The FPS Review: Quick Compare
With the launch of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX Ampere-based GPUs, the battle in the mainstream GPU market has become fierce. Do you want to know what you are really getting moving up from one model to the next with NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs? We pit the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti versus GeForce RTX 3070 to find out what kind of an upgrade in performance the GeForce RTX 3070 offers over the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in gaming performance. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti launched with an MSRP of $399 while the GeForce RTX 3070 launched with an MSRP of $499, so let’s see what $100 buys you.
If you’d like to learn about the Ampere architecture these GPUs are based on, please check out our GeForce RTX 3080 review. Our full GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition review and overclocking is here, and our GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition review and overclocking articles are here.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Specifications
| Specification | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | GeForce RTX 3070 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Ampere | Ampere |
| Process Node | SAMSUNG 8N | SAMSUNG 8N |
| CUDAs | 4864 | 5888 |
| Tensor Cores | 152 | 184 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | 38 | 46 |
| Boost Clock | 1665MHz | 1725MHz |
| Memory | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Clock | 14GHz | 14GHz |
| TDP/TBP | 200W | 220W |
| MSRP | $399 | $499 |
The GeForce RTX 3070 improves upon the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with more CUDA cores, more Tensor Cores, and more Ray Tracing Cores. In addition, the GPU Boost clock speed runs higher by default, which all, in turn, increases the TDP to 220W. However, they both have the same VRAM capacity of 8GB of GDDR6 clocked at 14GHz on the same 256-bit bus therefore they have the same memory bandwidth of 448GB/s. The difference is down to the pure processing difference and clock speed of the GPU.
Gaming Performance
Gaming performance in the graphs below is derived from these respective reviews, please refer to them for full system specifications and test setup for each video card.
In all the games above we see clearly the GeForce RTX 3070 providing noticeable differences in performance. When demanding games are on the screen, and you are trying to enable features like Ray Tracing the GeForce RTX 3070 is going to help in those scenarios. There also seems to be a dichotomy between playing games at 1080p and 1440p between the video cards.
For the most part, 1080p is the ideal resolution to play games on the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. However, with the GeForce RTX 3070 1440p becomes the resolution of choice, without Ray Tracing. Then if you do want Ray Tracing you can also enable NVIDIA DLSS to make 1440p very playable with Ray Tracing. Though there isn’t any difference in memory capacity or bandwidth between the cards, the extra CUDA cores, Tensor Cores, Ray Tracing cores, and clock speed help to elevate the GeForce RTX 3070 gameplay experience.
Conclusion
In all regards, the GeForce RTX 3070 is faster than the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti when it comes to gaming, the distance between them depends on the game. We are seeing anywhere from 10-18% performance difference based on the game and the intensity of the graphics in the game. In the more graphically intense games like Cyberpunk and Red Dead Redemption 2 and Dirt 5 and Metro Exodus Enhanced, we are seeing above 15% differences. In lesser graphically demanding games, we see less of an advantage, all the way down to just 10% in the worse case.
If a 10% advantage is your worse case, then the GeForce RTX 3070 is going to provide an advantage in every game. The question of is an extra $100 worth the price, in this instance there are games that it brings performance to a playable level over the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, and it can certainly give you an advantage in competitive e-Sport titles with faster FPS.