If you’re upgrading from an older Nvidia GPU, it can be tricky deciding whether to go with the latest-generation RTX 4070 Ti or the cheaper 3090 ti. The former is built on the new Ada Lovelace architecture and introduces 3rd-generation ray tracing cores and 4th-generation tensor cores, which should improve performance dramatically compared to the older Ampere platform. In addition to delivering higher frame rates and allowing you to enjoy ray-traced graphics, the new card also supports DLSS 3, which is Nvidia’s AI upscale technology that can potentially double onscreen frame rates and offer significantly better image quality.
However, the RTX 4070 Ti is not without its flaws. First and foremost, it is expensive, even by mid-range standards. Its $1,999 MSRP is a significant step up from the 3090 ti’s $600 price tag, and it’s also a huge jump up from the surprisingly affordable RTX 2070, which launched at only $799.
The 4070 ti’s other major drawback is that it only has 12GB of VRAM, which will quickly become a bottleneck in games that demand high-resolution textures. It’s still an excellent choice for gaming, but it may be worth considering the RTX 2070 if you plan on playing at a higher resolution or using your GPU for content creation. The RTX 2070 will also be much faster when it comes to rendering graphics in 4K, since it has a lower TDP of only 285W. This means it will consume significantly less power and run cooler than the 450W TDP of the RTX 3090.