ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming
Pros
Excellent aesthetic design
Great cooling solution
High boost clock speed
Cons
On the higher end of the price spectrum
Nvidia RTX 3070 vs 3070 Ti – worth the higher price?
Are the extra letters and price worth it?
Updated: Apr 19, 2023 10:50 am
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Table of Contents
Expanding Nvidia’s 30 series lineup we find the Ti series of cards being released. If you’re wondering what that means for you we compare the RTX 3070 vs 3070 Ti. We see what does the new and improved version provides for the initial lineup to try and be the best graphics card on offer.
The 3070 came out as part of the initial 30 series release and was the cheapest of the options before the 3060 Ti came out. But now at the later life of the series, the 3070 Ti has come to refresh the card and give some improvements.
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Ventus 3X
Pros
Solid build quality
Excellent cooling design
Reinforced metal backplate
TORX Fan 3.0 with Zero FROZR
Cons
Limited RGB
Can become a little noisey
Architecture
With the same name both the 3070 vs 3070 Ti utilizes the same basic GPU die just with some different features. Both of them are based on the GA104 GPU, which is built with Samsungs 8nm process.
The 3070 is using the 300 variant with the Ti featuring the 400 variant. While both still have the same die size of 392mm2 and hold 17.4 billion transistors. They will vary with what cores and clocks are enabled and set to give the Ti the extra boost.
Specifications
| RTX 3070 | RTX 3070 Ti | |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | GA104-300-A1 | GA104-400-A1 |
| Shaders | 5888 | 6144 |
| RT Cores | 46 | 48 |
| TMUs | 184 | 192 |
| Memory | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6X |
| Base clock | 1500 MHz | 1575 MHz |
| Boost clock | 1725 MHz | 1770 MHz |
| Memory clock | 14 Gbps | 19 Gbps |
| Card bus | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Memory bandwidth | 448 GB/s | 608.3 GB/s |
| TDP | 220W | 290W |
Comparing the 3070 vs 3070 Ti specifications we see a few key differences. These are the features that will separate the two in performance and cost. So we take a closer look at what to expect from these distinctions.
GPU die cores
At the core of the graphics card is where you’ll find the die. The heart of the card feeds on instructions and outputs all of the necessary graphics. They differ with specialized cores that focus on their particular tasks. In our comparison, we look at shaders, RT cores, and TMUs. Which are specialized in shadows and shading, real-time ray tracing, and creating 3d images from bitmaps.
Comparing the cores for the 3070 vs 3070 Ti we find the Ti card has a 4% increase in these cores. With more of these, it can handle more processing at the same time and more effectively. Which is also affected by the clock rate and how quickly instructions are processed by the die.
Clock rates
Clock speeds affect how quickly the information is processed by the processor. So it affects how fast the instructions are turned into the graphics seen by you on your display. It is a factor determined by how quickly the silicon crystal can cycle. These can also be pushed with overclocking if you can keep your GPU cool.
Between these two graphics cards, the Ti is clocked higher from the get-go. This should give the GPU advantage over its predecessor. With a 75 higher MHz base and 45 MHz higher boost it does gain some performance.
TDP
The thermal design power of the GPU informs us of how much power the card will consume at maximum effort. This also dictates the amount of heat the GPU die will produce and has to be dissipated away by the cooling.
So with the increased power and clock of the 3070 Ti comes greater power. It features a 70W higher rating, meaning the newer card is more power hungry and generates more heat. Leading to a much greater heating effect in the PC and your room and higher energy prices. While also increasing the recommended power supply from 550W to 600W.
VRAM
The video memory of a graphics card works as a frame buffer and texture map storage. Which means much more fluid and uninterrupted graphic displays and the ability to work with higher resolutions. Which require more storage with their higher pixel counts at exponential rates.
Between the 3070 vs 3070 Ti, there is a large difference in terms of memory not in size but the spec. The Ti card features an upgraded memory set, with 8GB of GDDR6X memory compared to the non-X variant in the 3070. This allows for a faster clock and throughput of it. And so the Ti has a 5Gbps and 160.3 GB/s higher clock and bandwidth. Which will improve the work of the VRAM significantly.
RTX 3070 vs 3070 Ti Performance
Taking a look at the 3dmark benchmarks we see how much more powerful the Ti card is on graphics power. The 3070 Ti achieves a score of 14,832 compared to the 3070s 13,679. A difference of 1,153 but the non-Ti achieves a better value for money with that. Achieving a score of 27 instead of the 24 of the Ti is potentially a glimpse of the newer card not being worth the extra.
In other scenarios, it gets a similar advantage with just 8% better speed. And then an 11% higher effective score which does not reflect on the higher cost and specifications. When looking at gaming performance, the Ti doesn’t even achieve a double-digit advantage. With the maximum difference being 8 FPS.
Price comparison
MSRP for the 3070 is set to $499 (£469) with the Ti at $599 (£529). With such a big difference of $100, you’d expect a greater improvement in performance. Previous generations showed greater performance with the Titanium class GPUs so it is an interesting occurrence. Although eventually, it will be the Ti that outlasts out of the two.
Although in the current market, GPUs are expensive and unlikely to be at MSRP. So taking a look at our options on PCPartPicker we see the Ti in fact at a much lower price. You can find a Ti for $859.98 but the cheapest 3070 is $1296.82. So it is a varied situation at the moment. In the UK the 3070 is cheaper at £671.98 compared to the Ti at £714.02.
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Pros
Stylish, gaming aesthetics
Strong materials and build design
High-end cooling solution
Cons
On the expensive side
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Ventus 3X
Pros
Solid build quality
Excellent cooling design
Reinforced metal backplate
TORX Fan 3.0 with Zero FROZR
Cons
Limited RGB
Can become a little noisey
Is the 3070 better than 3070 Ti?
Overall, when looking at the RTX 3070 vs 3070 Ti it is easy to say the Ti card is better. However, it is a marginal difference, and for $100 more it does not seem to justify that extra cost for only up to 8% more performance. Although in the market you may find the Ti cheaper which in itself isn’t a bad option. With the new generation of cards though, there might be better alternatives, such as the RTX 4070 that will beat out both cards.
RTX 3070 vs 3070 Ti FAQs
How much faster is the 3070 Ti than 3070?
Comparing the clock speeds of the two we find the Ti card takes the lead. The RTX 3070 Ti has a 5% faster base clock, and a 3% faster boost clock than the RTX 3070. It also improves the memory clock by 36%, increasing the total bandwidth by 36%.
How much better is the 3070 Ti than 3070?
We first look at the 3DMark benchmarks for a simple graphical comparison of the two cards. There, the 3070 Ti achieves a score of 14,832, 8 % better than the 3070. In gaming performance, the 3070 Ti leads the 3070 by 7-12% across three resolutions.
