As the new generation of GPUs is coming out, you may wonder how in fact it compares to those older options. So looking back to the Pascal options, we find the improvements over a popular card and if it’s worth upgrading with the RTX 1080 Ti vs 4070 comparisons.

The 1080 Ti was one of the best graphics cards of its generation, and it still has the power behind it. Coming out in May of 2017, it is now an aged card and the new RTX 40 cards have vastly improved over that. In particular, the RTX 4070 coming out in April of 2023, has the benefit of 3 generations of improvements. So how much has changed?

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4070

Base clock:

1,920 MHz

Boost clock:

2,475 MHz

Memory Size:

12 GB

Memory clock:

21 Gbps

TBP:

200W

Product Dimensions:

TBC

How We Review

Architecture

There are many years between the two cards, and in that time Nvidia has upgraded its architecture plenty in that time. With a move from the Pascal cards, all the way to the Ada range of cards. We see what changes between them.

The GTX 1080 Ti was built on Pascal architecture. With the GP102-350 processor which is made on TSMCs 16 nm process. Which has a die size of 471 mm² and 11.8 billion transistors on it. Which means it has a density of 25.1 M/mm².

Whilst the RTX 4070 is on the Ada build. So the AD104-250 processor is instead using TSMCs 5nm process. A massive jump down which cuts down the die size to 295 mm² and gives it 35.8 billion transistors. So it gives a density of 121.4 M/mm², so there is a much denser and more powerful build in the lower model by name.

Specifications

	RTX 4070	GTX 1080 Ti
GPU	AD104-250	GP102-350
GPU process	TSMC 5nm	TSMC 16nm
CUDA cores	5,888	3,584
Base clock	1,920 MHz	1,481 MHz
Boost clock	2,475 MHz	1,582 MHz
Memory	12GB GDDR6X	11GB GDDR5X
Memory clock/bandwidth	21Gbps/504.2 GB/s	11 Gbps/484.4 GB/s
Memory bus	192-bit	352-bit
TBP	200W	250 W

Through the specifications, we can see the great differences between the two cards. The improved process has meant the die is much more compact, leading to way more processing power in the smaller die size. As can be seen by the large increase in the CUDA cores in a much smaller package.

We also see improvements in the clock of the cores and memory. Which improves the processing speed, and the 4070 has improved on both. With in general faster speeds, but also a jump in VRAM with 1 more GB. Which is clocked 10 Gbps faster, but across a smaller bus so the bandwidth isn’t as fast, but it still has much better performance overall.

And this comes in at a lower board power rating as well. With 50 W less, the 4070 should run cheaper and cooler with a lower rating. So the improvements in general lead to a much better performance and offering.

GTX 1080 Ti vs RTX 4070: price comparison

With GPU pricing still unstable, we’ll be taking a closer look at the retail price of both these GPUs to see which offers better value for money.

At present, you’ll be able to pick up a renewed GTX 1080 Ti for around $400-$600, depending on the retailer in question. If you’re looking at retail price for a new GTX 1080 Ti, you can expect to pay around $750.

By contrast, the new RTX 4070 will set you back anywhere between $600-$650, depending on retailer and sales event.

1080 Ti vs 4070 performance

In their reviews, Gamers Nexus benchmarks the hardware well against a range of graphics cards, including the 1080 Ti. There we see the general performance improvements of the 4070 over the 1080 Ti.

Such as in Total Warhammer 3, where at 4k the 4070 averages 56.2 FPS with the 1080 Ti getting 33.9 FPS. With 1440p performance at 112.2 and 65.3 FPS, and 1080p averaging 172.0 and 98.4 FPS respectively.

This trend continues across a variety of games. And so we see the performance just below double on average. This means the 4070 has a good all-around performance, even some ability for 4k gaming. You can see a more in-depth look in the review below.

List of RTX 4070 GPUs

Below, we will list all available RTX 4070 models available in 2023.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Founder’s Edition
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ventus 3X
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4070
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X Trio
PNY GeForce RTX 4070
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Windforce OC
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Twin Edge OC
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Eagle OC
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 White OC Edition
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming

List of GTX 1080 Ti GPUs

Below, we list all the available GTX 1080 Ti models available in 2023.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Gaming
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme Edition
Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP Extreme
Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GameRock Premium Edition
PNY GeForce GTX 1080 Ti XLR8 Gaming OC
GALAX GeForce GTX 1080 Ti HOF
Gainward GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Phoenix Golden Sample
Inno3D GeForce GTX 1080 Ti iChill X3
Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Vulcan X OC

Is the 4070 worth it over 1080 Ti?

As you can see, the improvements are large, and with overall performance improvements, it is an easy pick. Especially as it is much easier to find and has features that come with the generation. Such as access to ray tracing and DLSS 3 which make it even better. So it is an easy pick, especially with the pricing much lower in release than the 1080 Ti.

MSI GeForce RTX 4070 VENTUS 3X