Nvidia RTX 5070 Founders Edition Graphics Card Review

https://youtu.be/TuwmOMxiNuA Another day, another GPU launch, and while I’m happy as that keeps us busy, it’s not exactly been plain sailing in terms of stock availability, performance uplifts generation to generation, and general niggles and issues that you get with any new product, though hopefully today, we can push forward and look at a card that is likely going to appeal to more of a mass market, as the RTX 5070 comes in with an MSRP of $549 and is set to give those who bought the ever-so popular RTX 3070 a worthy reason to upgrade. Nvidia RTX 5070 Founders Edition Ok, so first, let’s talk about where this is positioned because as we all know, AMD are releasing their latest RDNA4 lineup within the next 24 hours, and this evidently puts pressure on NVIDIA to make a big splash with the RTX 5070, but if the other 50 series lineup has taught us anything, with the exception being the RTX 5090, as it’s in a league of its own, the generational uplift from the 40 series isn’t exactly setting the world alight. That’s not to say that the 50 series is bad or that there’s anything inherently wrong, but we’re at a point where consumers are still expecting huge jumps in rasterisation, and even in raytracing, but long gone are those days where that is the biggest focus, and whether you like it or not, AI through DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation is here to stay. That does mean that on a card like the RTX 5070, we should see strong uplifts over the RTX 3070, but those gains will be much more muted when compared to the RTX 4070 and more importantly, 4070 SUPER which both launched for $50 more than the card we’re looking at today. Key Features Enhanced NVIDIA Broadcast App: Includes new AI-powered features like Studio Voice and Virtual Key Light for improved live streaming. Blackwell Architecture: The new Blackwell architecture boasts significant improvements in performance and efficiency. AI-Powered Rendering: Features like neural shaders and DLSS 4 leverage AI for groundbreaking graphics rendering. DLSS 4: This technology uses AI to generate more frames, leading to up to 8x performance boosts compared to traditional rendering. RTX Neural Shaders: Introduce AI networks into programmable shaders, enabling film-quality materials and lighting in games. RTX Neural Faces: Renders high-quality digital faces in real-time using AI. Reflex 2 with Frame Warp: Reduces latency in games by up to 75% for a more responsive experience. Autonomous Game Characters: New NVIDIA ACE technologies allow for AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs) that can perceive, plan, and act more like human players. AI Foundation Models: Support for NVIDIA NIM microservices enables users to build AI agents and assistants on their RTX AI PCs. FP4 Precision: Boosts AI image generation performance and allows for running generative AI models locally. A Closer Look So specs wise, the 5070 comes in with the GB205-300-A1 core, so completely different to the GB203 core that we saw on the 5070 Ti and RTX 5080, but at this price point that’s completely expected. It does mean that we have a much smaller die size at 253mm² and with 31.1 billion transistors. The die size is a signiciant reduction compared to its ADA Lovelace and Ampere predecessors, while also coming in with more transistors than the RTX 3070, but less than the RTX 4070, though we know that this doesn’t determine performance and instead architectural improvements, core configurations, and clock speeds also play significant roles in a GPU's overall capabilities. Other specs show the GPU packing 6144 CUDA cores, which is a paltry 4% increase from both the RTX 4070 and 3070 which came in identically at 5888 CUDA cores. This also means we see the same increases in texture mapping units, streaming multiprocessors, tensor cores and RT cores, though in the case of them, we now have the next generation of those cores so that will account for something. There are other areas with bigger differences thankfully, like the increase in L2 cache, now at 48MB which is a 33% improvement over the RTX 4070’s 36MB and a staggering 1100% more than the RTX 3070 which came in with just 4MB. We now also pack the same GDDR7 as the rest of the Blackwell lineup, but still only have 12GB, like the RTX 4070 had, and are still on a 192-bit bus, though being GDDR7, it does give us 672GB/s of bandwidth, compared to 504.2GB/s on the ADA Lovelace predecessor, and that also means we have another 4GB compared to the RTX 3070 and a bit increase in bandwidth over the 448GB/s that had, even if it was on a 256-bit memory interface. In terms of clock speeds, the RTX 5070 comes in with a base clock of 2325MHz, a boost clock of 2512MHz and a memory speed of 1750MHz or 28Gbps Effective, much like we saw on the RTX 5070 Ti. In terms of power, the RTX 5070 comes in with a TDP of 250W and NVIDIA suggests a 600W PSU for your system and as you’d expect, the 5070 uses the same 12V 2x6 connector that we’re all now familiar with. Now we don’t normally touch on the design of the card when we look at a day 1 launch review, but I had to because this is one very cute looking card, and being the size that it is, almost feels like a toy, while still being extremely well built and having a premium look to it and will be perfect for those wanting to utilise it inside a small form factor build. So on paper, there’s some changes on the memory side of things, and the generation of certain components, but overall, it doesn’t look like too much has changed, though as we know, with new architecture, comparing specs to specs doesn’t always give us an apples to apples comparison, and instead, we need to look at the performance to see the lay of the land. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test benches to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and are kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Processor Test Systems Test System (GPU) Motherboard Gigabyte B650E AORUS MASTER Buy Now Processor Ryzen 7 9800X3D Review Buy Now GPU Changes Per Review RAM 32 Corsair VENGEANCE RGB 6000MHz CL30 Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H9 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Software We use a variety of software from different developers to assist in our testing and to give us the most consistent results possible. Some applications are specifically used for testing, while others are simply used for monitoring and to aid us in making sure that our results are as accurate as possible. Software Used 3DMark FireStrike & TimeSpy (download) Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. Given how powerful most modern cards are getting, we've began using more demanding profiles for most games, but will otherwise state on a per game basis if we use other profiles beyond High, Ultra, Maximum or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, and all FPS caps that can be removed are. We also enable XMP and Resizable bar technology across all platforms to keep things as fair as possible. Games While we test a lot of games, it's not possible to display all of the data on the website or in our videos. Instead, we include access to all of our testing data for our Patreon members (link), where members get a ton of other benefits as well. What we do, however, is display charts for averages across all game titles to give a better picture of performance across all titles tested. A Plague Tale: Requiem Alan Wake II Baldur's Gate 3 Black Myth Wukong CS2 Cyberpunk 2077 F1 24 Fortnite Hogwarts Legacy Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Starfield War Thunder Resolutions 1080 (Full HD) 1440 4K Some tests will also include features such as NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. Power Consumption Not being content with simply reading total system power draw, we now run F1 24 for an hour loop and measure power draw at the end of the loop for the most accurate measurement that represents real-world gameplay experience. Temperatures We take temperature readings after the same hour-long F1 24 loop with no other background programs running, again to simulate a real-world gaming experience. 3DMark TimeSpy Extreme 3DMark Time Spy Extreme is a DirectX 12 benchmark test that pushes even the most powerful gaming PCs to their limits. It renders at a demanding 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) and includes a CPU test designed to measure the performance of high-end processors with 8 or more cores. This makes it an ideal benchmark for evaluating the latest graphics cards and top-of-the-line CPUs, especially when considering demanding tasks like gaming at 4K resolution and beyond. So, as always, kicking things off with 3DMark Timespy and straight away, we find the RTX 5070 sitting just ahead of the RTX 4070 SUPER with a 5% lead in the overall score and a slightly better 6% in the graphics score, which while it’s nice to see the 50 series ahead of the 40 series, it’s not by much, and I fear that games will tell a slightly different story. A Plague Tale: Requiem A Plague Tale: Requiem is a stealth-survival horror adventure that serves as a direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence. Players continue the harrowing journey of Amicia and Hugo de Rune, two young siblings navigating a plague-ridden France in the 14th century. The game features stunning visuals, intense action sequences, and a gripping narrative that explores themes of family, resilience, and the darkness within. For our first game, we booted up A Plague Tale at 1440p and straight away, we can see the 5070 coming in with identical performance to the averages as the 4070 Ti, though, and this is something we’ve seen quite a lot with the 50 series, but the 1% lows suffer quite dramatically. Regardless, we do still see a 9% uplift in performance over the 4070 SUPER, 26% more than the RTX 4070, and a 52% increase over the ageing RTX 3070. As we move up to 4K, we again see similar performance to the 4070 Ti, separated by just 2 frames per second, but again, that 1% looks frankly awful, though we have seen similar in other games on other 50 series cards being rectified through driver updates and game optimisations. That aside, we do see a 6% uplift over the 4070 SUPER, a 21% increase in frames over the 4070 non-SUPER and a 55% improvement over the RTX 3070, which also seemed to suffer in the lows quite a bit. Alan Wake II Alan Wake II is a survival horror game and the long-awaited sequel to Remedy Entertainment's cult classic, Alan Wake. This time, the story takes a darker turn, delving deeper into the psychological and supernatural elements that made the original so compelling. Players can expect a chilling atmosphere, intense combat encounters, and a mind-bending narrative that will keep them on the edge of their seats. Moving onto Alan Wake II at 1440p on the high preset, and here, the 5070 does slip down the rankings somewhat, and is now just 3% ahead of the RTX 4070 SUPER, which while this card is launching for a cheaper price, I think consumers are going to be expecting more. When sizing it up to the 4070 non-SUPER, things look better with 22% more performance and 64% more than the RTX 3070 from yesteryear, which really shows not how good the 5070 is, but how good the 4070 SUPER was and should have been what the 4070 non-SUPER originally should have been. As we move onto 4K, the 5070 still doesn’t offer up anything groundbreaking, as it now sits just 3% ahead of the 4070 SUPER, 23% ahead of the 4070 and 58% ahead of the RTX 3070, though again, while not as significant as other titles, the 1% lows are still showing to be quite a strong point of contention as they sit considerably lower than other GPUs. Baldur's Gate 3 Baldur's Gate 3 is a highly acclaimed role-playing game set in the Forgotten Realms universe. Developed by Larian Studios, it offers a deep and immersive experience with turn-based combat, intricate storylines, and a vast world to explore. Players can create their own custom characters or choose from a roster of origin characters, each with their own unique backstories and motivations. In Baldur’s Gate 3 at 1440p, we now see the 5070 coming in 7% faster than the 4070 SUPER, which is much more like it, but still at a point where gamers will be expecting more performance generation to generation. We do see a 28% increase over the 4070 non-SUPER, and 64% more than frames than the RTX 3070, but again, based on other 50 series uplifts, gamers are in a position, especially at $549, that they want to see much higher gains. At 4K, the gains do improve slightly, with an 11% increase over the 4070 SUPER and 30% over the 4070 non-SUPER, which is much more respectable, but at just a 58% increase over the RTX 3070, it still falls short of the mark, and it almost feels like we’re at a point, at least in terms of rasterisation, that we’re potentially as the limits of what’s possible gen on gen, or in this case, even skipping a generation. Black Myth Mukong Black Myth Wukong is an action role-playing game inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West." Developed by Game Science, it features stunning graphics, challenging combat encounters, and a captivating story based on the legendary Monkey King. Players can expect a unique blend of Chinese mythology and action-packed gameplay. In Black Myth: Wukong at 1440p, again, the gains are nothing of significance, coming in 5% faster than the 4070 SUPER, 22% faster than the 4070 non-SUPER and 52% faster than the RTX 3070, and puts the 5070 between the RTX 3090 and 4070 Ti, so while it looks impressive, the gains aren’t that impressive overall. As we move up to 4K, the uplift gets better, but again, there are some issues. Coming in at 37 FPS, upscaling is clearly going to be needed in this title, and with a sticking point still being the 1% lows on this card, even with a 54% improvement over the RTX 3070, it just feels like it needs more, as this also means that it has a 28% improvement over the RTX 4070 and only a 9% increase over the 4070 SUPER. CS2 CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) is the highly anticipated sequel to the iconic tactical first-person shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Developed by Valve, it promises to revolutionise the competitive FPS scene with updated graphics, refined gameplay mechanics, and new features. Players can expect the same intense tactical gameplay that has made the franchise so popular, but with a fresh coat of paint and exciting new additions. In Counter Strike 2, things go from bad to worse for the low figures, which does stand out quite a lot as it falls well below the levels that any reasonable gamer would expect. This does put the RTX 5070 just below the 3090 like we’ve seen in other games, though now the RTX 4070 SUPER comes out on top with the 5070 trailing behind by just under 5% though silver lining is that the 5070 sits ahead of the 4070 non-SUPER by 7% and only 27% ahead of the RTX 3070, which isn’t a good look, even at such high frame rates. Things get even worse at 4K, as again the dreaded 50 series bug in terms of the lows strikes again. We looked at this over and over and this was one of the better results we managed to obtain, so again, much like we saw with the 5090, driver updates and game optimisations need to be done to refine the performance, though what is nice to see is the 5070 sitting ahead of the 4070 SUPER, albeit by just under 4%, and this also puts it 17% ahead of the RTX 4070 and 43% ahead of the RTX 3070 from many years ago. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world action role-playing game set in the dystopian metropolis of Night City. Developed by CD Projekt Red, it offers a vast and immersive world filled with diverse characters, complex storylines, and a wide range of customization options. Players can create their own unique cyberpunk character and explore the city's underbelly, completing missions, engaging in cybernetic enhancements, and making choices that shape their destiny. Booting into Cyberpunk and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The RTX 5070 now sits just below the 4070 Ti, and this also puts it 13% ahead of the RTX 4070 SUPER, and a more impressive 42% ahead of the RTX 4070, while when compared to the RTX 3070, the new Blackwell based GPU commands another 57% more performance, which again, honestly feels like it's on the low side compared to how long ago that GPU launched and what gamers will be expecting by skipping a complete generation. At 4K, it’s much of the same, though this time, the 5070 comes in 5% ahead of the 4070 Ti, but this does only equate to just 2 FPS. In relation to other cards, we now see a 14% generation uplift over the 4070 SUPER, and 57% more frames than the RTX 4070 and RTX 3070, but at such low frame rates, upscaling is going to be needed to avoid stuttering, especially with that somewhat low 1% low performance. F1 24 F1 24 is the official video game of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship. Developed by Codemasters, it offers a realistic and immersive racing experience with all the official teams, drivers, and circuits. Players can compete in the full F1 season, participate in online multiplayer races, or create their own custom championships. Zooming around Bahrain in F1 24 and the 5070 comes in around the same performance level as the RTX 3090 and RX 7900 GRE and this is enough to push 8% ahead of the RTX 4070 SUPER, 21% ahead of the 4070 non-SUPER and 44% ahead of the RTX 3070, which all sounds fine, but not much of a reason to upgrade in all honesty. 4K looks better, at least at a first glance, as the 5070 sits up with the 4070 Ti and 4070 Ti SUPER, separated by a few frames here and there, and is now enough to just push ahead of the RTX 3090 along with a lead over the 4070 SUPER of 10%, a 25% lead over the 4070 non-SUPER, and a very healthy lead of 81% over the RTX 3070, which is much closer to the expectations of what consumers will be looking for for this price point. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is an upcoming action-adventure game based on the iconic film franchise. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios, it promises to deliver an epic and cinematic experience with a globe-trotting adventure, thrilling action sequences, and a captivating story. Players will step into the shoes of Indiana Jones and embark on a quest to uncover the secrets of a mysterious artefact. In Indiana Jones at 1440p, performance is similar to that of the RX 7900 XT and RTX 4070 Ti, and this also gives us a 7% improvement over the RTX 4070 SUPER, as well as a 22% increase over its predecessor, the RTX 4070. Finally though, we start to see much healthier gains of 231% over the RTX 3070, but sadly, this isn’t a testament to how good the 5070 is, but instead, of how bad the 3070 is starting to age when running it on these newer titles. At 4K, again, we’re pretty evenly matched to the RTX 3090, which is good, but coming in with only 5% more performance than the RTX 4070 SUPER is frankly bad. A 21% uplift over the 4070 non-SUPER sounds better, but again isn’t going to give a strong enough reason to upgrade from it, while the 300% gain over the 3070 sounds amazing, but again is more down to the lacklustre performance of the 3070, and now how great the 5070 actually is. Starfield Starfield is a highly anticipated space exploration role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. It offers a vast and immersive galaxy to explore, with countless planets, star systems, and alien civilizations to discover. Players can create their own custom character and embark on a journey to uncover the secrets of the universe, completing missions, engaging in space combat, and making choices that shape their destiny. In Starfield at 1440p and we see some pretty bad results yet again. The 5070 now falls 4% behind the 4070 SUPER, so right on the cusp of margin of error, but in terms of evolution gen on gen, this is pretty terrible, especially as you consider, while it does offer something over the RTX 4070, it’s only a 6% uplift, along with just 41% more performance over the RTX 3070, which is still good for over 60 FPS in this title. Then at 4K, again, we’re talking performance that aligns 5% lower than the 4070 SUPER, while only coming in 12% faster than