Efficient RTX 4070 performs 27% faster vs RTX 3070 and on par with RTX 3080 10 GB in comprehensive launch review roundup ^↺

With the launch of the RTX 4070, we have finally gotten the first mid-range RTX 40 GPU. As many reviews have noted, the RTX 4070 effectively matches or slightly falls behind the RTX 3080 10 GB while convincingly beating the RTX 3070 and the RTX 3070 Ti. 3DCenter has now put together a launch review analysis detailing the RTX 4070's performance profile in relation to offerings from both AMD and NVIDIA.

RTX 4070 1080p performance

According to the data compiled by 3DCenter, the RTX 4070 was, on average, 2% faster than the RTX 3080 10 GB, 20% ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti, and 27% more performant than the RTX 3070 in rasterization. The real kicker is that AMD’s RDNA 2 RX 6800 XT essentially matched the RTX 4070 at 1080p while costing less.

Interestingly, the last-gen AMD flagship, the RX 6950 XT, which is technically not a competitor to the RTX 4070 has now become a viable option for buyers shopping for mid-range cards thanks to heavy price drops. The RX 6950 XT appeared to outperform the RTX 4070 by 11.4% in rasterization.

1440p performance

For many people, the RTX 4070 is a card suited for WQHD gaming. Per 3DCenter’s report, the RTX 4070 performed practically identical to the RTX 3080 10 GB and the RX 6800 XT in rasterization at WQHD resolution. However, the card soundly beat the RTX 3070 and the RTX 3070 Ti by margins of 27% and 19% respectively. Once again, the RX 6950 XT overtook the RTX 4070 by 15% making it an excellent option for consumers looking to spend around US$650.

Moving on to ray tracing performance at WQHD, the RTX 4070 posted worthy gains of 35% and 26% against the RTX 3070 and the RTX 3070 Ti while matching the RTX 3080 10 GB.

Unsurprisingly, no previous-gen AMD board, including the RX 6950 XT, rivaled up to the RTX 4070 in RT performance as NVIDIA’s champion came out, on average, 16% and 31% ahead of the RX 6950 XT and the RX 6800 XT.

4K performance

The RTX 4070 is not an optimal solution for 4K gaming. Per 3DCenter’s review roundup, the card proved to be 6% and 2% slower than the RTX 3080 10 GB and the RX 6800 XT respectively. As expected, the RX 6950 XT was also ahead of the RTX 4070 by a comfortable 18%. That said, the RTX 4070 did post considerable gains to the tune of 27% and 17% vs  the RTX 3070 and the RTX 3070 Ti respectively.

Power consumption

Power consumption is one of the redeeming qualities of the RTX 4070 as, although NVIDIA rates the GPU for 200 W, the card only consumed 193 W which is considerably lower than the competing boards. For instance, the RTX 4070’s power consumption in gaming appeared 100 W lower than the RTX 3070 Ti, an impressive 132 W lower than the RTX 3080 10 GB, and a mentionable 28 W lower than the RTX 3070.

The story is similar when we compare the RTX 4070 to AMD GPUs where the board was >100 W more economical than the RX 6800 XT and a whopping 155 W more efficient than the RX 6950 XT.

Long story short, the RTX 4070 seems like a worthy upgrade for people who prioritize sub-4K gaming and are planning to use ray tracing effects. For everyone else, the RX 6800 XT seems like an excellent alternative as it costs less but offers the same rasterization performance. Additionally, 3DCenter’s analysis also shines a light on the value proposition offered by the RX 6950 XT. The card not only performs considerably better than the RTX 4070 but also costs relatively close thanks to deep price cuts.

Buy the MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 on Amazon