Launching This Week: NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3070; 1440p Gaming…

It’s a few weeks later than initially deliberate, however this week NVIDIA is lastly amping up the final of its high-end video card lineup with the discharge of the GeForce RTX 3070. Based on the Ampere structure first launched again in September for the GeForce RTX 3080, the RTX 3070 is NVIDIA’s $500 tackle a next-gen video card, incorporating a leaner Ampere GPU and in any other case shrinking Ampere right down to one thing that’s a bit lighter on the pockets. Fittingly, whereas the RTX 3080 was positioned for 4K gaming, the RTX 3070 is being aimed on the 1440p crowd, a decrease decision that the Ampere card could be very able to dealing with. Reviews of NVIDIA’s Founders Edition (reference) card are going out in the present day, with retail gross sales of NVIDIA and associate playing cards set to kick off on October 29^th.

The newest in a long-line of xx70 video playing cards from NVIDIA’s well-calibrated product stack, the RTX 3070 is designed to fill a well-known and vital position for NVIDIA, rounding out NVIDIA’s high-end product stack with a extra value-orientated fanatic providing. 70 playing cards are seldom as flashy as 80 playing cards – flashy prices cash – however they’re sometimes the strongest worth proposition amongst NVIDIA’s fanatic playing cards. Though the value tag of $499 (and better) continues to be a major one total.

The GeForce RTX 3070 was initially set to launch on October 15^th. However following the rougher-than-expected launch for the RTX 3080, the place the launch cargo of playing cards bought out rapidly even by video card requirements, NVIDIA held again the RTX 3070 launch by two weeks to have “more cards available on launch day” by increase an additional two weeks of inventory. We’ll see how issues go on Thursday, however as is just about at all times the case, I’m nonetheless anticipating these playing cards to promote out. This 12 months greater than another, gaming is in – particularly since you may’t exit.

Diving into the nuts and nuts and bolts of the RTX 3070, this card marks the debut of NVIDIA’s second Ampere GPU, GA104. Cut from the identical fabric because the GA102 chip present in RTX 3080/3090, GA104 affords all of Ampere’s performance and structure modifications, from using second-generation ray tracing cores and considerably revised SMs out to HDMI 2.1 output help, simply at a smaller scale. Overall GA104 weighs in at 17.four billion transistors, with a die measurement of 393mm². And, like GA102 earlier than it, the chip is being made on Samsung’s 8nm course of.

This marks the second time in a row that NVIDIA has minted a separate GPU design for an xx70 card, as a substitute of reusing the GPU utilized in xx80. For customers the distinction isn’t materials to efficiency, however from a big-picture perspective is signifies that the 3070 isn’t created from salvaged GA102 dies. Given NVIDIA’s provide constraints with RTX 3080 (GA102) this could imply that they’ve a neater time maintaining with demand, since smaller dies yield higher and NVIDIA will get extra of them per wafer.