the RTX 4070 non-SUPER and though, it sounds impressive, at 45% over the RTX 3070, we should in theory, be getting around another 35-40% on top considering how old the RTX 3070 is now. War Thunder War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat multiplayer game that focuses on historical battles across World War II and the Cold War. Developed by Gaijin Entertainment, it features a wide range of aircraft, tanks, and naval vessels from various nations. Players can participate in large-scale battles with other players, completing objectives and striving for victory. Then in our last rasterisation test, we booted up War Thunder at 1440p, and it’s here, the 5070 and 4070 SUPER came in with a 1% margin of error difference, which at frame rates this high would be unnoticeable, though a lot of gamers would notice that over the 4070, they’re only getting 11% more performance, especially when expected to put down $549 for this card and only seeing that uplift, though still more concerning is the 49% increase over the RTX 3070. Then at 4K, it’s the same again. The 4070 SUPER and RTX 5070 are separated by around 3%, so call it identical, especially given the super high framerates, and this again means that we now pack another 12% over the 4070 and just 43% over the RTX 3070. It’s good, but still nowhere near good enough. Overall Average FPS Results are added together, then averaged out for each graphics card at each resolution to give you an overall picture of their relative performance. Now as always, the best way to tell what’s going on here is to look at the overall averages across all the titles we tested. It’s here where the brand new RTX 5070 came in with 1% higher performance than the 4070 SUPER, so anyone looking at this and taking margin of error into account, would class that as identical. Compared to the RTX 4070 we do see a 15% gain generation to generation and 43% more than the RTX 3070, but with those types of gains, I don’t think I can see this card being the talk of the town, though will likely still sell out as all 50 series cards have. Looking at the 4K data, again we can see the 4070 SUPER and RTX 5070 coming in very closely with just over 4% more performance being handed to the RTX 5070, which is better, but still not great, and that CS2 benchmark has really made the 1% low figure tank quite dramatically. That aside, we do now pack 21% more performance when compared to the RTX 4070 and 53% more than the RTX 3070, though again, while it sounds great, it’s just not enough for most consumers. 3DMark Port Royal 3DMark Port Royal is a benchmarking tool specifically designed to measure the ray tracing performance of graphics cards. As the world's first dedicated real-time ray tracing benchmark for gamers, it provides a realistic and practical example of what to expect from ray tracing in games. As we move onto raytracing performance, and starting things off with Port Royal, just to see how performance lines up, and here we again, much like in Timespy Extreme see the 5070 ahead of the 4070 SUPER, but only by a little under 7%, so again, while this looks good when looking at the chart, it’s not great overall. Ray Tracing Alan Wake 2 Alan Wake II pushes the boundaries of visual fidelity with its ambitious implementation of "full ray tracing," also known as path tracing. This means ray tracing handles all lighting, reflections, and shadows, creating a more realistic and immersive environment. The game features ray-traced direct lighting for accurate and dynamic shadows, ray-traced indirect lighting for realistic bounced light, ray-traced reflections on surfaces like water and glass, and ray-traced transparency for convincing interaction with transparent objects. In Alan Wake II at 1440p with raytracing enabled and upscaling set to balanced and again we find the 4070 SUPER doing a much superior job as the 5070 comes in with 10% less performance, though that is enough for a 16% uplift over the 4070 non-SUPER and a strong 105% improvement over the RTX 3070, which is much more realistic in terms of the expectations that gamers will have. At 4K, it’s pretty much a repeat, with the 5070 coming in with 15% less performance, when compared to the 4070 SUPER, 14% more performance than the 4070 non-SUPER, and 100% more than the RTX 3070, though again, that’s more about how far behind the 3070 is, and not how much ahead the 5070 is. Ray Tracing Black Myth Wukong Black Myth Wukong is set to be a visual tour-de-force, thanks to its implementation of full ray tracing, also known as path tracing. This means ray tracing is used to render all lighting, reflections, and shadows within its fantastical world. Ray-traced reflections enhance the serene beauty of water features and the shine of polished surfaces, while ray-traced shadows add depth and realism to every scene. Ray-traced indirect lighting allows light to bounce naturally, creating a more believable environment. Even the game's particle effects, often a challenge for ray tracing, are rendered with impressive accuracy. In Black Myth: Wukong, at 1440p with raytracing enabled, the 4070 SUPER and 5070 are separated by just over margin of error with the newer card packing 5% more performance while also coming in with a 25% generational uplift over the RTX 4070 and 100% higher performance over the RTX 3070 so raytracing at least gives us some stronger gains overall. At 4K, we’re now looking at 6% higher performance over the 4070 SUPER, 27% over the 4070 non-SUPER, and 90% over the RTX 3070 and this puts it just 1 FPS behind the 4070 Ti, though as our figures are much lower, sometimes in the teens, percentages can look artificially inflated. Ray Tracing Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 was already a visually impressive game, but the implementation of "Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode" takes things to a whole new level. This mode utilises path tracing, a form of full ray tracing, to render all lighting, reflections, and shadows with exceptional accuracy. This means every neon sign, streetlamp, headlight, and screen in Night City contributes to the illumination of the environment, creating a truly breathtaking and immersive experience. Ray-traced reflections bring the city's rain-slicked streets and glass skyscrapers to life, while ray-traced shadows add depth and realism to every scene. In Cyberpunk, now with raytracing enabled, the shiny new RTX 5070 comes in 1 FPS below the 4070 SUPER which also pushing out 17% more frames than the 4070 non-SUPER and 183% more than the RTX 3070. Again, the numbers compared to the 3070 are pretty impressive, but compared to the Ada Lovelace equivalent, it’s not exactly got the wow factor. At 4K, a caveat is that no matter what, upscaling is going to be needed, but as a fair comparison, we have it disabled for this test and it doesn’t do well for the RTX 5070, as it falls 17% behind the RTX 4070 and 23% behind the RTX 4070 SUPER though does command a 900% uplift over the RTX 3070, but at just 1 FPS, anything would be better at this point. Ray Tracing F1 24 F1 24 brings the thrill of Formula 1 racing to life with its implementation of ray tracing, adding a new layer of realism to the on-track action. Ray-traced reflections accurately capture the gleaming surfaces of the cars and the vibrant colours of the race tracks, while ray-traced shadows add depth and detail to every scene. The introduction of ray-traced ambient occlusion further enhances the visual fidelity, providing more realistic and nuanced shading. Even the crowds in the grandstands benefit from ray tracing, with more detailed and dynamic lighting. Then in F1 24 at 1440p, the 5070 and 4070 SUPER come in with nigh on identical results, separated by just 2 frames per second, while compared to the RTX 4070 non-SUPER, the new Blackwell based GPU comes in with 15% more performance and 49% more than the RTX 3070 and this means that the 5070 now matches the RTX 3080 10GB in both the averages and the lows. Then lastly at 4K, the 5070 comes in short with 5% less performance, when compared to the RTX 4070 SUPER while still pushing out 11% more frames compared to the RTX 4070 and 73% more in comparison to the RTX 3070, which is the GPU NVIDIA believe most will be upgrading from. Ray Tracing Overall Average FPS Again, taking a look at overall average performance and the worst part of the RTX 5070 is the 4070 SUPER as it comes in 2 FPS higher overall which considering we have the next generation of RT cores, this is not great for NVIDIA, as it simply doesn’t offer up anything over the predecessor, even if that is a SUPER variant. In the interest of being fair and comparing to the RTX 4070 non-SUPER, we do see an uplift, but only of 17%, while the much bigger increase is over the RTX 3070 of a little over 85%. 4K comes in even worse for the RTX 5070 as it sits 9% behind the RTX 4070 SUPER while only commanding an 11% lead over the RTX 4070, though with a 100% increase in performance over the RTX 3070, it definitely makes the RTX 5070 look better than maybe what it actually is. Upscaling Alan Wake II Alan Wake II is a survival horror game and the long-awaited sequel to Remedy Entertainment’s cult classic, Alan Wake. This time, the story takes a darker turn, delving deeper into the psychological and supernatural elements that made the original so compelling. Players can expect a chilling atmosphere, intense combat encounters, and a mind-bending narrative that will keep them on the edge of their seats. So starting with the performance side of things, we find tha in Alan Wake II that when we look at native performance at 77 FPS and 37ms of latency, things are perfectly playable at 1440p, though a simple switch and turning on DLSS into balanced mode, the performance jumps by 82%, while also cutting latency down by 15ms. For those who want more, as we move up through the various frame generation settings, we’re able to push another 330% performance, while latency remains around the same level of native performance. When we look at raytracing, this as standard, has much higher latency levels and of course, much lower performance, now at a level where you’d need upscaling to even make it playable. Thankfully, just by setting DLSS to balanced mode, gives us another 119% more performance while reducing the latency by half, though if you’re happy with slightly higher latency, that is still lower than native, while also increasing performance by 544%, then keeping DLSS set to balanced but enabling frame generation X4 will net you some serious improvements. Moving onto Cyberpunk and this is a little different, as you can actually change the model that it uses with options for CNN or Transformer. Again, we do see a steady increase across the various upscaling presets with the most aggressive, giving us huge gains of around 267% when comparing native to X4 in both CNN or Transformer models while also keeping latency pretty close to native, though individual choices can be made about striking a balance between lower latency with lower framerates in this case. When we enable raytracing, it’s pretty clear to see that at native on an RTX 5070, even at 1440p, that we’re on the cusp of what I’d class as playable frame rates at just 34 FPS in the averages, and 24 FPS in the lows and with 66ms of latency. The CNN model consistently does better here, but we are talking small margins, and either will net you some huge performance jumps while simultaneously reducing latency by quite some margins, including DLSS with no frame generation cutting the latency essentially, in half. Upscaling Visual Comparison Now free performance is always nice, and if we can decrease the latency at the same time, even better, but what does that mean for visual quality? It’s here, when we compare images side by side and in Alan Wake 2, it shows that enabling upscaling and frame generation doesn't make a whole lot of a noticeable difference. Looking at some finer details we can see a bit of a blur when upscaling is enabled, with the stand out examples being the yellow sign in the distance and the reflection in the puddle on the floor. Anything else we see would be pretty hard to notice, particularly when moving around and doing things, so it's nice to see that in such a visually stunning game we're still able to appreciate the detail in the environments without sacrificing on our frame rate or gameplay experience. When we look at Cyberpunk 2077 we find it very difficult to notice any changes, but after putting our footage under the microscope, we find a few differences that I actually think makes the game look better. If we look at the black TV screen in the distance we can see that at native it has some film grain too it that is far less present when upscaling is enabled, obviously if you want the film grain then this is a problem, but honestly I'm not a huge fan of film grain, so having it smoothed out does make things look a bit cleaner. Something else I noticed was that at native we saw some gaps in the geometry, particularly near the top of the frame where you can see a white line appear briefly as the camera moves: this is actually a gap in the buildings geometry and that white line is either the sky box or just something untextured you're not meant to see, but with upscaling enabled we actually see this gap get filled in and it's far less noticeable if at all, making a more immersive experience as a result. Power & Temperatures As always, it’s worth taking a look into the cooling performance of the Founders card and what it means for the sustained GPU clocks, fan speed and power draw, so in typical fashion, we booted up F1 24 for an hour long loop to see how the card holds up under a typical gaming session. It’s here where after an hour, we found temperatures to be under control, considering the smaller surface area of the Founders design, averaging around 73 degrees on the GPU temperature, and 74 degrees on the memory junction temperature. The GPU clock remained pretty consistent, averaging just above 2700MHz, with our memory clocked in at 14001MHz or 28Gbps Effective. What was interesting was the fan speed which in our overlay came in above 2400 RPM, which I would normally say would lead to a very loud operation, but either, the software is reporting incorrectly or NVIDIA have managed some voodoo here, as it wasn’t loud or noticeable at all over the rest of the fans inside the system. That aside, the total board power averaged around 226W which gives a fair amount of headroom considering the cards 250W TDP. Cost Per Frame MSRP So to round off this review, it’s worth taking a look at the cost per frame data, and when we look at MSRP data at 1440p, things look pretty promising with the RTX 5070 offering up some of the best value we’ve seen, at $2.87 per frame, and in an ideal world, this is how I would end the review, but sadly we don’t live in an ideal world, and we have to look at typical selling prices, of which we will very shortly. First, if we look at the 4K data, this again, shows the RTX 5070 in a really good light, at $4.75 per frame, and coming in as one of the best graphics cards we’ve tested when thinking about value for money. Again, ideally, if prices were at normal, and reasonable levels, I’d be singing from the rooftops, but being a bit of a