Reviewing the “Super” versions of Nvidia’s GeForce gaming GPUs is pretty straightforward: They’re tuned to hit a certain level of performance above the cards they replace, which means the RTX 4070 Super provides a decent uplift over the RTX 4070: typically about 15% in DLSS and 10 to 20% in gaming and graphics. Like the RTX 4070, the RTX 4070 Super seems like a well-rounded gaming card choice. Its performance straddles highest quality 1080p through entry 4K gaming (and video editing), hitting all of 1440p in between.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition
Like
Well-rounded performance for the money
Only takes two slots
Don’t like
Needs adapter or PCIe 5 power connectors
Making a recommendation, though, isn’t quite so clear cut, since the RTX 4070 is staying on the market at nominally $50 less than the $600 Super. And while the Super performs better than the RTX 4070, everything we said about that card only 10 months ago still holds true — including that it’s the least expensive way to hit all the same targets.
Aside from having 20% more cores and other computational components over the older card — Tensor (AI) cores, RT cores streaming multiprocessors and so on — little has changed from one generation to the next. The Founders Edition card I tested does have a slightly different finish; it’s a bit more refractive, so it reflects the colors in my system a tad more. Given that the card doesn’t have its own illumination, it’s a perk. As before, the size and power requirements make it a good fit for midsize systems.
The RTX 4070 Super’s finish is a little different than the RTX 4070.
The RTX 4070 Ti, on the other hand, pulls ahead of the 4070 Super by a wider margin in 4K, and I expect the imminent 4070 Ti Super will further increase the gap between them, thanks to more everything. But the price gap is a lot more significant as well: At least $200 for the Ti over the Super.
And while you’ll probably still be able to get the 4070 Ti for a while after the 4070 Ti Super ships next week, the variant of the GPU it’s based on won’t remain in production. If you can snap up the older one at $650 or less, it might make sense to get that card instead. Either is much better than the 4060 Ti, unless your system — or your budget — won’t accommodate these.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition
Memory | 12GB GDDR6X |
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Memory bandwidth (GBps) | 504 |
Memory clock (GHz) | 10.5 |
GPU clock (GHz, base/boost) | 1.98/2.475 |
Memory data rate/Interface | 21Gbps/192 bits |
RT cores | 56 |
CUDA cores | 7,168 |
Texture mapping units | 224 |
Streaming multiprocessors | 56 |
Tensor cores | 224 |
Process | 4nm |
TGP/min PSU (watts) | 220/650 |
Max thermal (degrees) | 194F/90C |
Bus | PCIe 4.0×16 |
Size | 2 slots |
Launch price | $600 |
Ship date | Jan. 17, 2024 |
Though the 4070 Ti only needs a half-slot more width than the 4070/Super, that means it will block an entire second slot on many motherboards and it might not even fit in some smaller systems.
A lot also depends on what you’re upgrading from. If it’s an RTX 20-series card or older, almost anything in the 40-series line will seem faster. The Super pulls even with and occasionally passes the RTX 3080 Ti in 1440p, but the latter still performs better in 4K.
The closest AMD competitor is the Radeon RX 7800 XT. It’s roughly $50 to $100 cheaper, and the performance is close if you want to save some money, plus it does perform better than the older RTX 4070. The caveat is, it lags quite a bit when you push the quality into ray tracing (still better than the 4060 Ti, though). The RTX 4070 Super also performs better on AMD’s own FidelityFX Super Resolution than the RX 7800 XT (the RTX 4070 does a bit better as well).
Watch this: Everything Nvidia Just Revealed at Its Special CES Event
Like most of its siblings, if your system doesn’t have the RTX 4070 Super requires you use either the 8-to-12-pin adapter that comes in the box or have PCIe 5 power connectors — which you’re unlikely to have unless you’re upgrading your power supply in addition to the GPU. The 4070 Super isn’t an unusually tall card, but with the adapter you have to be careful because you don’t want to put undue pressure on it.
In the coming weeks, the new RTX 4070 Ti Super and RTX 4080 Super will start shipping, but I don’t think they’ll change the equation for the buying decision for 1440p. And while Nvidia usually rolls out a new architecture every two years, which would put the update in mid-to-late 2024, Nvidia’s roadmap indicates that the company doesn’t plan to unveil a new consumer/gaming architecture until 2025. And even then we’ll probably see the top-of-the-line GPUs before the mainstream models that would replace this. So, for once, the only reason you might have to put off spending the money is to wait until big sales hit.
Relative performance of other GPUs
Shadow of the Tomb Raider gaming test (1440p)
RTX 4060 Ti 117RX 7800 XT 153RTX 4070 163RTX 3080 Ti 167RTX 4070 Super 180RX 7900 XT 182RTX 4070 Ti 195RTX 4080 220
3DMark Time Spy graphics test
RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) 13,477RTX 4070 18,013RX 7800 XT 18,830RTX 3080 Ti 19,008RTX 4070 Super 20,362RTX 4070 Ti 22,731RX 7900 XT 24,814RTX 4080 28,275
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) 7,695RTX 4070 10,413RX 7800 XT 12,312RTX 4070 Super 12,444RTX 3080 Ti 12,635RTX 4070 Ti 13,707RX 7900 XT 16,879RTX 4080 17,619
Guardians of the Galaxy (1440p at maximum quality with ray tracing)
RTX 4060 Ti 66RX 7900 XT 83RTX 4070 89RX 7900 XTX 93RTX 3080 Ti 102RTX 4070 Super 106RTX 4070 Ti 109RTX 4080 136
Procyon Video
RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) 6,818RX 7900 XT 8,259RTX 4070 8,383RTX 4070 Ti 8,479RX 7900 XTX 8,494RTX 4070 Super 8,496RTX 3080 Ti 8,792RTX 4080 9,250
SpecViewPerf 2020 SolidWorks (4K)
RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) 111.58RTX 4070 154.28RX 7900 XT 165.46RX 7800 XT 171.74RTX 4070 Super 173.01RX 7900 XTX 184.8RTX 4070 Ti 189.64RTX 3080 Ti 191.52RTX 4080 233.84
Cinebench 2024 (GPU)
RTX 4070 Super 14,519RTX 4070 Ti 19,017
3DMark Speed Way (DX12 Ultimate)
RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) 3,181RX 7800 XT 3,750RTX 4070 4,479RX 7900 XT 4,534RTX 4070 Super 5,182RTX 4070 Ti 5,429RTX 4080 7,168
Test PC configuration
Custom PC | Microsoft Windows 11 Pro (22H2); 3.2GHz Intel Core i9-12900K; 32GB DDR5-4800; 2x Corsair MP600 Pro SSD; Corsair HX1200 80 Plus Platinum PSU, MSI MPG Z690 Force Wi-Fi motherboard, Corsair 4000D Airflow midtower case |
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