Last month, Nvidia officially launched its latest entry-level 1080p GPU, the RTX 4060 Ti. After circling through the high-end GPUs, Nvidia is finally geared towards the more economical options which is great news for low-budget gamers.
So far, RTX 4060 Ti has worked great with 1080p and 1440p graphics. And being the most affordable GPU in the 40 series family, this GPU is quite a compelling option for those gamers who’re just building their new PC.
Over the past week, I’ve been comparing the RTX 4060 Ti with its predecessors like RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3090. Today we’ll put it up against its big brother; the RTX 4070 which was released back in April of this year. And find out which one is the best for you. In this GPU versus battle, I’ll compare each specification and on-field performance to see which one offers more value. So read along to riddle it out!
But before we move on to the performance benchmarks, I want you to take a look at some important specifications that would give you a better understanding of how the two cards differ.
One-on-One Specs Comparison: RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 4070
| Features | RTX 4060 Ti | RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | TSMC 4N NVIDIA Custom Process | TSMC 4N NVIDIA Custom Process |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace |
| GPU | AD106 | AD104 |
| CUDA Cores | 4352 | 5888 |
| Tensor Cores | 136 (4th Gen) | 184 (4th Gen) |
| RT Cores | 34 (3rd Gen) | 46 (3rd Gen) |
| Texture Units | 136 | 184 |
| Streaming Multiprocessors | 32 | 46 |
| ROPs | 48 | 64 |
| Boost Clock | 2535 MHz | 2475 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 9000 MHz | 10500 MHz |
| Memory Data Rate | 18 Gbps | 21 Gbps |
| Total Video Memory | 8 GB GDDR6 / 16 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Interface | 128-bit | 192-bit |
| Total Memory Bandwidth | 288 GB/s (554 GB/s effective) | 504 GB/s |
| L2 Cache Size | 32768 kb | 36864 kb |
| Total Graphics Power (TGP) | 160 Watts | 200 watts |
| Minimum Power Supply | 550 Watts | 650 Watts |
| Launch date | May 2023 | Apr 2023 |
| Launch price | 399$-8 GB499$-16 GB | 599$ |
Did you notice I mentioned two VRAM options for the RTX 4060 Ti? Well, that’s because it has two variants with 8 GB and 16 GB of VRAM. But the 16 GB model isn’t released yet and is expected somewhere in July. So today we’re going talk about the 8GB variant.
Starting with the design, both GPUs have the same latest Ada Lovelace architecture and are manufactured using the same process. However, the RTX 4060 Ti has a comparatively smaller die (AD106) than the RTX 4070 which has a larger AD104.
You can also see in the chart that RTX 4060 Ti has 30% fewer CUDA cores than RTX 4070 which gives you a little indication of the performance difference. You should also keep in mind that the RTX 4060 Ti only draws 160 W of energy while RTX 4070 gulps down 200 W of energy.
Now let’s compare the prices to see which one falls in your budget.
Price comparison
The 8 GB version of RTX 4060 Ti has a launch price of 399$ and the 16 GB variant is expected to have an MSRP of 499$. On the other hand, RTX 4070 will cost you 599$.
No doubt the RTX 4070 is 200$ more than the RTX 4060 Ti but don’t forget you’re getting extra CUDA cores, faster VRAM, and broader memory bandwidth in return. Seems like a fair deal to me. I know we haven’t tested the 16 GB model of RTX 4060 Ti but I seriously doubt that it’d be able to beat the RTX 4070.
So I’d recommend you start saving up my pennies to go for the RTX 4070 and pass on the RTX 4060 Ti. But if you don’t want to spend big bucks and wanna compromise on performance. Go ahead! At the end of the end, it’s your preference that matters!
Performance battle
Now that we’ve explored all the specifications, I think it’s time to move on to the real performance tests.
3DMark Benchmark Suite (higher is better)
First off, I tested them in some synthetic benchmarks and got pretty obvious results. The RTX 4070 was on top in every test. You can see for yourself here.
| Tests | RTX 4070 | RTX 4060 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Strike (DX11) | 45245 | 33658 |
| Fire Strike Extreme (DX11) | 21548 | 15907 |
| Fire strike ultra (DX11) | 9971 | 7302 |
| Time Spy (DX12) | 17607 | 13301 |
| Time Spy Extreme (DX12) | 8441 | 6187 |
| Port Royal (RT) | 11070 | 8022 |
| Speed Way (RT) | 4413 | 3137 |
These synthetics benchmarks had pretty blatant results so there’s not much to say here. Let’s take these two GPUs into the gaming realm and see which one’s the real conqueror.
Gaming benchmarks
I tried a total of 13 games at different resolutions and recorded the average frame rates for each GPU. While testing, I noticed that in 5 of the games, the RTX 4060 Ti showed very disappointing performance against the RTX 4070, especially at higher resolutions. But in the other 8 games, the performance gap was bearable. I think this poor performance was because of the lower VRAM and gimped Memory specs. Anyways here are those 5 games where the RTX 4060 Ti dropped the flag.
| Games | RTX 4070 | RTX 4060 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (ultra-high graphics) (1080p) | 145 | 114 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla(1440p) | 112 | 84 |
| Call of Duty MW ll (extreme graphics) (1080p) | 150 | 115 |
| Call of Duty MW ll (1440p) | 105 | 67 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy (ultra graphics, RT +DLSS) (1080p) | 159 | 131 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy (1440p) | 128 | 94 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn (ultimate quality) (1080p) | 191 | 139 |
| Horizion Zero Dawn (1440p) | 148 | 107 |
| Monster Hunter World(highest graphics) (1080p) | 207 | 139 |
| Monster Hunter World (1440p) | 134 | 92 |
Below are the rest to of the games where the performance gap wasn’t that crazy.
| Games | RTX 4070 | RTX 4060 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077(Ultra Graphics, psycho RT, DLSS) (1080p) | 94 | 72 |
| Cyberpunk 2077(1440p) | 61 | 45 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (Extreme Preset with RT High) (1080p) | 119 | 115 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (1440p) | 118 | 97 |
| Deus Ex Mankind Divided(Highest Graphics) (1080p) | 179 | 134 |
| Deus Ex Mankind Divided (1440p) | 127 | 93 |
| A Plague Tale: Requiem (Ultra Graphics) (1080p) | 86 | 64 |
| A Plague Tale: Requiem(1440p) | 62 | 45 |
| The Division 2 (highest graphics) (1080p) | 169 | 130 |
| The Division 2 (1440p) | 119 | 88 |
| Red Dead Redemption (Highest Graphics) (1080p) | 131 | 101 |
| Red Dead Redemption (1440p) | 102 | 77 |
| Watch Dogs: Legion (Ultra Graphics, DLSS + RT) (1080p) | 101 | 95 |
| Watch Dogs: Legion (1440p) | 79 | 67 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (highest graphics) (1080p) | 226 | 176 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1440p) | 162 | 114 |
You might’ve noticed from the charts that the RTX 4060 Ti performs somewhat better at 1080p. But at 1440p, it struggles a lot, and judging by these results. I didn’t ramp up the resolution to 4K because I knew RTX 4060 Ti would probably choke at such a high resolution.
One more thing about RTX 4060 Ti’s performance that the charts couldn’t explain was that there was some stuttering and texture popping in high-demanding titles like The Last of Us, Hogwarts Legacy, etc.
In today’s gaming world, 8 GB of VRAM is never going to be enough. Because the latest PC port games that are actually designed for consoles require larger VRAMs. So that you know, PS 5 and Xbox X both have 16 GB of VRAM. Even the Xbox S has 2 GB more VRAM than the RTX 4060 Ti for crying out loud!
13 games average: RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 4070
| Average FPS | RTX 4060 Ti | RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| At 1080p | 117 | 150 |
| At 1440p | 82 | 112 |
Here’s an average performance gap between the two GPUs based on the results of 13 games. At 1080p, the RTX 4070 rolls 28% faster than the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti.
Things start to look even worse when we crank it up to 1440p. The performance difference goes up to 37% because the RTX 4060 Ti was never made for 1440p.
Parting words
So, RTX 4060 Ti or RTX 4070! Which one would be the better choice for you? Well, it all comes down to your preferences because you’re the one buying the card. But let me make things a little clear for you.
If we talk about better value, RTX 4060 Ti has got it! As it offers more frame rates per dollar of its price (399$). But bear this in mind, you’ll be stuck with 8 GB VRAM and some gimped memory specs. These drawbacks will hinder it from smoothly running graphics-intensive games and might struggle with 1440p, let alone 4K.
So if you can push your budget 200$ up, I’d recommend you to do so and go for the RTX 4070. With 12 GB of VRAM, it gives you a good deal for 600$. But if you’re not comfortable enough in spending that much and also don’t want to compromise on graphics then you can always wait for RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB variant to come out in July. I have high hopes it would work great at higher resolutions and also it’s 100 bucks cheaper than the RTX 4070.
So what’re you gonna do? Go for the more expensive one or settle on low performance. Do let me know!
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.
