The 4070 Super is finally here, and it's time to assess its role in the current market. While Nvidia positions this as a 1440p card, it also directly compares it to the last gen king RTX 3090 which was clearly positioned as a 4k card. Priced at 599 USD, the 4070 Super not only replaces the existing 4070 at the same price point but also offers a significant cost advantage over the 3090, being a thousand dollars less expensive. But is it actually any better? Well yes, it is, in most things. Let’s get into it.
First I want to quickly cover some specs. Super moniker is not just a re-badge and new cooler colour. It represents a substantial 21% increase in CUDA core count, a marginally higher base clock speed, and additional RT and Tensor cores. This enhancement naturally leads to an estimated 10% increase in power consumption, bringing the total to 220 Watts. In this review, we'll primarily compare the 3090, the standard 4070, and the new Super variant, but we'll also provide ample information on other cards to understand their positioning in the market.
Before we get into benchmarks, for reference here is the pricing for both 4070 and 3090. The 4070 can be bought new for under 550 USD, and in some instances, it might come with additional perks. 3090 on the other hand is still priced at a steep 1600 USD, which seems exorbitant, especially considering that the 4080 outperforms it in almost every aspect.
In the second-hand market, the 4070 can be found slightly cheaper, ranging from $450 to $550, while 3090s go for 650 to 900 USD which is significantly better than Newegg but this is certainly going to vary by region.
Moving on to performance, we'll begin with average wattage. For this, we ran Time Spy Extreme in a loop and measured power consumption using Nvidia's PCAT. This test confirmed that the 4070 Super performs as advertised, puling 220 Watts which is 10% higher than non-Super variant.
When it comes to power efficiency, we use the same data and check framerate output versus power. Impressively, the 4070 Super scales remarkably well in this aspect. Despite its higher power usage, it outperforms the original card and narrows the gap significantly with the 4090, which is the most power-efficient card we've tested to date. In contrast, the 3090 falls considerably short in this metric, trailing at the lower end of the graph with a performance difference of almost 35%.
This trend of superior performance is also reflected in many gaming benchmarks, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, let's explore a few productivity workloads, starting with Vray. Here, the 4070 Super surpasses the 3090 in both CUDA and RTX benchmarks. While the difference isn't enormous, a win is still a win.
In a more prolonged Blender render we see similar story. Here using OPTIX the new card is 15 seconds faster than its predecessor and about 10 seconds faster than 3090. While using CUDA its 42 seconds faster than 4070 and still maintaining a 10-second lead over the 3090.
The next test is DaVinci Resolve benchmark by PugetBench and here 3090 with its 24 GB of VRAM is beating the 4070 Super, but that is mostly due to its fusion performance.
For gaming benchmarks, we'll bypass the 1080p resolution due to inconsistent results, often caused by CPU bottlenecks. A prime example is observed in "World War Z", where the new Super card displays higher average FPS but lower 1% lows, leading to skewed figures.
At 1440p resolution, the results are more definitive. The new Super card outperforms the standard 4070 by 13% in average FPS and by 6% in the 1 percentile. When compared to 3090 the difference is 5% and 3.5% respectively.
At 4k though, the story completely changes and here 4070 Super and 3090 perform almost identically and 4070 is about 15% behind them on both average FPS as well as 1 percent lows.
In Horizon Zero Dawn the RTX 3090 takes the lead, outperforming the Super variant by approximately 5% in 1 percent lows. This advantage is primarily due to the game's high VRAM demands. We've observed it consuming over 13 GB on the 4090, indicating that in such VRAM-intensive games, the 12 GB of VRAM on the Super card does leave some performance on the table.
Going up to 4k the gap widens to almost 10% from the 3090. However, it's important to note that despite this gap, the considerable price difference between these two cards, even when considering second-hand market deals, firmly positions the 4070 Super as the superior choice in terms of price-to-performance ratio when compared to the 3090. But we must acknowledge that these cards belong to entirely different classes. For those who invested in a 3090, the comparison might be a tough pill to swallow, as the 4070 Super presents a more cost-effective yet similarly performing alternative.
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1440p we again see 4070 Super shinning ahead of 3090 by about 11% on average FPS and 9% on 1 percent lows. This improved performance is coupled with a significant 60% increase in power efficiency, translating to cooler operation and potentially quieter performance.
Shifting gears, let's delve into some titles featuring ray tracing, starting with "Formula 1 2022." In our initial benchmark, which doesn't utilize any upscaling but maximizes graphics and ray tracing settings, the 4070 Super and the 3090 deliver the same average FPS at 1440p. However, the 3090 slightly edges ahead with a 5% higher performance in 1 percent lows.
The 4k results are below 60 FPS so will skip straight to 1440p with upscaling. Both the 4070 Super and 3090 support DLSS 2, and here the 4070 Super slightly outperforms, leading by 7% in average FPS and an impressive 24% in 1 percent lows. However, with DLSS 3, which includes frame generation and is exclusive to the 4000 series cards, the performance gap widens substantially. The 4070 Super shows a 35% improvement in average FPS and a remarkable 77% boost in 1 percent lows.
Moving on to "Cyberpunk 2077," a more demanding game where DLSS becomes essential when ray tracing is enabled. We'll concentrate on the 1440p resolution with upscaling, as this setting offers frame rates suitable for an enjoyable gaming experience. With DLSS 2, the 3090 and 4070 Super are closely matched, with the Super variant leading by about 6% in average FPS and 11% in 1 percentiles.
As anticipated, enabling DLSS 3 propels the 4070 Super's performance, bringing it close to the 4090 level. What I find interesting is difference from original 4070. We are talking 35% higher average FPS and 20% higher 1 percent lows.
Which leads us well to a conclusion. If we are to compare RTX 4070 Super to the RTX 3090, the Super variant proves to be highly competitive in scenarios that don't demand extensive memory bandwidth or capacity. For gamers at 1440p, it stands out as an excellent choice, offering a far more efficient performance than the 3090, and at a better price point. However, in the broader market context, it's worth noting that this is a 70 series GPU priced at $600 for the Founders Edition. We can anticipate that partner cards will carry a higher price tag, so it's not exactly a bargain. Ultimately, whether it's worth the investment is a decision I'll leave to you.
Share your thoughts in the comments below: Is this upgrade to Nvidia's existing line-up satisfactory, or would you expect more performance for this price range?