Hunting for a new graphics card? Can’t decide if you should go with the RTX 4070 Ti or the RTX 4070? Well, this is a dilemma every gamer is facing these days. But don’t worry, I have the answer for you!
A couple of months back, NVIDIA launched their latest mid-range GPUs, the RTX 4070 and the RTX 4070 Ti. The latter will cost you 200$ more but undoubtedly provides a better gaming experience. So, are the extra 200 bucks worth it or should you save money and go for the more economical choice?
Buckle up to unravel this question! I’m going to walk you through my extensive one-on-one comparison. So, read on!
Before we dive into the battle, here are some pros and cons of RTX 4070 Ti you should know;
Pros
- Unmatched performance in 1440p games
- Supports DLSS and ray tracing
- Comes with a 3-year warranty back-up
Cons
- More expensive
- It sucks up more power
- Not easily available
Important specifications: RTX 4070 vs RTX 4070 Ti
| Feature | RTX 4070 Ti | RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace |
| Cuda cores | 7680 | 5888 |
| Tensor cores | 240 (4th Gen) | 184 (4th Gen) |
| Ray Tracing cores | 60 (3rd Gen) | 46 (3rd Gen) |
| Boost clock speed | 2.61 GHz | 2.48 GHz |
| Memory clock speed | 10500 MHz | 10500MHz |
| Memory data rate | 21 Gbps | 21Gbps |
| Total graphics power | 285 watts | 200 watts |
| Minimum power supply | 700 watts | 650 watts |
| Memory | 12 GB GDDR6X | 8 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory bandwidth | 560 GB/s | 448 GB/s |
| GPU | AD104 | AD104 |
| Graphic processing clusters | 5 | 4 |
| Texture processing clusters | 30 | 23 |
| Streaming multiprocessors | 60 | 46 |
| Texture units | 240 | 184 |
| ROPS | 80 | 64 |
| L2 Cache size | 49152 kb | 36864 kb |
| PCI Express interface | Gen 4 | Gen 4 |
| Release date | January 2023 | April 2023 |
| Price | 799 $ | 599$ |
You can clearly see, the RTX 4070 Ti has a slight edge in overall specifications but you’ll have to pay 200 dollars more. So whether you’re willing to spend more for the extra performance, only you can make that decision. But let me make it easier for you!
What’s different between the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070?
Before we move on to benchmark tests, let’s have a brief recap of how they differ.
RTX 4070 Ti has a 25% better L2 cache capacity, 23% higher CUDA cores and texture mapping units along with 20% more ROPs. It also stays ahead in the core boost clock by a good margin of 5%. But they both use the same 295mm2 AD104 GPU and have the same 12 GB of 21 Gbps memory with a 192-bit wide interface.
As for power, the RTX 4070 Ti supports the latest 16-pin 12VHPWR connector like the premium models; RTX 4070 FE. On the other hand, RTX 4070 uses the good-old PCle power connector. And bear in mind, mostly all the models that support 16-pin connectors have an included adapter.
But all these additional perks for an extra 200 dollars. Is it justifiable? Well, it would be too soon to answer before we see how much they differ in performance.
So I ran a lot of benchmark tests to find out which one offers the best value. And I’m going to share all the results with you to help you unriddle this mystery.
For these tests, I used Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor with DDR5-6000 CL30 memory. And here are the results for various games at different resolutions.
4K resolution
| 4K Games | RTX 4070 Ti average fps | RTX 4070 average fps |
| Red dead redemption 2 | 74.9 | 64.7 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 74.8 | 67.1 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 90 | 78.1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45.8 | 42.6 |
| Gears Tactics | 78.5 | 69.7 |
| Forza Horizon 5 | 115.5 | 106.4 |
| Overall average | 58.8 | 50.3 |
Both RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070 are biased as 1440 graphics cards but don’t underestimate their power. They also perform quite well at 4k resolution. In my tests, the RTX 4070 Ti beat the RTX 4070 by an overall performance difference of 17%. And that’s including the games that have ray tracing technology. I didn’t overclock any of the cards so the numbers could sway a bit after overclocking. Still, it’s reliable to make the final decision.
Talking of the 4K performance, the RTX 4070 Ti made a huge difference in some games. For instance, in Horizon Zero Dawn and Red Dead Redemption 2, it was 15 % faster than the RTX 4070. While in Assasin’s Creed Valhalla RTX 4070 Ti enjoyed a solid lead of 11%.
