RTX 4070 laptop vs desktop equivalent – 2023

We size up the contenders for the desktop equivalent to an RTX 4070 laptop, and compare RTX 4070 laptop vs RTX 4070 laptop desktop specs and benchmarking

Aaron Ritchie

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This short guide will discuss the RTX 4070 laptop vs desktop GPU variants in terms of specifications and performance and discuss the closest desktop equivalent to the mobile GPU. Laptop graphics cards are invariably of lower power compared to their desktop counterparts, even though they have with the same model/SKU names, due to the lower amount of cores and usually VRAM they come equipped with. Usually a desktop graphics card of one SKU lower or one generation earlier will perform at roughly the same level of performance, and that is true for this latest release.

In brief, an RTX 4070 laptop performs about the same as a desktop RTX 3070, though this is before you factor in the additional performance benefits of DLSS 3.0 frame generation that the newer card has, so in some cases it does actually outperform it when this is switched on. If you’re comparing against newer desktop cards then the desktop 4060 is roughly he equivalent of a laptop 4070. Below we’ve listed some top-notch RTX 4070 mobile devices if you’re interested in buying one, otherwise look to our dedicated best RTX 4070 laptop guide, or our best RTX 3070 gaming PC page and best RTX 4060 Ti prebuilt guide.

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RTX 4070 laptop vs RTX 3070 desktop

Below you can see the specification comparison between the RTX 4070 laptop graphics card, and that of an RTX 3070 desktop. The AD106 GPU on the RTX 4070 laptop has a codename with a higher numerical value, which indicates it is lower down the hierarchy of power/size than the GA104 in the RTX 3070 desktop, meaning it has fewer CUDA Cores. However, as the AD106 is based on the newer 4nm TMSC architecture, it is capable of faster clock speeds, even with a lower TGP (which also makes it more energy efficient).

Good old Jarrod of Jarrod’s Tech has compared the RTX 4070 laptop GPU against the RTX 3070 Ti laptop GPU, and found that they perform very similarly in titles where DLSS 3.0 is turned off.

We know that a RTX 3070 Ti laptop GPU isn’t far off an RTX 3070 desktop graphics card, performing around the same in some instances, depending on the game, so we can pretty much say that on average (with variance depending on the TPG of the specific laptop GPU and the title you’re playing on) the closest desktop equivalent of an RTX 4070 laptop is the RTX 3070 desktop GPU.

Of course, the additional artificial FPS generated by DLSS 3.0 means the RTX 4070 laptop could even outperform the RTX 3070 desktop in games where it is switched on.

RTX 4070 laptop vs RTX 4070 desktop

Desktop variants have always been more powerful than laptop variants, and so will be the case with the RTX 4070. We expect the RTX 4070 desktop variant to outshine the RTX 4070 laptop GPU by a considerable margin. See the comparison of the spec below.

Final Word

Hopefully, this RTX 4070 laptop vs desktop equivalent page has helped you understand how this laptop graphics card stacks up against the desktop competition. Do have a read of our other gaming laptop guides whilst you’re here.

RTX 4070 laptop vs desktop FAQs