Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Graphics Card Review – SUPER Tempting

Last CES 2024, Nvidia announced the RTX 40 SUPER series, its latest desktop GPUs to fill the RTX 40 series lineup. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, and RTX 4070 SUPER are the latest additions to the lineup. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER will replace the outgoing non-super counterparts while the RTX 4070 SUPER will take the spot of the RTX 4070 as the latter will have a new lower MSRP. That said, our focus for this review is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER to see what kind of performance this GPU brings.

Nvidia RTX 40 SERIES SPECS

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

The Nvidia RTX 4070 SUPER has the same $599 launch price as its non-SUPER counterpart, meaning that we’re getting an upgrade in terms of specs and of course, performance. The RTX 4070 SUPER gets a 20% increase in CUDA, RT, and Tensor core count resulting in 10% higher TGP from 200W on the RTX 4070 to 220W on the RTX 4070 SUPER. Nvidia also managed to increase the boost clock, albeit minimal to 2480 MHz from 2470 MHz but considering the higher core count, it’s still a welcomed improvement.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Founders Edition – Unboxing and Overview

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER and the rest of the RTX 40 series super cards now come in a much darker finish. Compared to last year’s RTX 4070 Founders Edition, the product name print is darker.

Since the RTX 30 series, Nvidia Founders Edition GPUs’ shade gets dark or more metallic as you go up higher in tier but never did they become black. It’s the first time we’re seeing the Founders Edition cooler getting an all-black design. I like the black approach as it makes the GPU look more premium.

Moving to the side, you have the same black treatment on the previously gray shade of the RTX 40 non-super cards. The GeForce RTX text unfortunately doesn’t light up when plugged so the darker finish makes it less legible.

The back shows a pretty black-on-black design with contrasting matte black on most of the parts and the glossy hourglass highlight. Again, this makes the card look and feel more premium as opposed to its non-super counterparts.

You have the standard port configuration on the RTX 4070 SUPER with three Display Port 1.4a ports and one HDMI 2.1 port.

Apart from the heavy black design, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Founders Edition seems to be using the same exact cooler found on the RTX 4070 Founders Edition card. Next to the RTX 4070 FE and RTX 4060 Ti, you can see how the black stands out. Next to other RTX 4070 SUPER cards, the FE card is the smallest among the stack measuring 244mm x 112mm x 40mm.

Benchmark Setup and Test Methodology

Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible so that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the component or device being tested.

We use CapFrameX 1.7.2 Beta as our primary FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 11 Pro and WHQL-certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draws are recorded using HWINFO64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.

For more information read our Benchmark Methodology article.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Founders Edition Synthetic and Productivity Benchmarks

3DMark Firestrike and TimeSpy

3DMark is the go-to benchmark for gamers because of the ability to share and compare results online. We test GPUs both in DX11 Firestike and DX12 Timespy to get a gauge of the performance.

Blender

Blender is a widely used, free, open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the whole 3D pipeline process from modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, and even motion tracking. Blender has become a standard for CPU benchmarks with the BMW27 and Classroom Scene most used. This prompted the company to release Blender Open Data Benchmark in 2018, a benchmark-specific version allowing users to run a preset benchmark and share the results online like 3DMark.

VRAY 5

V-Ray Benchmark is a stand-alone version of V-Ray developed by Chaos Group. It is designed to test the CPU and GPU by rendering sample scenes at a fixed amount of time. V-Ray is a plug-in mostly utilized by 3D computer graphics software applications mainly for industrial design, product design, architecture, film, and video game production. V-Ray is not limited to 64-threads as it supports multi and mega-threading. 

GeekBench 6.2.2

Geekbench is a multi-platform benchmark used to gauge CPU performance and compare them across Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Geekbench 6 is the latest version and test are done in both OpenCL and Vulkan to gauge a CPU’s compute performance.

CINEBENCH 2024

Maxon’s Cinebench benchmark is one of the most iconic benchmark applications used by reviewers and enthusiasts. The latest Cinebench 2024 now supports GPU rendering benchmarks which is why added Cinebench 2024 in our GPU benchmark suite.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Founders Edition Gaming Benchmarks

RETURNAL

Returnal is one of the most technologically advanced game since the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Released last April 2021 on PS5 and February 2023 on PC, it uses Unreal Engine 4 and supports multiple technologies such as Ray Tracing, DLSS, VSR, and FSR.

COUNTERSTRIKE 2

CounterStrike 2 or CS2 is a the successor to the now retired CSGO and now uses the Source 2 Engine – the same engine used on DOTA 2. CS2 is a great FPS game to test out CPU performance. Our benchmark process uses a the replay function of the game.

DOTA 2

Dota 2 is a good repesentation among F2P titles especially MOBAs and RTS as it lands on the demanding side of the spectrum. Its gameplay and quality of life updates are far more frequently than most F2P titles thanks to its vast popularity. Our benchmark sequence is based on a replay of OG vs. Gaimin Gladiators in the ESL ONE Berlin Major Finals Game 4 from the team fight that happened from 23:00 to 24:00. 

SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony is one of the most popular PC port titles last 2022. It’s one of the few modern game titles that support upscaling technologies FSR, DLSS, and XeSS making it a great title to use for benchmarks.

F1 23

F1 23 is the official video game of the 2023 Formula One and Formula 2 championships developed by Codemasters. F1 2023 is the sixteenth installment in the franchise and uses the Ego Engine 4.0. F1 233 is a good representation of racing games thanks to its realistic graphics and fairly demanding spec requirements as well as support for Ray Tracing and the latest upscaling technologies such as DLSS, XeSS, and FSR.

ASSASSIN’S CREED: MIRAGE

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the latest Assassin’s Creed game from Ubisoft making it the thirteenth major installment in the franchise. It uses the AnvilNext 2.0 game engine and is the very first AC game to support the latest upscaling technology such as XeSS, FSR, and DLSS.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably the most hyped game of 2020. Developed by CD Projekt Red, the dystopian open-world, action-adventure RPG sports is one of the most demanding titles to date. Cyberpunk 2077 also supports three Ray Tracing settings as well as DLSS which makes the game a great tool to measure Ray tracing performance for both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards.

CALL OF DUTY MODERN WARFARE II

The latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise is a sequel to the much-loved Modern Warfare game that launched in 2019. Call of Duty Modern Warfare II is one of the most demanding titles to date, pushing the latest hardware from Intel, AMD, and Nvidia. CODMW2 is one of the few games that comes with the DLSS feature without Ray Tracing.

Far Cry 6

FarCry 6 is an FPS game published by Ubisoft and uses the Dunia engine. It heavily relies on and takes advantage of DirectX 12 to render a realistic environment that makes it taxing to both the CPU and GPU. It’s also the first game of the franchise to support Ray Tracing.

Rainbow Six Siege

Rainbow Six Seige is one of the few popular AAA games that’s still popular in 2021 due to its competitive gameplay mechanics. R6S uses the AnvilNext game engine, which the game’s publisher, Ubisoft, developed. As of writing, Rainbow Six Siege is currently the most popular Tom Clancy title beating out Wildlands, Breakpoint, and even Division 2.

Shadow of The Tomb Raider

Shadow of The Tomb Raider or SOTR is the latest installment of the Lara Croft Tomb Raider franchise. Developed by Square Enix, SOTR uses the Foundation engine and is further enhanced by Eidos Montreal. SOTR is also one of the first games to come out with Ray Tracing and DLSS support.

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus is the third Metro game trilogy based on Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novels. The game is a first-person shooter with survival horror and stealth elements. The post-apocalyptic game uses 4A Engine by 4A games. Released last 2019, Metro Exodus remains to be one of the most graphically pleasing and demanding games that’s popular to date.

HORIZON ZERO DAWN

Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the most popular console-port RPG developed by Guerilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Horizon Zero Dawn is a multi-award-winning action RPG, and its popularity resulted in an exclusive Complete Edition game bundle on Steam.

Nvidia RTX 4070 SUPER Founders Edition Ray Tracing & DLSS Benchmarks

RETURNAL

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CYBERPUNK 2077

SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES

F1 23

METRO EXODUS

ASSASSINS CREED MIRAGE

Nvidia RTX 4070 SUPER FE Temperatures and Power Draw

The increased core count and performance come at a price and are paid by the RTX 4070 SUPER FE’s temperatures and power draw. Compared to its non-super counterpart, the RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition peaked at 69.9°C or 1.6°C higher than the non-super. The increased TGP is also reflected in our recorded peak power draw at 220.105W compared to the RTX 4070’s 194.353W consumption.

Performance Summary Conclusion

Instead of just heavily discounting the RTX 4070, Nvidia released a more powerful card for the same $500 or Php 41,550 launch price. That said, Nvidia could’ve also just dropped the price of the RTX 4070 Ti but our benchmarks confirm Nvidia’s reasoning as to why it released new cards, atleast for the RTX 4070 Super – you’re simpling getting a much better performance per dollar value. And yes, we’re strictly talking about the MSRP of the cards.

The performance of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Founders Edition is much closer to the RTX 4070 Ti than the RTX 4070 with the gap getting closer as you bump up the resolution, especially in the latest titles. So, you’re essentially getting a slightly nerfed RTX 4070 Ti without the associated power draw and premium price all while maintaining a slim and compact form factor that’s ideal for SFF builds.

The Nvidia RTX 4070 Super is a great card for those looking to step on 1440p gaming as it has the power to push frames above 100 FPS at high settings in which the RTX 4070 was only barely able to accomplish. Its 220W TGP rating means that people upgrading from an older system won’t have to also upgrade their powersupply unlike if they were to go with an RTX 4070 Ti and above. So, if you’re looking for a GPU that could push your 1440p 165Hz gaming monitor without worrying about the PSU and case compatibility and more importantly, the absurd power consumption and price, then the RTX 4070 SUPER is a no-brainer choice over the RTX 4070 and outgoing RTX 4070 Ti.

Grant Soriano

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Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.