In some games, it wasn’t as promising! For example in Forza Horizon 5, the RTX 4070 could only mark an 8% performance gap, and in Cyberpunk 2077, there was a mere 3-frame difference.
1440p resolution
| 1440p Games | RTX 4070 Ti average fps | RTX 4070 average fps |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 114 | 99 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 129.5 | 111.5 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 169 | 145.5 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 95.1 | 82.3 |
| Gears Tactics | 157.6 | 122.1 |
| Forza Horizon 5 | 161.6 | 147.6 |
| Overall average | 109 | 92.5 |
At 1440p, the story wasn’t much different! The RTX 4070 Ti performed 18% quicker than the opponent; RTX 4070. Surprisingly in Cyberpunk 2077 RTX 4070 Ti was nearly 16% better, boosting up the frame rate from 82 to 95. Quite a lot!
Don’t forget, at this resolution, CPU bottlenecks can occur! For example, in the case of Red Dead Redemption, the performance gap shank to 12% only. I suspect it was because of the CPU bottleneck. I know it’s not as common at 1440p, but they can show up in CPU-intensive games.
It’s evident from the results that the RTX 4070 Ti is definitely the more powerful graphics card, but the extra still doesn’t overcome the difference. However, things start to get really confusing when you factor in the ray tracing.
RT and DLSS game benchmarks
| RT games | RTX 4070 Ti average fps | RTX 4070 average fps |
| Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition 4K (ultra RT, DX12) | 62.6 | 48.6 |
| Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition 1440p (ultra RT, DX12) | 108.4 | 85.5 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 1440p RT | 48.3 | 38.8 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 4K RT | 22.7 | 18 |
| Bright Memory Infinite 4K (Normal RT) | 28.4 | 21.6 |
| Bright Memory Infinite 1440P (Normal RT) | 61.7 | 47 |
In case you prefer heavier games that feature ray tracing then RTX 4070 Ti will make more sense for you. As you’ve seen the RTX 4070 Ti performs way better in RT games. In Bright Memory Infinite at 4K, the card struck a lead of 31%, meeting up with the price difference. The same was the case with the Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition and Cyberpunk 2077, it enjoyed a good lead of 28% and 26% respectively.
It not only performed better in situations where few frames were being rendered. The results were quite the same even down at 1440p. The RTX 4070 Ti maintained a handsome lead in all games. Only in Cyberpunk 2077, it slips down to 24%. Nothing serious! But it doesn’t end here!
Can you recall playing a game with ray tracing without Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)? We don’t often do that, right? So, comparing the numbers may theoretically be correct but in real-time, they may be impractical. Both of these cards; RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070 feature Nvidia’s DLSS frame generation that gives a huge performance boost in these highly demanding games.
Although the RTX 4070 Ti still leads with DLSS turned on, it’s just that the lead matters a lot less now. RTX 4070 wouldn’t have stood a chance if it didn’t have the DLSS3, but it does. And that doesn’t look good for RTX 4070 Ti.
Price and availability
The RTX 4070 Ti base model is marketed at 799$. But it’s hard to find at this price because there’s no Founder’s Edition for the RTX 4070 Ti. And most of the cards out there are either OC (overclocked) or premium models. So they are sold mostly at 830$ to 850$ and some even go above 900$.
On the other hand, RTX 4070 cards are easily available at 599$ only. Only a few custom cards are sold above 600$ and usually, these customized cards have the 16-pin 12VHPWR connector.
Final thoughts
There you have it! Now you know how RTX 4070 Ti differs from the RTX 4070 now the real question is; which one is good for you? Well, the Ti model is obviously more the powerful one but the cheaper card offers too much at a considerably low price that we can’t ignore it. The RTX 4070 Ti did shoot ahead in ray tracing power but the DLSS 3 made up for it. And in simple games, the average lead of 17% dropped down to 12%, all for 33% more price. I wouldn’t say, the odds are in favor of the Ti variant.
So which one would I suggest? Well, I’d recommend saving those extra 200 bucks and going with the RTX 4070. But the decision is yours! If you don’t mind paying 800$ for a better 4K gaming experience and higher frame rates, go for the RTX 4070 Ti. No pressure!
Muhammad Allayhan, a gaming and PC hardware virtuoso, breathes life into pixelated worlds. A legendary overclocker, he unlocks hidden power in gaming rigs. Navigating from 8-bit realms to today’s masterpieces, Muhammad’s words immerse readers in an ever-evolving digital odyssey. Join him as he reveals the secrets of gaming’s cutting edge.