RTX 4070 vs RTX 4070 Ti: Which NVIDIA GPU is Best?

Having a hard time picking between the RTX 4070 and the RTX 4070 Ti? In this post, we highlight the pros and cons of each NVIDIA 40-series GPU to help you choose the right one for your needs and budget.

NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 has arrived, and for now it’s cemented itself as the cheapest current-gen graphics card on the market. The RTX 4070 Ti previously held this title, so if you want a current-gen GPU without emptying the bank, you’ll want to compare these two GPUs.

Neither the 4070 nor the 4070 Ti is the absolute best graphics card out there right now—the RTX 4090 holds that title—but these video cards offer the best current-gen prices right now.

Also Read: RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 4070: Which is the Best GPU Upgrade?

To compare the RTX 4070 vs 4070 Ti fairly, however, we need to consider not just how the two GPUs stack up in terms of price and performance, but also how they fit into the overall picture, considering alternative graphics cards—even previous-gen ones.

Buying Options

• Best RTX 4070 Ti Graphics Cards
• Best RTX 4070 Graphics Cards
• Best RTX 4070 Prebuilt Gaming PCs
• Best RTX 4070 Laptops

What is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070?

NVIDIA’s RTX 4070 is a high-end, current-gen graphics card that launched in April 2023. It uses a scaled back AD104 GPU, which is the same GPU used in the 4070 Ti.

Like other GPUs of this NVIDIA generation, the 4070 is based on NVIDIA’s ‘Ada Lovelace’ architecture, which offers new features and more efficiency compared to previous architectures. This card performs well at 1080p and 1440p resolutions and can even handle 4K gaming in a pinch.

What is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti?

NVIDIA’s RTX 4070 Ti is a high-end, current-gen graphics card that launched in January 2023. It was originally going to be named and released as an RTX 4080, but after backlash NVIDIA lowed its price and release it under the 4070 Ti moniker.

Based on NVIDIA’s ‘Ada Lovelace’ GPU architecture, the 4070 Ti performs about as well as the fastest 30-series GPU. It’s great for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and can hold its own at 4K, too.

NVIDIA RTX 40-Series New Features

• DLSS 3
• New Ray Tracing and Tensor Cores
• Shader Execution Reordering (SER)
• More L2 cache
• Dual AV1 Encoding

NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 40-series graphics cards come with serious improvements over 30-series graphics cards.

DLSS 3—which includes frame generation—and improved RT Cores and SER allow for much better ray tracing and upscaling performance. If DLSS 3 is supported in a game, by enabling it, a 40-series GPU can do ray tracing without losing frames. Increased L2 cache also boosts memory efficiency and performance.

Content creators also have reason to opt for a 40-series GPU instead of a 30-series one, because the latest NVIDIA generation supports AV1 encoding. This is faster than many other formats, and once platforms support uploads in AV1, content creators should have a faster encoding option in their toolkit.

4070 Ti vs 4070: Price Comparison

The RTX 4070 Ti costs $200 (33%) more than the 4070 at MSRP. Currently, many of the cheaper AIB models retailing online match MSRP prices, meaning for now this $200 price difference holds true in practice.

We should note, however, that there is no 4070 Ti FE (Founders Edition), so the $799 price tag isn’t as guaranteed for the Ti.

Alternative GPUs

Now the RTX 4070 has launched, there’s little reason to opt for an RTX 3080.

Previously, the RTX 3080 was a superb choice for those unsatisfied with the steep price tags of 40-series GPUs. Now, however, the 4070 is a better value offering, because for the same price (or even cheaper) it performs about the same as the 3080 but has current-gen features like DLSS 3.

If you want to save some money, the best option right now—providing you don’t mind worse ray tracing and upscaling performance—is probably the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. Thanks to driver updates, this GPU now performs about as well as the 4070 and often in fact outperforms it. And you can pick one up for about $100 cheaper than the 4070, and even cheaper if buying used.

Apart from these GPUs, you might also consider the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. This AMD GPU costs $899 ($300 more than the 4070 and $100 more than the 4070 Ti). Previously, the 7900 XT performed only slightly better than the 4070 Ti, but recent reports show that driver updates have improved its performance significantly.

Read More:

• Best RTX 3080 Graphics Cards
• Best RX 6800 XT Graphics Cards

Graphics Card Specs

Although the 4070 and 4070 Ti use the same AD104 chip, the 4070’s chip is scaled back quite a lot, which means NVIDIA can use worse-binned 4070 Ti dies for the 4070 rather than discarding them. The 4070 Ti has 30% more CUDA Cores, Tensor Cores, and RT Cores than the 4070. It’s also clocked slightly higher.

