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September 2022

The Evolution of the NVIDIA GeForce XX70 Series Graphics Cards

By Gaming
Before we begin

Today we’ll be looking into the NVIDIA GeForce xx70 line of graphics cards to see how much they’ve upgraded and improved through the years, as well as the transition from GTX to RTX and the introduction of ray tracing.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

Graphics Processor
GPU Name: GP104
GPU Variant: GP104-200-A1
Architecture: Pascal
Foundry: TSMC
Process Size: 16 nm
Transistors: 7,200 million
Die Size: 314 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date: Jun 10th, 2016
Generation: GeForce 10
Predecessor: GeForce 900
Successor: GeForce 20
Production: End-of-life
Launch Price: $379 USD
Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock: 1506 MHz
Boost Clock: 1683 MHz
Memory Clock: 2002 MHz, 8 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size: 8 GB
Memory Type: GDDR5
Memory Bus: 256 bit
Bandwidth: 256.3 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width: Dual-slot
Length: 267 mm, 10.5 inches
Width: 112 mm, 4.4 inches
Height: 40 mm, 1.6 inches
TDP: 150 W
Suggested PSU: 450 W
Outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors: 1x 8-pin
Board Number: PG411 SKU 20

Graphics Features
DirectX: 12 (12_1)
OpenGL: 4.6
OpenCL: 3.0
Vulkan: 1.3
CUDA: 6.1
Shader Model: 6.4

Render Config
Shading Units: 1920
TMUs: 120
ROPs: 64
SM Count: 15
L1 Cache: 48 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache: 2 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate: 107.7 GPixel/s
Texture Rate: 202.0 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance: 101.0 GFLOPS (1:64)
FP32 (float) performance: 6.463 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance: 202.0 GFLOPS (1:32)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070

The 20 series is where we see the introduction to RTX. NVIDIA’s transition from GTX to RTX was a huge stepping stone for more realistic graphics as real-time tracing was able to simulate individual rays of light. RTX graphics cards also established Tensor cores which are used to accelerate deep learning which allows users to upscale their resolution without a significant loss of performance.

Graphics Processor
GPU Name: TU106
GPU Variant: TU106-400A-A1
Architecture: Turing
Foundry: TSMC
Process Size: 12 nm
Transistors: 10,800 million
Die Size: 445 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date: Oct 17th, 2018
Generation: GeForce 20
Predecessor: GeForce 10
Successor: GeForce 30
Production: Active
Launch Price: $499 USD
Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock: 1410 MHz
Boost Clock: 1620 MHz
Memory Clock: 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size: 8 GB
Memory Type: GDDR6
Memory Bus: 256 bit
Bandwidth: 448.0 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width: Dual-slot
Length: 229 mm, 9 inches
Width: 113 mm, 4.4 inches
Height: 35 mm, 1.4 inches
TDP: 175 W
Suggested PSU: 450 W
Outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C
Power Connectors: 1x 8-pin
Board Number: PG160 SKU 52

Graphics Features
DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL: 4.6
OpenCL: 3.0
Vulkan: 1.3
CUDA: 7.5
Shader Model: 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units: 2304
TMUs: 144
ROPs: 64
SM Count: 36
Tensor Cores: 288
RT Cores: 36
L1 Cache: 64 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache: 4 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate: 103.7 GPixel/s
Texture Rate: 233.3 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance: 14.93 TFLOPS (2:1)
FP32 (float) performance: 7.465 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance: 233.3 GFLOPS (1:32)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Graphics Processor
GPU Name: GA104
GPU Variant: GA104-300-A1
Architecture: Ampere
Foundry: Samsung
Process Size: 8 nm
Transistors: 17,400 million
Die Size: 392 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date: Sep 1st, 2020
Availability: Oct 29th, 2020
Generation: GeForce 30
Predecessor: GeForce 20
Successor: GeForce 40
Production: Active
Launch Price: $499 USD
Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock: 1500 MHz
Boost Clock: 1725 MHz
Memory Clock: 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size: 8 GB
Memory Type: GDDR6
Memory Bus: 256 bit
Bandwidth: 448.0 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width: Dual-slot
Length: 242 mm, 9.5 inches
Width: 112 mm, 4.4 inches
TDP: 220 W
Suggested PSU: 550 W
Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors: 1x 12-pin
Board Number: PG142 SKU 10

Graphics Features
DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL: 4.6
OpenCL: 3.0
Vulkan: 1.3
CUDA: 8.6
Shader Model: 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units: 5888
TMUs: 184
ROPs: 96
SM Count: 46
Tensor Cores: 184
RT Cores: 46
L1 Cache: 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache: 4 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate: 165.6 GPixel/s
Texture Rate: 317.4 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance: 20.31 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance: 20.31 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance: 317.4 GFLOPS (1:64)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

Graphics Processor
GPU Name: AD104
GPU Variant: AD104
Architecture: Ada Lovelace
Foundry: TSMC
Process Size: 4 nm
Transistors: 35,800 million
Die Size: 295 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date: 2022
Availability: 2022
Generation: GeForce 40
Predecessor: GeForce 30
Production: Unreleased
Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock: 2310 MHz
Boost Clock: 2610 MHz
Memory Clock: 1325 MHz, 21.2 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size: 12 GB
Memory Type: GDDR6X
Memory Bus: 192 bit
Bandwidth: 508.8 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width: Dual-slot
Length: 336 mm, 13.2 inches
Width: 140 mm, 5.5 inches
Height: 61 mm, 2.4 inches
TDP: 285 W
Suggested PSU: 600 W
Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors: 1x 12-pin
Board Number: PG141 SKU 331

Graphics Features
DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL: 4.6
OpenCL: 3.0
Vulkan: 1.3
CUDA: 8.9
Shader Model: 6.6
Render Config
Shading Units: 7680
TMUs: 240
ROPs: 80
SM Count: 60
Tensor Cores: 240
RT Cores: 60
L1 Cache: 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache: 48 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate: 208.8 GPixel/s
Texture Rate: 626.4 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance: 40.09 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance: 40.09 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance: 626.4 GFLOPS (1:64)

To conclude...

The xx70 series of graphics cards have improved quite a bit since their first iteration. They are a good value GPU, providing quality gaming at a reasonable price. If you’re looking for a card that gives you a bang for your buck, the xx70 cards are a good starting point.

2022 Gaming Graphics Cards GPUs with the Absolute Best Value for Money

By Gaming

When shopping for a new gaming GPU, you must consider three things.

  1. What can you afford?
  2. How many monitors do you have?
  3. What is the best value I can get for my money?

Here we are in the middle of 2022 and there are some very good values for money right now.  Why?  First, the crypto mining (Etherium mining and even Bitcoin mining) have slowed down and are no longer really using GPUs any more. This has caused a bit of a glut of SOME graphics cards. Second, there are new cards rumored for 2023, and that also causes this to be a perfect time to score a great deal on a GPU.  Finally, over-ordering in 2021 caused too much inventory on some models.

So, here is our top 3 VALUE for money Graphics Cards of 2022, and why!

 

  1. ABSOLUTE BEST VALUE for 2022: XFX RX 6600 XT Speedster Qick 308 Black Gaming
https://cuttingedgegamer.com/product/xfx-rx-6600-xt-speedster-qick-308-black-gaming/?mc_cid=7ca9a30378&mc_eid=5898032c0e

This card is equal or better than comparable Nvidia cards at this price point.  At just $39.99/month, this is an absolute bargain.  The best part about getting this card from Cutting Edge Gamer (as opposed to buying it outright) is that IF and WHEN new cards come out, or if your budgets change, you can Infinite Upgrade™ FOR FREE to a new card at any time.

So what makes this card so special?

  1. 1080P with all settings on at max frame-rates.  Up to 7680×4320 at very playable frame-rates (for those of you with 4K monitors, this one does 4K no problem!)
  2. 3x DISPLAYPORT 1.4 ports and 1 HDMI 2.1 port (supporting 4 monitors or 3+VR Rig)
  3. 2607Mhz GDDR6 and HDCP ß fancy words for fast!

How does it compare?

According to these reviews, it is absolutely the best bang for the buck in this price range:

 

https://www.gpu-monkey.com/en/compare_gpu-xfx_speedster_qick308_radeon_rx_6600_xt_black_gaming-vs-xfx_speedster_swft_210_amd_radeon_rx_6600_xt_core_gaming

https://www.pcworld.com/article/394986/xfx-speedster-merc-308-radeon-rx-6600-xt-review.html

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/xfx-speedster-qick-308-rx-6600-xt.b9183

AND it outperforms many similarly priced Nvidia cards including:

NVIDIA 2060 series

NVIDIA 3050 series

  • SECOND BEST VALUE for 2022: EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti XC Gaming LHR

https://cuttingedgegamer.com/product/evga-rtx-3060-ti-xc-gaming-lhr/

This card is more expensive than the XFX RX 6600 XT Speedster Quick 308 mentioned above, but, it also performs SLIGHTLY better.  When we say slightly, we mean ever so slightly and only at resolutions above 1080P.  (like 2K or 4K monitors).

However, it is nearly 2x the price/cost… so although it is good value for money, it’s not quite as good as our number 1 pick.

NOTE: this is the 3060 series card, so it really should outperform the 2060 and 3050 cards which the XFX RX 6600 XT competes with.

  • THIRD BEST VALUE for 2022: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING

https://cuttingedgegamer.com/product/evga-rtx-3080-ti-xc3-ultra-gaming/

This card is also more expensive than the XFX RX 6600 XT Speedster Quick 308 mentioned above, but, it also absolutely slays at 4K resolutions.  The reason for that is 12GB of Ram.  Bear in mind, that RAM is only running at 1725Mhz (which is lower than the XFX RX 6600 XT, our number 1 pick)… that means at lower resolutions, you may even see slightly better performance out of your XFX RX 6600 XT.

However, it is nearly 5x the price/cost… so although it is good value for money, it’s not nearly as good as our number 1 pick.  Unless you have a 4K+ monitor, you really don’t need this.

NOTE: this is the 3080 series card, so of course it will outperform the XFX RX 6600 XT Speedster Quick 308 and the EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti XC Gaming LHR.   However, this article was about value for money, not just “having the best”.  If you do want the best GPU money can buy, this RTX 3080 Ti is indeed one of them!

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