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If you’re looking for a solid mid-range offering on a budget then the Nvidia RTX 3070 may be worth considering if you can still find it in a new condition or discounted heavily now that its successors, the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Super are on the scene. The Ampere mid-range offering may be creeping up on four years old, but there’s no faulting the performance on display, even without advantages such as DLSS 3 Frame Generation and some other caveats it still holds up as one of the best graphics cards for its price bracket.
3.5 /5
Editor’s Rating
How We Review
Specifications
- GPU: GA104
- CUDA cores: 5,888
- VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
- Memory bus width: 256-bit
- Base clock speed: 1500 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 1725 MHz
- Bandwidth: 448 GB/sec
What We Think
The RTX 3070 is closing in on four years old but the performance capabilities are still as strong as ever. We recommend only picking one up on sale due the hardware’s age, but if you’re just looking for 1080p and 1440p gaming then mid-range Ampere holds up.
Reasons to Buy
- Strong 1440p performance
- Excels in 1080p
- Good value if bought on sale
Reasons to Avoid
- Limited to 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Replaced by the RTX 4070
✓ Review summary
Why we’ve scored it a 3.5
Back in its day the RTX 3070 was one of the best graphics card ever made from a price-to-performance perspective. However, it’s since been replaced by the mainstream and mid-range Ada offerings offering a greater level of performance.
Nvidia RTX 3070 price
The Nvidia RTX 3070 debuted back in 2020 for $499 planting it firmly in the mid-range of the previous-generation Ampere lineup. For comparison sake, that’s the same price tag as the current-generation RTX 4060 Ti (16GB variant), the latter of which boasts some generational improvements as well as DLSS 3 support. In terms of its main competition in this price bracket, you could go for the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ($450) which offers 4GB more GDDR6 VRAM and a similar level of performance.
Nvidia RTX 3070 key specs
As touched upon above, the RTX 3070 is built on Ampere architecture, more specifically the GA104 die with a total of 5,888 CUDA cores and 8GB GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit memory bus. It’s forged on Samsung’s 8nm process with a base clock speed of 1,500 MHz and a boost clock of up to 1,750 Mhz for 14 Gbps effective memory. At the time these were leading specs in terms of its price-to-performance ratio, but we’ve seen since similarly priced GPUs from Nvidia with faster VRAM and clock speeds.
Speaking of its speed, the RTX 3070 has a peak bandwidth of 448 GB/sec which is respectable if unimpressive in 2024. There are a total of 46 second-generation ray tracing cores and 184 third-generation Tensor cores. Taken in isolation, that’s a massive improvement over the Turing GPU generation with the likes of the RTX 2070, of which this video card could still be considered a serious upgrade if you’re still running an older model, but more on that further down the page.
Nvidia RTX 3070 key design
RTX 3070 fans
RTX 3070 fans
Thickness of the RTX 3070
Rear I/O of the RTX 3070
RTX 3070 heatsink
RTX 3070 backplate
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In terms of design, the RTX 3070 is a dual-slot GPU with the Founders Edition model measuring 9.5 x 4.4 (LxW) which is considerably smaller than some other mid-range models. This will depend on your choice of partner card, however, as it’s unlikely you’ll find an Nvidia-made GPU this many years after release. What stays consistent, however, is the power usage and you won’t need much; the RTX 3070 has a 220W TDP meaning you’ll need at least a 550W PSU which is pretty humble all told.
It’s clear that the RTX 3070 still provides a solid gaming experience in demanding software
Our review unit is the MSI 3070 GAMING X TRIO which is a triple fan graphics card that can be overclocked up to 1830 MHz (an increase of 4.5% over stock). If you’re looking to squeeze a little more gaming performance out then this could be the difference between achieving 60fps and falling short. Let’s get into the performance potential of the card to see how it holds up in 2024.
Nvidia RTX 3070 performance
In the testing conducted by BGFG’s Sebastian Kozlowski, it’s clear that the RTX 3070 still provides a solid gaming experience in demanding software such as Cyberpunk 2077, especially in 1080p and 1440p, however, 4K isn’t quite possible for a playable native standard. These tests were done without DLSS, and you can see just how the latter cards compare. Synthetic performance through 3DMark is pretty close, showing that the Ampere GPU isn’t too far behind its Ada counterparts.
Reasons to Buy
- You can find the RTX 3070 discounted or secondhand
- You just want to play in 1440p
- You want a power-efficient GPU
Reasons to Avoid
- DLSS 3 is a must
- The RTX 4070 is similarly priced
- You want to game in 4K
Is the Nvidia RTX 3070 worth it?
Whether the RTX 3070 is worth it in 2024 is going to come down to how much you spend on it. Realistically you’re going to be better off with the RTX 4060 Ti or RTX 4070 for a similar price point, however, regular discounts and the secondhand market could net you a bargain if you’re savvy with your shopping. Just know that you won’t be able to utilize Frame Generation and you’ll be limited to just 8GB GDDR6 VRAM which could struggle in the coming years of upcoming games.
