Along with the flagship RTX 3080 TI announced during Computex, Nvidia recently introduced the RTX 3070 TI for gamers in need of high-end performance. The RTX 3070 TI checks in with an introduction MSRP of $599 placing it at a price point 50% less than its sibling and yet still compares nicely in performance.
With the introduction of the RTX 3070 TI, it appears the top-end of the 3000 series has been filled out: the 3060 TI and 3060 introduced during the holidays and the year start addressed the top end of the mainstream market. There might be a 3050 or perhaps a successor to the GTX 1650 line that still could be introduced; that is yet to be seen.
We compared the RTX 3070 TI against its successful Turing predecessor the RTX 2070 Super, its sibling the RTX 3080 TI as well as the high-End Radeon RX 6800 XT which was introduced by AMD in November 2020.
Below are the specifications of the AIBs.
| RTX 3070 TI | RTX 2070 Super | RX 6800 XT | RTX 3080 TI | |
| Architecture | Ampere | Turing | Navi | Ampere |
| Process | 8 | 12 | 7 | 8 |
| Transistors | 17,400 | 13,600 | 26,800 | 28,300 |
| Die Size mm² | 392 | 545 | 520 | 628 |
| Cores | 6144 | 2560 | 4608 | 10240 |
| Clock MHz | 1575 | 1605 | 1825 | 1365 |
| Boost Clock MHz | 1770 | 1770 | 2250 | 1665 |
| Power (Watts) | 290 | 215 | 300 | 350 |
| TFLOPS | 21.75 | 9.062 | 20.74 | 34.1 |
| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6X |
| Memory Size (GB) | 8 | 8 | 16 | 12 |
| Memory Clock MHz | 1188 | 1750 | 2000 | 1188 |
| MSRP ($) | 599 | 499 | 649 | 1199 |
| RTX 3070 TI specifications as compared to its contemporaries | ||||
Our testbed is based on an Intel Core-i9 10900K running at 3.7 GHz, in a Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Master with 16 GB of RAM. We tested games at Ultra settings at 4K and 1440P. In addition to game tests, we ran the full 3D Mark suite for AIBs, BMI, and Neon Noir which focused on DLSS and ray tracing capabilities.
| Time Spy | Time Spy Extreme |
| Port Royal | Neon Noir |
| 3DMark Shader Test | Bright Memory Infinite |
| 3DMark Ray Tracing | 3DMark DLSS Test |
| Assassins Creed Valhalla – Ultra 4K & 1440P | Metro Exodus: RTX DLSS (on/off) Ultra 4K &1440P |
| Watchdog Legions: Ultra DLSS (on/off) 4K & 1440P | Wolfenstein Youngblood: UBER 4K & 1440P |
| Red Dead Redemption II: Ultra 4K & 1440P | |
| Benchmark Suite used to test the RTX 3080 TI, RTX 3080, RTX 2080 TI | |
The raw average FPS and synthetic scores are represented in the following table. In addition to the game scores, JPR includes its Pmark computation which factors in the power and MSRP of the add-in boards.
| RTX 3070 TI | RTX 2070 TI | RX 6800 XT | RTX 3080 TI | |
| Average FPS | 89 | 65 | 117 | 124 |
| Average Score | 11650 | 9131 | 11912 | 13922 |
| TFLOPS | 21.75 | 9 | 20.7 | 34.1 |
| Power (Watts) | 290 | 215 | 300 | 360 |
| MSRP ($) | 599 | 499 | 649 | 1199 |
| Results and Pmark variables | ||||
 |
| RTX 3070 TI | RTX 2080 TI | RX 6800 XT | RTX 3080 TI | |
| Pmark FPS | 51.14 | 60.95 | 60.2 | 17.80 |
| Pmark Score | 67 | 85 | 61 | 33.18 |
| Pmark TFLOPS | 12.5 | 8.39 | 10.65 | 13.3 |
| Pmark comparison | ||||
Pmark result comparisons
The RTX 3070 TI stacks up well against the higher-priced RX 6800 XT and the RTX 3080 TI, beating out both higher-end cards when it comes to scoring performance in the synthetic benchmarks. The previous-generation 2070 Super is still competitive in Pmark due to its price point and less power consumption. When it comes to raw performance, the RTX 3070 TI outclasses the RTX 2070 Super by 36% in FPS and 20% in benchmark scores.
Comparison of scores of Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti, RTX 3080 Ti, and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
The advantage of DLSS is tough to overstate when looking at games where DLSS was available in our suite, we turned DLSS on and off for the RTX cards. With DLSS off, the higher-end RX 6800 XT compared favorably to the RTX 3070 TI is FPS; however, with DLSS enabled, the RTX 3070 TI outshone the 6800 XT by 24% in games that feature DLSS.
In addition to DLSS, the RTX 3070 TI like all Ampere class cards takes advantage of Nvidia’s low-latency Reflex software. It promises to reduce PC response time. Witch reduces latency by as much as 14 ms in some games, giving the user an advantage in online multiplayer battle.
Gamers and anyone looking for quality AIBs have been frustrated with the availability of new cards. AIBs are being gobbled up by crypto miners (and speculators) as soon as they are on the shelves, virtual, and otherwise. Nvidia tried to address this issue by introducing the CMP (see: Nvidia takes steps to protect gaming business) and by tweaking its GeForce drivers to make the cards virtually useless for miners. Unfortunately, these measures haven’t manifested in more AIB available for consumers. The RTX 3070 TI seems to have met the same fate with the AIB being sold out all on every major internet site. We predict this trend with change come in late 2021 when constraints on the supply chain are rectified and as the crypto and speculation markets cool off.
RTX 3070 TI (L) and RTX 2070 TI (R)
What do we think?
The RTX 3070 TI is a solid performer and welcome addition to the Ampere line. The card comes in at a price point that one would expect for a card focused on gaming on the high end. We were interested to see if this card would remain in stock for longer than a few days (a few hours) but as of now, we cannot find any more available.
We hope that the cards that were sold are being enjoyed by our gamer compatriots.