative improve in worth? For reference, the GTX 1070 launched at a retail worth of $380 in 2016, whereas a brand new RTX 4070 will run you $600 at the moment. (The Zotac card used on this comparability is $670.) That’s a large bounce, even accounting for inflation… nevertheless it’s additionally the identical worth because the RTX 2070Founders Edition, after a quick drop final era. Kieth concludes that the RTX 4070 is a predictable and justifiable enchancment in efficiency, particularly with the addition of DLSS 3, nevertheless it’s nothing to get too enthusiastic about.

Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer