The NVIDIA 4070 Ti Super has arrived, bringing with it promises of improved performance and increased VRAM. But how does it stack up against the card it’s replacing, and how does it compare to AMD’s 7900XT? Let’s delve into the specifics.
Specs
Last year, the 4070 Ti was met with mixed reviews, primarily due to its 12GB of VRAM on an $800 card. NVIDIA aims to rectify this with the 4070 Ti Super, featuring a significant performance boost and an increase in VRAM to 16GB. The Super is built on a modified version of the 4080 GPU die, offering a 10% increase in cores, slight base clock speed enhancements, and a larger 256-bit memory bus, resulting in a 33% increase in VRAM and bandwidth.
The 4070 Ti Super is positioned at an MSRP of $800. However, with no founders’ edition to anchor the pricing, the market will determine the actual retail cost. The review unit provided by NVIDIA, the ASUS TUF edition, is priced at this MSRP.
To assess the 4070 Ti Super’s capabilities, I built a new test bench featuring the 14900K processor to test the card across various games. NVIDIA markets this card as ideal for high refresh rate 1440p gaming, and initial tests confirm this positioning
Performance
Twitchy esports titles are expected to fully utilize a high refresh rate 1440p monitor with the 4070 Ti Super, and this card appears to meet those demands effectively.
The Finals
This game is slightly more demanding, especially when using maxed-out settings at 1440p with ray tracing. The 4070 Ti Super achieves an impressive 170-180 frames per second, delivering an excellent high frame rate experience.
Apex Legends
At 1440p on high settings, the performance is robust, frequently hitting the 300 fps cap. Additionally, there is ample headroom to increase the resolution to 4K, where the card maintains 175-200 frames per second at the highest settings.
The Last of Us Part 1
For more demanding titles, such as The Last of Us Part 1 at 4K, the increased VRAM of the 4070 Ti Super proves beneficial, peaking at upwards of 13GB. This results in a playable experience at 55-60 fps using rasterization performance alone, without any upscaling techniques like DLSS. At 1440p with the same settings, the card achieves a solid average frame rate of 110 fps.
Most of these performance figures focus on rasterization, as it is a more accurate way to gauge true performance differences between cards. However, in single-player games, there is no reason to ignore the new features of the 4000 series GPUs, such as DLSS and frame generation. Enabling these features can significantly boost frame rates with minimal compromises, resulting in over a 100% increase in frame rates across the three games tested.
While these features are beneficial for single-player games, they are not recommended for competitive shooters like The Finals and Modern Warfare 3, as they can introduce additional latency. Frame generation should be viewed as an enhancement for motion smoothness rather than a performance boost. Therefore, it is particularly useful for maximizing high refresh rate monitors in single-player games.
How Does This Compare to Its Predecessor?
F1 23
The smallest difference in performance between the 4070 Ti and the 4070 Ti Super is observed in F1 23. Running the in-game benchmark multiple times, the 4070 Ti Super shows an average performance increase of only 2.5%.
The Last of Us Part 1
At the other end of the spectrum is The Last of Us Part 1, a much more VRAM-intensive game. In 1440p, the 4070 Ti lags behind the Super by an average of 15 frames, equating to a 16% increase in performance for the 4070 Ti Super.
The increase in VRAM is proving to be highly beneficial in games that require more memory, such as Alan Wake 2 when using path tracing settings. This enhancement allows the 4070 Ti Super to handle these demanding scenarios better.
VRAM Considerations and Productivity Benefits
The original 4070 Ti’s 12GB of VRAM raises concerns regarding the card’s longevity, especially given the increasing memory demands of newer games. While 12GB is generally sufficient for most games at 1440p and 4K, titles such as The Last of Us, Hogwarts Legacy, and Alan Wake 2 are beginning to push these limits, leaving little room for future-proofing. Thus, the upgrade to 16GB in the 4070 Ti Super is a much-needed improvement.
This increase in VRAM also benefits productivity tasks, such as video editing and working with complex scenes in Blender, where the additional memory proves useful.
Comparison with AMD’s 7900 XT
The AMD 7900 XT offers 20GB of VRAM, which may seem advantageous. However, excess VRAM does not enhance performance if it’s not utilized. Running out of VRAM is detrimental, but having more than necessary does not improve performance.
In straight rasterization gaming performance, the 7900 XT and the 4070 Ti Super are closely matched, trading blows across various tested games. Recent price cuts on the 7900 XT, likely in response to the Super announcements, add another factor to consider. However, the 4070 Ti Super stands out due to features like DLSS and NVIDIA’s implementation of frame generation, which are not available on AMD cards and offer significant performance benefits.
Additionally, the new RTX features, such as RTX Remix, which recently entered BETA, allow for the enhancement of classic games. Exploring these possibilities further demonstrates the value of NVIDIA’s ecosystem.
The 4070 Ti Super vs the 4080
While some hoped the 4070 Ti Super would match the 4080’s performance at a lower price, it sits between the original 4070 Ti and the 4080. The forthcoming 4080 Super might offer equivalent performance at a reduced cost, but for now, the 4070 Ti Super presents a balanced option.
The 4070 Ti Super is set to replace the 4070 Ti once stock depletes, offering better performance and increased VRAM at the same price. Although not a revolutionary upgrade, it addresses last year’s criticisms effectively. This card is well-suited for high-resolution gaming and creative work, making it a worthy successor to the 4070 Ti.
Final Thoughts
After spending a few days with the 4070 Ti Super, it appears to be a solid improvement. It’s a step in the right direction for NVIDIA, extending the card’s usability for future gaming and productivity demands.