RTX 3090 Ti Vs RTX 4070 Ti: We Tested Both

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Uzair Qureshi

At Tech4Gamers, I proudly wear the title of Comparisons Specialist. Focused on CPUs and GPUs, I bring forth a wealth of hands-on experience and a keen eye for detail to provide our audience with the latest insights and analyses.

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It has become widespread news that the new RTX 4080 graphics card dethrones the RTX 3090 Ti from its title of fastest gaming GPU on the planet. In the RTX 3090 Ti vs RTX 4070 Ti comparison, we will answer whether Nvidia’s new mid-range card can beat the king of the previous generation of GPUs.

Key Takeaways 

• The RTX 3090 Ti had a 3% advantage over the RTX 4070 Ti in our gaming tests at 4k.
• The older card consumed over 64% more power than the RTX 4070 Ti in our benchmarks.
• Both cards can be had for a similar price if you buy the RTX 3090 Ti on the used market.

RTX 3090 Ti Vs RTX 4070 Ti

Comparison Table

 Architectural Differences

1. Process Size: The RTX 4070 Ti utilizes an advanced 4nm manufacturing process, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti uses an older 8nm manufacturing process. The lithography of the 4070 Ti helps it in being extremely power efficient.
2. TDP: The RTX 3090 Ti has a colossal TDP of 450 watts, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti comparatively only sips power, having a maximum power consumption of around 285 watts.
3. Clock Speeds: The RTX 4070 Ti has a base clock of around 2310MHz, whereas it can boost to up to 2610MHz. On the contrary, the RTX 3090 Ti has a lower base clock of 1560MHz and a lower boost clock of around 1860MHz, which paints a grim picture of its performance.
4. Bus Width: The RTX 3090 Ti has a wide 384-bit bus width, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti has a sizeable yet smaller 192-bit bus width.
5. VRAM: The RTX 3090 Ti has the largest amount of VRAM available on a commercial gaming graphics card at 24GB, while the RTX 4070 Ti halves this at 12GB of memory.
6. Other Features: The RTX 4070 Ti has a trick up its sleeve to help it improve its performance beyond the RTX 3090 Ti, which is its frame generation abilities. It also has more mature and efficient RT cores, but the larger number of these cores in the 3090 Ti evens out the performance gains of the RTX 4070 Ti.

Benchmarks

The difference in architecture between the two GPUs is quite apparent, but you might not be able to gauge the performance of these graphics cards by looking at the specifications alone. This section of the RTX 3090 Ti vs RTX 4070 Ti comparison will bring forth the game-to-game performance of these cards so you can better understand their performance.

For this section, we performed the tests on a standard testbench, the specifications of which you can glance at below:

• OS: Windows 11
• CPU: Intel Core i7 13700k
• Motherboards: MSI MEG Z790 ACE MAX
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6600 CL34 Kit
• SSD: XPG Gammix S70 BLADE 2TB NVMe
• PSU: Enermax Revolution D.F. X 1050W
• CPU Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360

The games tested were at the 4k resolution.

Hitman 3

• The first of our testing showed the RTX 3090 Ti to be inferior to the RTX 4070 Ti in terms of average framerate. The RTX 3090 Ti achieved an average of 112 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti was marginally ahead with a performance of 119 FPS.
• 1% lows provided even more evidence of the 4070 Ti outpacing the 3090 Ti, which hovered around 94 FPS, whereas the former reached a minimum of 99 FPS.
• The power difference also supported the theory of the RTX 4070 Ti being a better GPU with a power consumption of only 269 watts. Its older cousin drew a staggering 427 watts of power from the wall.
• The RTX 4070 Ti was warmer in our benchmark of Hitman 3 than the 3090 Ti, reaching around 63°C. In contrast, the older card ran at a temperature of around 59°C.

