KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer desktop graphics card review: A quiet, cool and frugal GPU for WQHD gaming
Bit by bit, the new mid-range Ada Lovelace architecture graphics cards are being released by Nvidia. After extensively testing the performance of the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG, now it is time to take a look at the model without the Ti abbreviation. To be more precise, we are looking at the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer, which is slightly smaller but still delivers impressive performance. There are a good $300 between the two, but none of the GeForce RTX 4070 graphics cards are exactly the cheapest when it comes down to it. Even so, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer is a model which will set you back around $650. This seems cheap compared to the GeForce RTX 4080, but many set their limits at around $500 for a mid-range graphics cards. In comparison: The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 FE had an MRSP of around $550 at its release in 2020. Unfortunately, a combination of global economic issues - as well as the mining boom - let to a hike in prices. They only gradually declined back to somewhat normal levels - but even so, inflation still proves to be a big issue. We just have to hope that this trend doesn't continue for much longer and that prices will slowly plateau at a level which most PC gamers will be happy with. But now, back to the graphics card. In direct comparison, the KFA2 is still well-equipped and gained some points due to its price and great features.
Visually, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer appears almost small compared to the GeForce RTX 4080 or the Geforce RTX 4090. But the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG was also much bigger due to its extremely large cooling unit. Nevertheless, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer has a large cooler with three fans, which also feature some snazzy RGB lights. At just over 2 slots, the graphics card is not quite as thick as the more powerful models such as the 4070 Ti. KFA2 can take this step, as the GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer now only has a power consumption of 215 watts. As a result, its power supply remains to be a tried-and-true 6+2 pin PCIe connection. Externally, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer has 1 HDMI 2.1a and 3 DisplayPort 1.4a connections.
The KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer in detail
The GeForce graphics cards' specs compared
| Features | RTX 4090 (FE) | RTX 4080 | KFA2 RTX 4070 Ti | KFA2 RTX 4070 | RTX 3070 FE |
| Chip | AD102 | AD103 | AD104 | AD104 | GA104 |
| FinFET process | 4 nm | 4 nm | 4 nm | 4 nm | 8 nm |
| CUDA cores | 16.384 | 9.728 | 7.680 | 5.888 | 5.888 |
| Texture units | 512 | 304 | 240 | 184 | 184 |
| Tensor cores | 512 4. Gen. | 304 4. Gen. | 240 4. Gen. | 184 4. Gen. | 184 3. Gen. |
| RT cores | 128 | 76 | 60 | 46 | 46 |
| GPU base clock | 2.235 MHz | 2.205 MHz | 2.310 MHz | 1.920 MHz | 1.500 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 2.520 MHz | 2.505 MHz | 2.670 MHz | 2.475 MHz | 1.750 MHz |
| Memory bus | 384 Bit | 256 Bit | 192 Bit | 192 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 1.008 GB/s | 716,8 GB/s | 504,2 GB/s | 504,2 GB/s | 448 GB/s |
| Video memory | 24 GB GDDR6X | 16 GB GDDR6X | 12 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6X | 8 GB GDDR6X |
| Power consumption | 450 W | 320 W | 285 W | 215 W | 290 W |
Information about our test system
We are using the current AMD platform based on the Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master as our test system. Its CPU (AMD Ryzen 9 7950X) performs well - we are using an AiO solution from Alphacool (Alphacool Eisbear Aurora 360 mm) as our cooling unit. Its 23 GB RAM is made by G.Skill and is will be used with the according EXPO profile. Our monitor is the Gigabyte M32U.
Our test system in detail
We used this system for the following benchmarks and tests:
- Lian-Li O11 Dynamic
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master, BIOS: F8a
- Alphacool Eisbear 360 AiO
- Corsair HX1200i power adapter
- G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 2x 16 GB, EXPO (DDR5-6000 CL30-38-38-96)
- Corsair MP600, 2 TB
- Crucial MX500, 2 TB
- Microsoft Windows 11 Professional 64-Bit (Version 22H2)
Details about the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer
In the GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer, KFA2 deviate slightly compared to the technical specs of Nvidia's Founders Edition. More specifically, its power consumption is specified at 215 watts, which is 15 watts higher than the reference card. Along with that, it also has a higher boost clock, although the GPU's base clock and also the VRAM's speed remain untouched. The maximum power limit can't be increased any further.
Synthetic benchmarks
Now, we will take a look at the synthetic benchmarks, which will give us some insight into the GPU's performance and how it compared to its competitors. Here, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer ranked directly behind the KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG. At higher resolutions, our test device began to stumble more often, which you can see clearly looking at the Unigine Superposition results. It ranked 20 per cent behind the Ti model of the GeForce RTX 4070. The KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer's performance compared to a KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG is still considerable. Both performed similarly well, but with regard to power consumption, the Ada Lovelace model lay clearly ahead. The results of 215 watts vs. 320 watts speak for themselves and show that Nvidia have quite the lead when it comes to efficiency.
Taking a look at compute performance, there wasn't a clear winner. At times, Nvidia and AMD took the lead due to their software, which fits better with their corresponding architecture. So if you are looking to use your graphics card for the occasional video rendering, then you might want to consider which model is most suited to this in advance. Streamers should be happy with Nvidia's RTX 40 series because they support AV1 encoding. If Twitch switch to using the new codec at any point in the near future, then you will be best equipped with an Nvidia graphics card on Ada Lovelace architecture.
| Unigine Valley 1.0 | |
| 1920x1080 Extreme HD DirectX AA:x8 | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4090 SG | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+ Pure | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| 1920x1080 Extreme HD Preset OpenGL AA:x8 | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4090 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG | |
| Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+ Pure | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
Compute benchmarks and professional uses
| Blender | |
| v3.3 Classroom CUDA | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| v3.3 Classroom OPTIX/RTX | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| Geekbench 5.5 | |
| OpenCL Score | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4090 SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG | |
| Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+ Pure | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Vulkan Score 5.5 | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4090 SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+ Pure | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG | |
| Affinity Photo 2 - Combined (Single / Multi GPU) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
* ... smaller is better
Gaming benchmarks
During our gaming tests, we utilize a wide range of games - from older ones right up until the most recent games of 2023. We were able to come to the conclusion that the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer mastered all the games we tested at 1,440p and with maximum details - without any issues and at playable frame rates. Some games can even be enjoyed at 2,160p, but then you will have to settle for frame rates of under 50 at times. At this point, we would like to mention that the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer is in the race for its 1,440p gaming. If you are looking for a 2,160p gaming experience with no compromises, then you should be looking at a more powerful graphics card such as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 or an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.
Compared to the KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG, our test sample did 20 per cent better. However, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer simply cannot keep up with AMD. But, it doesn't need to - as AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7900 XTX have a completely different target audience. We will likely have to wait a bit longer for the red camp's mid-range offshoots of the RDNA3-based graphics cards.
With activated light effects such as ray tracing, we could see a similar thing when looking at Nvidia's graphics cards. Compared to AMD, the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer came very close to the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT. But without the help of KI, we only observed playable frame rates at 1,080p with activated ray tracing. Using DLSS 3.0 - which can also be found on the small Ada Lovelace GPU - declines in performance with activated ray tracing can mostly be made up for. DLSS can also be used without activated ray tracing, which leads to most modern games being able to be played smoothly and without any notable loss of detail at higher resolutions. What AMD will have to offer with their announced FSR 3, we will just have to wait and see. Right now it has to be noted that Nvidia still continue to offer the best total concept and in terms of ray tracing, they still lay miles ahead of AMD.
| The Witcher 3 | |
| 3840x2160 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4090 SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4090 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |