Image: Gigabyte
After a generation in the barn, Nvidia is letting its mid-cycle “Super” refresh out to play in 2024. The RTX 4070 Ti Super is an upgrade over the non-Super version that first debuted just over a year ago. It’s the same retail price (though street prices will, of course, vary) with an upgraded processor first seen in the RTX 4080 and a notable bump to a full 16GB of video memory. Cards from Nvidia and its OEM partners go on sale today for $800, so here are the big things you need to know.
It’s a much better deal
Nvidia has a reputation for being overpriced for the last few generations, but the problem really came to a head with the RTX 4070 Ti. Brad Chacos scored it the lowest of any graphics card released last year, bemoaning its $100 price increase over the RTX 3080 from the previous generation. (You read that right: it was a hundred bucks more expensive than the next card up.) This, despite having a more narrow memory bus and less memory than it needed to be competitive for an $800 card aimed at 4K.
The 4070 Ti Super does a lot to address this. The price is the same as the non-Super version, but it comes with the 5-nanometer AD103 GPU seen in the RTX 4080 series, 33 percent more VRAM (16GB) to somewhat address the memory gap with AMD, and a much wider memory bus (256-bit versus 192). On paper, you’re getting a card that’s very, very similar to the original RTX 4080, for $400 less than its original retail price. That’s a good deal, at least in Nvidia terms.
It should be a 4K beast
All those improved specs naturally mean better performance…but “performance” means different things in different situations. With a core clock frequency almost identical to the RTX 4070 Ti, the Super variant distinguishes itself with a substantial improvement in CUDA cores (8448 versus the 7680) and the previously addressed expanded video memory and memory bus.
Nvidia
Nvidia
Nvidia
The long and short of it is that while the 4070 Ti Super will see better performance than the 4070 Ti in almost any situation, it will be especially obvious once you start boosting resolution and loading in high-resolution textures. Gaming at 1440p and even full 4K (or super ultrawide resolutions) should see a significant improvement over last year’s card. Again, given that the price is the same at $800, that’s not bad progress.
We’ll have to wait to get the card in the testing rig to see exactly how much better it is than the RTX 4070 Ti, of course. But if you just can’t wait to pull the trigger, we’d definitely recommend the 4070 Ti Super as a suitable upgrade over the new 4070 Super (non-Ti) if you’re looking to game in 4K.
Double encoding power
If you use your desktop for more than just gaming, the RTX 4070 Ti Super should be a welcome upgrade for media as well. One of the less obvious upgrades over last year’s card is an extra AV1 encoder. Combined with the boosted CUDA cores, that should translate to a significant boost for any application that can use the GPU for AV1-based media processing.
Dual encoders and a faster primary GPU might not translate one-to-one to double encoding speed in Handbrake, but it will be a dramatic improvement nonetheless.
Keep your power supply
The RTX 4070 Ti Super uses the same 285 watts of power as the RTX 4070 Ti, and connects to your power supply with the same (problematic) 16-pin 12VHPWR cable. Nvidia recommends 700 total system watts at a minimum for both cards. If you’ve upgraded your power supply within the last couple of years and the rest of your components haven’t been dramatically changed, you probably don’t need a new one to run this card.
Adam Patrick Murray/IDG
Adam Patrick Murray/IDG
Adam Patrick Murray/IDG
The RTX 4070 Ti Super will also come with a familiar adapter in the box, to allow two older 8-pin GPU power cables to power the newer card.
The RTX 4070 Ti is going away
The RTX 4070, which first hit the market last April, is not being replaced by the RTX 4070 Super upgrade. Instead, it’s getting a slight price cut, down to $549. But you can’t say the same for the RTX 4070 Ti, which will be completely replaced by its Super upgrade. Once current stock is sold, it’s gone. But given how poorly the card was received in comparison to its competition and stablemates, that might not be a bad thing. Consider this a tacit admission on Nvidia’s part (along with the disappearance of the 12GB version of the RTX 4080) that the original 4000-series somewhat missed the mark.
If you’re wondering: No, there’s really no reason to pick up the older RTX 4070 Ti instead of the RTX 4070 Ti Super unless you find an absolutely amazing deal on the former. We’re talking cheaper than an RTX 4070 or AMD’s RX 7800 XT. The Super cards are doing a lot to address the pricing issues and performance holes in the R4000-series lineup, especially with Nvidia’s strategic choices on which cards to keep on store shelves and which to replace.
Where can you get one?
The RTX 4070 Ti Super launches today in the US, with initial cards already available on Newegg, Amazon, Best Buy, and Nvidia’s own listings. Prices start at $800, with the usual slight increases for fancy shrouds or factory overclocks. There is no Founder’s Edition for the RTX 4070 Ti Super, it’s only available in OEM-customized designs.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.
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