Our Aim
To provide you with an overview on New And existing technologies, hopefully helping you understand the changes in the technology. Together with the overviews we hope to bring topical issues to light from a series of independent reviewers saving you the time And hassle of fact finding over the web.
We will over time provide you with quality content which you can browse and subscribe to at your leisure.
TekSpek 's
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
Date issued:
NVIDIA is keeping the pedal firmly to the enthusiast PC graphics metal by releasing the GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs to general acclaim. Powered by the all-new Ampere architecture, RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 landed a few weeks back and set the benchmarks alight with never-before-seen performance.
Also announced over a month ago, most PC gamers waited for another card to surface at retail. That card is the GeForce RTX 3070. Its starting price of $499/£469 automatically makes it more applicable to a wider range of users, so anyone looking for a serious graphics upgrade needs to take note.
GeForce RTX 3070 carries all the Ampere GPU technology goodness of its bigger, more expensive siblings, and NVIDIA has made sensible decisions in constructing this consummate gaming performer.
| RTX 3090 | RTX 3080 | RTX 3070 | RTX 2080 Ti | RTX 2080 Super | RTX 2080 | RTX 2070 Super | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch date | Sep 2020 | Sep 2020 | Oct 2020 | Sep 2018 | July 2019 | Sep 2018 | July 2019 |
| Codename | GA102 | GA102 | GA104 | TU102 | TU104 | TU104 | TU104 |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing |
| Process (nm) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Transistors (bn) | 28.3 | 28.3 | 17.4 | 18.6 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 13.6 |
| Die Size (mm²) | 628.4 | 628.4 | 392.5 | 754 | 545 | 545 | 545 |
| PCIe | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Base Clock (MHz) | 1,400 | 1,440 | 1,500 | 1,350 | 1,650 | 1,515 | 1,605 |
| Boost Clock (MHz) | 1,695 | 1,710 | 1,725 | 1,635 | 1,815 | 1,800 | 1,770 |
| Streaming Multiprocessors | 82 | 68 | 46 | 68 | 48 | 46 | 40 |
| Shaders | 10,496 | 8,704 | 5,888 | 4,352 | 3,072 | 2,944 | 2,560 |
| GFLOPS | 35,581 | 29,768 | 20,314 | 14,231 | 11,151 | 10,598 | 9,062 |
| Tensor Cores | 328 | 272 | 184 | 544 | 384 | 368 | 320 |
| RT Cores | 82 | 68 | 46 | 68 | 48 | 46 | 40 |
| Memory Size | 24GB | 10GB | 8GB | 11GB | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit | 320-bit | 256-bit | 352-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6X | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Clock | 19.5Gbps | 19Gbps | 14Gbps | 14Gbps | 15.5Gbps | 14Gbps | 14Gbps |
| Memory Bandwidth | 936 | 760 | 448 | 616 | 496 | 448 | 448 |
| ROPs | 112 | 96 | 64 | 88 | 64 | 64 | 64 |
| Texture Units | 328 | 272 | 184 | 272 | 192 | 184 | 160 |
| L2 cache (KB) | 5,120 | 5,120 | 4,096 | 5,632 | 4,096 | 4,096 | 4,096 |
| SLI | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Connector(s) | 8/12-pin | 8/12-pin | 8-pin | 8-pin + 8-pin | 8-pin + 6-pin | 8-pin + 6-pin | 8-pin + 6-pin |
| TDP (watts) | 350 | 320 | 220 | 260 | 250 | 225 | 215 |
| Founders Edition MSRP | $1,499 | $699 | $499 | $1,199 | $699 | $799 | $499 |
GeForce RTX 3070 uses a specific die known as GA104, whereas the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 use larger, more power-hungry silicon. This distinction is important as GA104 is purpose-built for this class of gaming card, maximising efficiency and reducing manufacturing cost.
Though it is not as powerful as the other two RTX 30-series cards, don't make the mistake of thinking this is some shrinking violet. RTX 3070 still packs in considerable horsepower through a monstrous 5,888 shaders operating at 1,725MHz, leading to over 20TFLOPs of compute performance. Putting in context, that is twice the amount of the upcoming PlayStation 5 console, and such power means that PC gaming will remain a step ahead.
RTX 3070 uses 8GB of regular GDDR6 memory operating at 14Gbps. That's some way lower than RTX 3080/90, but ought to be plenty for this class of graphics card. For whom energy efficiency is important, RTX 3070 uses considerably less electricity than the other two powerhouse cards. It certainly ought to be possible to build a small, quiet and cool RTX 3070-based gaming rig primed for 4K.
NVIDIA is releasing a Founders Edition model to launch the GeForce RTX 3070. Measuring 242mm long, 112mm high and taking up a strict two-slot form factor, the card is 41mm shorter than RTX 3080 FE version, meaning it will fit into a wide range of chassis without issue. It is built beautifully and exudes quality from every angle.
Established partners such as Asus, EVGA, MSI and Gigabyte have a number of models planned for RTX 3070. Most will be specified with higher core speeds than the Founders Edition, thus offering an extra framerate or two where it really matters.
As Fast As RTX 2080 Ti
It's remarkable that the £469 GeForce RTX 3070 is able to match last year's champ, the £999-plus RTX 2080 Ti, in gaming benchmarks published by reputable enthusiast websites.
Though a natural fit for supremely smooth framerates at a QHD resolution, the GeForce RTX 3070 is also great at 4K, all for half the price of the RTX 2080 Ti.
Even owners of recent, capable cards such as the GeForce RTX 2070 Super or Radeon RX 5700 should sit up and take note. This Ampere powerhouse is significantly faster where it really matters
Summary
Fresh off the Ampere production line, the GeForce RTX 3070 offers compelling performance for those gamers who understandably can't stretch to the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 GPUs.
Being as fast as the £999 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti from the last generation translates to superb gaming at a QHD resolution and decent performance at 4K. If you want to build a PC whose power puts next-generation consoles to shame, without having to really break the bank, the GeForce RTX 3070 is a great place to start.
A wide range of GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards will be available to purchase right here at Scan Computers.