NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs. RTX 3090: Which GPU comes out on top?
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
$815 $880 Save $65
Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is part of the RTX 40 series of cards based on Ada Lovelace. It’s also the most affordable RTX 40 GPU to date, which doesn’t mean much with the current state of graphics card pricing.
Pros- Better ray-tracing performance
- Supports DLSS 3.0
- Higher power efficiency
Cons- Expensive for a mid-range GPU
- 12GB VRAM can be a bottleneck
NVIDIA RTX 3090
$1600 $2000 Save $400
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3090 is an older graphics card now compared to the RTX 4070 Ti, but it’s still a very capable 4K powerhouse. If you can find one at a discount, you may be able to bag a good deal.
Pros- 24GB VRAM is better for gaming at 4K
- Higher memory bandwidth
Cons- Draws more power
- Lower clock speed
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti has had quite the journey. It was originally going to be launched as a slightly weaker version of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, but the graphics card was met with a wave of criticism. The company took all the feedback and re-launched the card as the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. We’re here to compare it against the older NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 launched as the flagship GPU for the 30 series of graphics cards, whereas the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is currently the most affordable 40 series graphics card. You would be correct in assuming these two GPUs are worlds apart, but when looking at the specifications, it’s clear to see just how much of a jump the RTX 40 series is.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | |
|---|---|---|
Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |
Process | 4 nm | 8 nm |
Transistors | 35.8 billion | 28.3 billion |
Compute Units | 60 | 82 |
Ray Accelerators | 60 | 82 |
Stream Processors | 7,680 | 10,496 |
Base Clock Speed | 2,310 MHz | 1,395 MHz |
Boost Clock Speed | 2,610 MHz | 1,695 MHz |
Memory Capacity | 12 GB GDDR6X | 24 GB GDDR6X |
Memory Bus | 192-bit | 384-bit |
Memory Bandwidth | 504.2 GB/s | 936.2 GB/s |
Power Draw | 285 W | 350 W |
Price | $799 | $1,499 |
As well as the specifications such as clock speeds, memory, and core counts, we’ll be comparing the performance and price of the RTX 3090 and RTX 4070 Ti to see which offers the best bang for your buck. With the price of PC components remaining vastly inflated, it’s more important than ever to ensure you’re getting the best value, especially when we always recommend spending as much as possible on a GPU.
Architecture
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the newer Ada Lovelace architecture, which brings with it numerous improvements over the older RTX 3090 and its Ampere platform. The switch to Lovelace introduces 3rd-gen ray tracing cores, as well as 4th-gen tensor cores. This allows even the more affordable RTX 4070 Ti to punch way above its weight compared to previous generation cards. The Ada Lovelace GPUs also support DLSS 3.0, an updated version of Nvidia’s AI upscale algorithm that uses AI-powered optical multi-frame generation technology to artificially create new frames. However, adding fake frames by enabling DLSS 3.0 can lead to increased latency issues, making the new version of DLSS more like a double-edged sword than an actual upgrade.
Moreover, the RTX 4070 Ti easily surpasses the RTX 3090 when it comes to clock speed. Compared to the RTX 4070 Ti’s 2.61GHz boost clock, the RTX 3090 can only hit a modest 1.695GHz. Base clock speeds are even more staggering with the RTX 4070 Ti capable of 2.3GHz and the RTX 3090 hinges at the 1.395GHz mark. What’s more, the RTX 4070 Ti has much higher power efficiency than its last-gen competitor and draws 65W less the RTX 3090 while running at much higher clock speeds.
With its larger transistor count and higher clock speed, the RTX 4070 Ti packs some serious firepower under the hood and makes the RTX 3090 look like a budget card. The RTX 4070 Ti is the winner for architecture and specifications by a clear mile.
Price
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti launched with a price of $799, making it one of the most affordable RTX 40 series card to date. Although the 4070 Ti costs a lot more than its 4060 and 4060 Ti siblings, it offers much higher performance and is currently the mid-range GPU in the 4000 series.
On the other hand, most online retailers sell the RTX 3090 for $1200, making it highly impractical to purchase the previous generation’s flagship GPU at a 50% higher price than the RTX 4070 Ti.
Performance
You’d be wrong to assume the RTX 3090 would perform better than the RTX 4070 Ti due to the increased number of tensor cores at 10,496 against the RTX 4070 Ti’s 7,680. The faster clock speed more than makes up for this slight dip and the newer generation of hardware results in considerable gains at all resolutions.
That being said, the RTX 3090 has a 24 GB GDDR6X VRAM, which is twice the memory of the RTX 4070 Ti. While the lower VRAM on the RTX 4070 Ti may not be a big deal at lower resolutions, it will certainly become a bottleneck at 4K, where higher-quality textures, tesselation, anti-aliasing methods, and other graphical settings hog a lot of VRAM.
Which GPU is better?
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is clearly the better GPU. It offers vastly superior performance and can render ray-traced graphics at better FPS, all while costing the same as a mid-range GPU. If you have to choose between the RTX 3090 and the RTX 4070 Ti, you should definitely go for the latter. Its lower power draw, faster performance and cooler operation, and newer architecture make it the better GPU.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
Mid-range GPU of the Ada Lovelace family
$815 $880 Save $65
The newer Ada Lovelace-powered RTX 4070 Ti is incredibly capable, allowing you to enjoy some smooth 4K gaming. It’s just a little costly.
On the other hand, you should opt for an RTX 3090 if you can find it at a significantly cheaper price than the RTX 4070 Ti and if you’re planning on playing at 4K resolution in VRAM-demanding games, where the 12GB VRAM on the 4070 Ti may be a bottleneck.
NVIDIA RTX 3090
High-end GPU from the Ampere generation
$1600 $2000 Save $400
Sure, this may not be the shiny new GPU from NVIDIA, but don’t count the RTX 3090 out as it’s a very powerful gaming machine.
The question is trickier if you’re looking to upgrade from an RTX 3090. Getting the latest-gen RTX 4070 Ti may sound tempting, but it’s more of a sideways upgrade for someone coming from the previous generation’s flagship GPU. So, unless you’re planning to game at very high resolutions with ray-tracing enabled, we’d suggest skipping this generation and sticking with the RTX 3090.