realist, I have to call a spade a spade. That’s the case, when we move back to 1440p. We’ve put in the MSRP price, but also where we expect it to be too because while NVIDIA have control over the founders edition 5070, other MSRP based cards won’t be so lucky, and instead, will see prices rise, likely to around $750, especially given that scalpers will likely get hold of them and then try to turn them over for a profit. Cost Per Frame Selling Price Now when looking at 1440p again and looking at a typical selling price, we’ve tried to be conservative with the RTX 5070 based on prices we’ve seen other 50 series cards go for over their set MSRP price. That’s why we’ve included the original result of $549, but also what we’re likely to see it sell for, closer to $749 and this doesn’t do great for NVIDIA as offerings from AMD in terms of the 7900 GRE and 7800 XT come in significantly cheaper, and even the likes of the 4060 and 4060 Ti come in as better value overall. At 4K, it’s very much the same situation. AMD are currently selling at much more attractive price points, and these could drop even further as the Radeon 9000 series launch and force the 7000 series to reduce in price, which spells more trouble for the 5070 at $6.48 per frame, which is just over $1.50 more expensive per frame than the 7800 XT. Yes, it offers lesser performance, but at a much lower selling price. How Much Does it Cost? OK, so we know that the MSRP for this card is going to be $549. However, will we see cards at that price and in stock? I honestly do not know. While Nvidia will stick to their guns for the first wave, we've no clue what other stores may do. However, you can check for up to date stock and prices at Scan.co.uk here. Overview So, after looking through all the benchmarks, ray tracing performance, upscaling capabilities, and everything else in between, it’s clear that the RTX 5070 has its strengths but also a fair share of problems. For those still holding onto an RTX 3070, the jump to the 5070 does offer some worthwhile gains, particularly in ray tracing performance, but even then, the increases aren’t as impressive as what gamers were hoping for. The reality is, expectations were higher, and while a 50–100% uplift in ray tracing sounds decent, it still feels like we’re only just scraping by in terms of what a next-gen upgrade should deliver. DLSS 4 The real issue here is that NVIDIA seems to be hedging all their bets on DLSS 4 and multi-frame generation to carry the 50 series forward. While the technology is impressive in terms of boosting performance and reducing latency, the fact that it only works in supported titles leaves a lot of gamers in a bit of a limbo. For those who aren’t planning on enabling DLSS 4 for every game, the generational uplift over the 4070 and 4070 SUPER feels almost non-existent and that’s a similar story with rasterisation too, which as we know, is starting to see smaller gains, but in the case of the RTX 5070, sometimes it didn’t gain much at all. The 4070 SUPER in particular is proving to be a thorn in the side of the 5070, offering similar or better performance in several titles despite being last-gen and that makes the 5070 feel like an RTX 4070 SUPER SUPER. AMD Incoming The bigger threat, though, comes from AMD’s upcoming 9000 series, which is set to shake things up further. With AMD’s track record of offering more VRAM and better value for money, the 5070’s relatively small 12GB of GDDR7 and its modest performance uplifts could end up being a hard sell if AMD cards come in with the aggressive price point that’s been set and if retailers stick with that, especially given that stock should be more plentiful. In this context, the 5070 feels like it’s already on the backfoot, even at its launch. Pricing Then there’s the matter of pricing, which, honestly, feels like the biggest issue here. NVIDIA can control MSRP pricing on their Founders Edition cards, but when it comes to AIB cards that are supposed to be MSRP, they have little to no control. Early signs are already pointing to inflated prices well above the $549 MSRP, and with scalpers likely to jump on any available stock, getting a 5070 at MSRP might end up being wishful thinking. At $549, it’s a reasonable offering for those skipping a generation, but if prices push closer to $749, the value proposition falls apart completely—especially when AMD’s cards are looking like they’ll undercut NVIDIA on both price and performance. Should I Buy One? In the end, the RTX 5070 feels like an ok upgrade for those moving from an RTX 3070, but a tough sell for anyone else and even then, it’s not exactly mind-blowing. The gains are there, but they’re just not substantial enough to justify the asking price unless DLSS 4 is a must-have feature for you. NVIDIA needs to sort out the 1% lows and address pricing quickly too, or the 5070 risks being overshadowed not just by AMD’s new cards but by NVIDIA’s own last-gen offerings as well, and that’s the state of the RTX 5070. Let me know in the comments if you think DLSS 4 is enough to save it or if AMD’s 9000 series has your attention.