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The debate between the newly launched RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB and the last-gen RTX 3070 is hot: one promises more VRAM and DLSS 3 while the other is more powerful. Both cards are premium mid-range offerings that bring solid rasterization performance to the table, and choosing between them has been difficult since launch.
In this article, we will pitch the $500 entries from the last two generations of Nvidia video cards against each other. We will go through the on-paper specs and then check out their performance in video games to find out which is the better GPU.
The RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB has some critical advantages over the 3070
Specs
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Making an apples-to-apples specs comparison between the RTX 4060 Ti and the 3070 is unfair as they are based on completely different architectures. For context, the newer Ada Lovelace architecture powering the RTX 40 series GPUs focuses more on efficiency and feature-improved IPC. Thus, even with lower core counts, these GPUs can outperform the last gen.
However, below is an overlook of the hardware bundled with each of these cards:
Note that the RTX 3070 was launched for $499 in 2020. However, it currently sells for about $410 to $430 brand new on Newegg.
Performance difference
Priced within the $400 to $500 range, the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB is expected to outperform the RTX 3070 8 GB in almost every video game and workload. However, as it turns out, the 4060 Ti 16 GB is slower than the latter. In every video game at QHD, the card is about four to five frames slower than what the 3070 can achieve.
Below is a chart of the framerates achieved by the GPUs in different games at the highest settings at 1440p:
1440p is a standard resolution for the RTX 4060 Ti. However, this card and the 3070 are also powerful to run games at 4K. The increased rendering horsepower of the 4060 Ti 16 GB shows at this resolution. In the following graph, we can note frame gains upwards of 10 FPS at higher resolutions.
Thus, the conclusion is simple: if you want to buy the 3070 or the 4060 Ti for 1080p or 1440p gaming, the last-gen card makes more sense. It is cheaper and delivers higher framerates. However, if you are building a rig for playing games at 4K and need the extra VRAM for futureproofing, the 4060 Ti 16 GB is a viable option.
In addition, the 4060 Ti 16 GB supports DLSS 3 and frame generation, future-proofing the rig and improving playability at high resolutions. This makes it perfect for those building a budget 4K gaming rig.