Both GPUs have the same memory configuration, having 12GB GDDR6X memory with a 192-bit memory bus that allows for a bandwidth of 504GB/s.

Also of note is that the 4070 only has one NVENC encoder, while the 4070 Ti has dual NVENC encoders. There are also some 4070 models that only require one 8-pin power cable, whereas all 4070 Ti models require the 16-pin cable with adapter.

Dimensions

It’s hard to compare the 4070 and 4070 Ti’s dimensions because there is no 4070 Ti FE. Most 4070 Ti models are taller than the 42mm listed above. The 4070 is certainly a smaller card—it seems miniscule compared to every other current-gen GPU.

In fact, the 4070 is about the same size as the previous-gen RTX 3070, which should come as a relief to those of you unsure about the recent trend towards oversized GPUs. The 4070 Ti isn’t as enormous as others in this GPU generation, either—not by a long shot—but the 4070 takes the win, here.

Power Draw and Thermal Performance

One of the many alluring things about the RTX 4070 is its power consumption. Its 200W TDP should have gamers consuming about 186W while gaming. The 4070 Ti’s power consumption isn’t astronomical either, though. NVIDIA recommends a 650W PSU for the 4070 and a 700W PSU for the 4070 Ti.

Also Read: The Best Power Supplies

Online tests show that both the 4070 and 4070 Ti keep things nice and cool. Both stay around the same temperature—below 70c while gaming—but exactly how cool each GPU stays will depend on the cooler design of the AIB model in question.

4070 vs 4070 Ti: Gaming Performance

Below, we’ve given you charts comparing the 4070 vs 4070 Ti’s framerates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, and we’ve also presented the difference between the two cards’ ray tracing and upscaling capabilities.

Also Read: 1080p vs. 1440p vs. 4K: Which Resolution Is Best for Gaming?

We calculated these results by averaging out the game benchmark results provided by several online reviews, such as those from TechSpot, TomsHardware, and TechPowerUp. We’ve also presented average framerate percentage differences, which differ slightly to the charted absolute framerate comparisons.

1080p Benchmarks

Framerates averaged from several online benchmarks.

On average, the 4070 Ti performs about 18.4% better than the 4070 at 1080p.

For most gamers, it will make more sense to opt for an RTX 4070 than an RTX 4070 Ti for 1080p gaming. Both graphics cards offer well above 100fps in most games on ultra settings at this resolution.

Considering most 1080p gamers are likely to use a 120Hz or 144Hz monitors, a $200 saving with the 4070 is appealing, because the 4070 will maintain framerates smooth enough for these refresh rates in most games on max settings.

If you’re a competitive gamer, it might seem reasonable to opt for the 4070 Ti for ultra-high refresh rate gaming. But this probably isn’t necessary, either, because most competitive games aren’t graphically intensive even on ultra settings. Plus, competitive gamers are usually fine dropping their settings to maximise framerates.

1440p Benchmarks

Framerates averaged from several online benchmarks.

On average, the 4070 Ti performs about 22.2% better than the 4070 at 1440p.

For 1440p gaming, it might make sense to opt for an RTX 4070 Ti instead of an RTX 4070 if you’re gaming on a 120Hz or 144Hz monitor.

Also Read: Is 1440P Worth it for Gaming?

The RTX 4070 can certainly hold its own at this resolution, averaging over 100fps in most games on high or max settings. But in more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, Metro Exodus, or F1 22, it will struggle to reach 100fps at 1440p even on high settings.

For a 60Hz or 75Hz monitor, though, the 4070 will do fine with any game. And if you’re not bothered about playing the most demanding games, or you don’t mind lowering your settings a little, a 4070 should be good for 120Hz 1440p gaming, too.

The 4070 Ti, however, hits about 100fps on average in these more demanding titles on high settings. So, for those of you wanting to play the latest triple-A titles on a 120Hz or 144Hz 1440p monitor, it might be worth the extra $200 to opt for an RTX 4070 Ti.

4K Benchmarks

Framerates averaged from several online benchmarks.

On average, the 4070 Ti performs about 24.8% better than the 4070 at 4K.

If you’re planning on gaming primarily at 4K resolution, a 4070 Ti will probably be a better purchase than a 4070. While the 4070 is great for 1080p and 1440p gaming, it can’t maintain smooth framerates at 4K like the 4070 Ti can—not without dropping in-game graphics settings.

Also Read: Is 4K Worth it for Gaming? Why Most Gamers Don’t Need a 4K Monitor

The 4070 can achieve close to 60fps in most modern games on max settings at 4K, but in more demanding games it will drop below 60fps and sometimes below 50fps. If you don’t want to play more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Warhammer Total War III, or if you don’t mind dropping your settings to medium-high, it can handle smooth 4K gaming in a pinch.

