Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti review: a next-gen GPU that's worth the asking price?
The Digital Foundry verdict.
The pricing of the new generation of PC graphics hardware is a big concern for users and based on evidence like the recent Gamers Nexus report on the RTX 4080 problem, it seems like Nvidia's dominance in the higher-end of the graphics market is down to the brilliant RTX 4090 and the price-vs-performance win delivered by the last-gen RTX 3080. Two years on, the Ampere card remains a brilliant proposition. The arrival of the RTX 4070 Ti is an interesting proposition then, which can be interpreted in two ways.
First of all, if you're expecting the same kind of gen-on-gen improvements to performance alongside a significant price-cut, you're likely to be disappointed by RTX 4070 Ti. It's more expensive than RTX 3080 and it delivers broadly comparable performance to the last-gen RTX 3090/3090 Ti as opposed to comprehensively besting them in the same way that RTX 3080 trounced the RTX 2080 Ti.
The second way of looking at pricing is to accept that we live in economically challenging times. Inflation is rampant while the cost of energy has significantly increased, meaning that the price of making just about anything has risen. Meanwhile, the cost of semiconductors on the most cutting-edge process nodes has gone up. Producing, smaller, denser chips is challenging - and it's the reason why Microsoft created Xbox Series S. Per our Series S big interview with the architect of the hardware, the Xbox team saw no way to produce a cost-reduced 'Slim' version of Series X as cost-per-transistor remained static so the solution was to cut down on costs instead. This has been borne out years later as prices on console hardware are only heading in one direction - up.
The sums still don't add up for the RTX 4080 based on its launch MSRP, but looking at the RTX 4070 Ti, a $799 price-point seems more reasonable - there's a 24 percent increase in transistor count over the GA102 chip used in the last-gen flagship. Performance advantages may vary against RTX 3080 but generally, it's a decent enough bump. On top of that, there are two gigs of extra memory, plus there's improved power efficiency, alongside features like DLSS 3 and a vastly improved media engine.
Judged by the economics of the here and now alongside the realities of using the latest process nodes, I don't have a problem with the RTX 4070 Ti. The RTX 3080 isn't going anywhere if you'd prefer one of those, plus there's always the used market for cut-price alternatives. The RTX 4070 Ti effectively replaces the RTX 3080 in my view - yes it costs more, but it also delivers more. It's not likely to be a contender for those who already bought a last-gen card, but that's rarely the audience for a brand-new GPU anyway. If you're looking for a replacement to a Pascal or Turing card, the RTX 4070 Ti wipes the floor with the closest priced equivalents of the time - GTX 1080 Ti, RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Super.
Comparisons against AMD's RX 7900 XT are interesting - you're paying AMD more for less ray tracing performance, no DLSS 3 and worse power efficiency. However, you are getting varying improvements to rasterisation performance, sometimes up to 20, even 25 percent - plus a lot more memory. On the flipside, I would have expected rasterisation performance to be more dominant with the XT when really, it's a mixed bag. The choice, as they say, is yours.
Also intriguing are the console comparisons. Benchmarking a console isn't easy owing to things like frame-rate caps, dynamic resolution scaling or a lack of a 100 percent settings match on PC versions of the same titles. Even so, where we can test, RTX 4070 Ti is at least twice as fast as a PlayStation 5 in rasterisation performance and more so with RT in the mix - and that's before we factor in the palpable advantages from DLSS. Playing Cyberpunk 2077, Control or Dying Light 2, for example, are night and day experiences compared to any of the current consoles. Obviously, you're paying more, but if you have the means, it's worth considering.
So, RTX 4070 Ti takes its place alongside the last-gen powerhouses - and while this class of card may not be the best of the best, they're still capable of amazing things.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti analysis
- Introduction, hardware and power analysis
- RT benchmarks: Dying Light 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Control, F1 22
- RT benchmarks: Hitman 3, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered
- RT/DLSS vs FSR2 benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Dying Light 2, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered
- Game benchmarks: Control, Cyberpunk 2077, F1 22
- Game benchmarks: Hitman 3, Forza Horizon, Red Dead Redemption 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti: the Digital Foundry verdict