Last month, Nvidia introduced the GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 memory. Its characteristics are almost identical to the RTX 4070 with GDDR6X memory, with the exception of slower memory. Nvidia stated that the performance of the new card will be almost identical to the original model. The first test results have emerged to support this claim.
Image source: Wccftech
The new GeForce RTX 4070 uses an AD104-251 GPU with 5888 CUDA cores and 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with a speed of 20 Gbps per pin. This brings the total memory bandwidth to 480 GB/s versus 504 GB/s for the RTX 4070 with GDDR6X memory. The graphics chip of the card with GDDR6 has the same base frequency of 1920 MHz and boost frequency of 2475 MHz. The TDP of the card has also not changed and is 200 W.
A small difference in memory bandwidth should, in theory, not significantly impact gaming performance in most scenarios and especially when using lower resolutions. However, this assumption required confirmation from observers. Galax has sent samples of its version of the GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 memory to the media. The Wccftech portal tested the new product and shared the results.
In addition to the GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 memory, the test system used an Intel Core i9-13900K processor, a premium motherboard based on the Intel Z790 chipset, and 32 GB of DDR5-7200 RAM. In the review, the GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 memory is compared with different video cards, but here we will focus on the comparison with the original Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6X Founders Edition model. The Galax version of the card is not factory overclocked, but offers software overclocking at the touch of a button. For the tests, we used the latest version of the GeForce 551.61 WHQL driver, which added support for the GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 memory.
Performance in synthetic tests. Image source: VideoCardz based on data from Wccftech
In synthetic tests, the GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 on average did not really show a significant difference in performance compared to the original model. The new product was only 0.2% slower. Game tests turned out to be a little more interesting.
Gaming performance. Image source: VideoCardz based on data from Wccftech
On average, the RTX 4070 GDDR6 delivers 97.7% of the original model’s gaming performance at 4K, 99% at 1440p, and 99.8% at 1080p. In other words, those who play at 1440p or 1080p may not notice any difference in performance between the two cards. At 4K resolution, which is not the target resolution of the RTX 4070, especially without the use of upscalers or frame generator, RTX 4070 GDDR6 owners should expect a 2% lag compared to the original RTX 4070 GDDR6X.
So Nvidia’s claim that the RTX 4070 GDDR6 delivers similar levels of performance is confirmed, but only for 1080p and 1440p gaming.