Also Read: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3090

Spider-Man Miles Morales

• The story was flipped on its head when we booted up Spider-Man Miles Morales, where the RTX 3090 Ti took the lead. It had an average framerate of 78 FPS, whereas its younger cousin had an average of 75 FPS.
• 1% lows were also a hair smoother on the RTX 3090 Ti, giving a framerate of 65 FPS in the most demanding scenes, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a framerate of around 63 FPS in graphically intense scenarios.
• The level of power consumption was more or less the same in this game as what we saw before. The RTX 4070 Ti had a modest power draw of around 247 watts, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti drove a much larger 417-watt power package.
• Temperatures stood identical on both cards in Spider-Man Miles Morales at 62°C.

Similar Comparison: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RX 7900 XT

God Of War

• God Of War gave another victory to the older card by a small margin, with the RTX 3090 Ti getting an average framerate of around 83 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a framerate closer to 80 FPS.
• Despite the rather mild difference between these two cards in average framerates, the 1% lows differed substantially from card to card. The RTX 3090 Ti had a framerate of 72 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti touched 60 FPS as its minimum FPS.
• As expected, the RTX 4070 Ti drew only 60% of the power that the RTX 3090 Ti drew in this test, with the former consuming 420 watts of power, whereas the latter consumed a much smaller 269 watts.
• Temperatures returned to form with this game. The RTX 4070 Ti was toastier than the RTX 3090 Ti, with a peak temperature of 60°C, whereas the latter had a peak temperature of around 63°C.

Also Check: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RX 7900 XTX

Horizon Zero Dawn

• The difference between the performance of the two cards grew in Horizon Zero Dawn, where the RTX 3090 Ti had an average framerate of 103 FPS, a notable difference over the RTX 4070 Ti’s 91 FPS average.
• The 1% lows showed a similar difference between the performance of these cards, with the RTX 3090 Ti getting a minimum of around 84 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had lows of 75 FPS.
• The numbers regarding power consumption showed how power-hungry the RTX 3090 Ti is, taking aback 407 watts of power, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti took a minuscule 255 watts by comparison.
• The RTX 4070 Ti was a little bit warmer than the RTX 3090 Ti in our run of Horizon Zero Dawn, reaching a peak temperature of 61°C, whereas the older card stood around 60°C.

Similar Article: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3080

Forza Horizon 5

• The illusion of the RTX 3090 Ti beating the 4070 Ti by a landslide was broken in Forza Horizon 5, where the RTX 4070 Ti had an average of 113 FPS, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti was noticeably slower, getting an average of only 102 FPS.
• 1% lows were in a similar vein. The RTX 3090 Ti had a minimum framerate of around 86 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti triumphed over the older card with lows of 96 FPS.
• Surprisingly, the RTX 3090 Ti had a rather tame power consumption of 341 watts in Forza Horizon 5, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a power consumption of around 223 watts.
• Temperatures were once again lower on the RTX 3090 Ti, dancing around 58°C, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a peak temperature of around 61°C.

Similar Guide: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3080 Ti

Cyberpunk 2077

• This game is special because we tested it using the same DLSS 2 at the quality setting and sprinkled a healthy dose of ray tracing on top of the high preset. The RTX 3090 Ti regained its lead by getting an average framerate of around 49 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 T had a framerate closer to 46 FPS.
• The 1% lows were unremarkable on both graphics cards, with the RTX 3090 Ti getting lows of 40 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti was even more behind with minimum framerates of 37 FPS.
• The power consumption of the RTX 3090 Ti returned to normal for the RTX 3090 Ti while playing Cyberpunk, which consumed 440 watts of power, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti consumed around 264 watts of power.
• Temperatures were fairly close between the two cards in this test, with the RTX 3090 Ti reaching a peak of 62°C, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a higher peak of 63°C.

Also Read: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3070 Ti

Red Dead Redemption 2

• This title also contributed to the RTX 3090 Ti’s lead, running on an average framerate of around 85 FPS on the mentioned card, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a lower average of around 79 FPS.
• 1% lows were safer on the RTX 3090 Ti, hovering around 68 FPS, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a minimum framerate of around 63 FPS.
• The RTX 3090 Ti drew its high share of power from the wall in this game at around 427 watts, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a power draw of around 256 watts.
• Temperatures managed to soar higher on the RTX 4070 Ti at around 61°C, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti had temperatures hovering around the 58°C mark.