The 4070 Ti, however, can play these games at about 60fps without lowering any settings. Plus, for smooth gaming on a 60Hz monitor, you probably want a framerate average of higher than 60fps to prevent choppy gameplay in more demanding game scenes. And this is what the 4070 Ti can deliver, even in the most demanding games if you drop your settings below ultra.

Deciding between the 4070 and 4070 Ti for 4K gaming, then, is a matter of which games you want to play and what settings you’re comfortable playing on. If you want more leeway, a 4070 Ti will be well worth the extra $200.

Ray Tracing and Upscaling

Score taken from PCGamer’s testing (4K charts).

Based on PCGamer’s 3Dmark Port Royal testing, the 4070 Ti does ray tracing about 26.9% better than the RTX 4070 at 4K resolution.

Another area where the 4070 Ti fares much better than the 4070 is in ray tracing performance. Thanks to its 14 extra RT cores, the 4070 Ti handles ray tracing better than the 4070. At 4K—and, to an extent, 1440p—this only cements the 4070 Ti’s lead.

If you want to game at 4K with ray tracing enabled, opting for a 4070 Ti over a 4070 can make the difference between playable and unplayable framerates.

However, the 4070, just like the 4070 Ti, supports DLSS 3 and frame generation. And this—providing the game supports it—more than offsets any loss of framerate by enabling ray tracing. Even DLSS 2 almost doubles framerates, and DLSS 3 with frame generation can come close to tripling them.

All of this is to say: if you’re happy enabling DLSS, take ray tracing performance with a pinch of salt. With DLSS 2 or 3 enabled, the 4070 can perform much better than even better graphics cards like the 4070 Ti when these cards have DLSS disabled.

Game Performance Summary

While the 4070 Ti performs about 18.4% better than the 4070 at 1080p, for most gamers it will make more sense to opt for the cheaper GPU at this resolution. The 4070 can achieve well over 100fps at 1080p in most games on max settings, and even more than this in less demanding, competitive games.

For 1440p, a 4070 will be enough to play most games at above 100fps at max settings. But if you want to play the most graphically demanding games on max settings above 100fps, a 4070 Ti will be a better purchase.

For 4K, a 4070 Ti will be a better purchase unless you don’t mind dropping your settings down to medium or medium-high. In some modern games the 4070 will struggle to maintain a smooth 60fps on high or max settings, while the 4070 Ti will achieve this in all but the most graphically intensive titles.

Finally, all the above changes if you’re happy enabling DLSS (whether that’s DLSS 2 or DLSS 3) in-game. DLSS 2 can almost double framerates in some games, and DLSS 3 does much more, turning the 4070 from a card that just gets by at 4K into one that demolishes it. It can also offset the performance hit caused by enabling ray tracing (a performance hit that’s less noticeable with a 4070 Ti).

More Performance Comparisons

• RTX 4070 Ti vs RTX 4090
• RTX 4070 Ti vs RTX 4080
• RTX 4070 Ti vs RX 7900 XTX
• RTX 4070 Ti vs RX 7900 XT
• RTX 4070 vs RX 7900 XT
• RTX 4070 vs RTX 4080
• RTX 4070 vs RTX 4090

Verdict: Is the RTX 4070 or 4070 Ti Better?

Until the RTX 4070, there weren’t too many current-gen NVIDIA GPUs for the average gamer to get excited about. The RTX 4090 is great, sure, but it also costs much more than the rest of one’s PC components put together. And the 4070 Ti and 4080 faced tough price-performance competition from the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

Now, however, there’s an NVIDIA GPU that regular gamers can get excited about—though not without reservations. The RTX 4070 comes in $200 cheaper than the 4070 Ti and is an easy purchase for anyone who was previously considering buying a 3080.

The 4070 is great for those who want current-gen features and efficiency—remember how power efficient the 4070 is compared to previous-gen GPUs—without breaking the bank. Or, at least, without breaking the bank to the same extent that a 4080 or 4090 breaks the bank. Plus, it’s a normal-sized 40-series GPU, which can make upgrading less of a hassle.

On the other hand, the 4070 is still more expensive than previous-generation xx70 cards. And this might make one wonder whether it’s worth spending the extra and opting for a 4070 Ti after all.

If you’re going to be gaming at 4K, the 4070 Ti is a great option, because it can guarantee 60fps on max settings in many more games at this resolution. And ditto for framerates above 100fps at 1440p. There’s simply more framerate security at higher resolutions with the 4070 Ti.

But for most gamers—those who don’t mind lowering their settings here and there, and who aren’t dead-set on maxing out the most graphically intensive games for 60Hz 4K or high refresh rate 1440p gaming—a 4070 will do just fine and the $200 saving will be worth it.