Also Read: RTX 2080 Ti vs RTX 3090 Ti

The Witcher 3

• For our final game of testing, we turned on ray tracing once again. In this scenario, the RTX 3090 TI eeked out one final victory, getting a framerate of around 57 FPS, while the RTX 4070 Ti had a hair lower performance at around 56 FPS.
• 1% lows stood to be exactly the same between the 3090 Ti and the 4070 Ti, around 44 FPS.
• The power consumption of the RTX 3090 Ti remained characteristically high through to the very, where it drew 445 watts of power. In contrast, the RTX 4070 Ti had a power consumption of around 247 watts.
• Lastly, temperatures were higher on the RTX 4070 Ti in this test, hovering around 62°C, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti had temperatures around 57°C.

Also Check: RTX 4090 Vs RTX 3090 Ti

Overall Gaming Performance

Now that we have gathered the data on the game-to-game performance of the RTX 3090 Ti vs RTX 4070 Ti, this part of the comparison will focus on bringing forth the trends we saw with these processors.

Framerate

• The RTX 3090 Ti was 3% faster than the RTX 4070 Ti, which is an unnoticeable difference for anyone but the most detail-oriented gamers.
• The RTX 3090 Ti and the RTX 4070 Ti traded punches in gaming titles, meaning some games preferred the stronger GPU on the 4070 Ti, whereas some games preferred the abundance of VRAM on the RTX 3090 Ti.
• We did not use DLSS 3 frame generation in these tests, but it can double your framerate on the RTX 4070 Ti when supported, leaving the RTX 3090 Ti in the dust.
• Both cards can game comfortably at 4k on high to ultra settings.

Power

• The RTX 3090 Ti drew about 64% more power than the RTX 4070 Ti in our testing at 4k.
• The performance per watt of the RTX 4070 Ti is 58% higher than the 3090 Ti if we use the average framerates from our benchmarks as a standard.
• The much larger power draw of the RTX 3090 TI can easily warrant getting an 800+ watt power supply, which will eat into your upgrade costs. Along with this, it can seriously affect your power bill, the impacts of which can be very noticeable over the lifespan of this card.

Temperature

• The RTX 4070 Ti had a peak average temperature of 62°C, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti had a peak average temperature closer to 59°C.
• Both the RTX 4070 Ti and the RTX 3090 Ti operated within the safe limits for each graphics card, so something like overheating should not be of concern.
• The thermal performance of both these graphics cards will almost certainly vary greatly from OEM to OEM, so don’t take these average temperatures as a be-all and end-all for what you can expect from these cards.

Price And Availability

• The RTX 3090 Ti had a launch MSRP of $1999, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti still sells for its MSRP of $799.
• If you want a 3090 Ti, it is best to buy a used one. On eBay, this card regularly goes for around $850, but it can be had for less with some deal hunting.
• Both of these cards should be available at any moderately sized brick-and-mortar store and any online retailer of your choice.

RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3090 Ti: What We Recommend

• The RTX 4070 Ti and the RTX 3090 Ti had similar performance in games, with a tiny 3% advantage for the RTX 3090 Ti.
• The difference in power consumption was pretty massive between the two graphics, with the RTX 3090 Ti consuming 415 watts, whereas the RTX 4070 Ti had a power consumption of 254 watts.
• The performance per watt and footprint of the RTX 4070 Ti is much better than the RTX 3090 Ti, making it better for low-profile builds.
• The RTX 3090 Ti also has its perks, a major one being its large VRAM buffer. This will allow it to be competitive years down the line. It also helps in large creative projects in 3D rendering or video editing that require a lot of VRAM.
• Nvidia’s RTX 4070 Ti has some merits in terms of gaming performance as well, the most noticeable of which being its DLSS 3 technology, which has the power to run circles around the RTX 3090 Ti in terms of performance when available in-game.

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Uzair Qureshi

[Comparisons Specialist]

I’m a passionate computer hardware expert specializing in CPUs and GPUs. With a lifelong curiosity for hardware and extensive hands-on experience, I provide valuable insights, practical advice, and in-depth analysis on these components. Engaging with the hardware community, I exchange knowledge and stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

Get In Touch: uzair@tech4gamers.com