We've covered several leaks and rumors regarding the specifications of Nvidia RTX 40 series graphics cards over recent weeks. According to a prominent leaker, as we reach the end of September 2022, Nvidia is still in two minds regarding the final specifications of the RTX 4070. Today, Twitter-based Kopite7Kimi has laid out his cards, saying there are two very different spec levels Nvidia is flip-flopping between for its important RTX 4070 SKU, poised to go up against the best graphics cards.
To make things clear for our readers, we have tabulated Kopite7Kimi’s rumored specs for the RTX 4070 below. In the first column are the specs the leaker shared nearly three weeks ago. This is the more powerful and power-hungry PG141-SKU340/341 mentioned in today’s Tweet. In the second column you will see the new alternative specification (PG141-SKU336/337), which some would describe as significantly cut-back.
|
Nvidia GeForce |
RTX 4070 |
RTX4070 |
|---|---|---|
|
Board code |
PG141-SKU340/341 |
PG141-SKU336/337 |
|
CUDA cores |
7,680 |
7,168 |
|
Base/ Boost/Max (MHz) |
2,310 / 2,610 / 2,800 |
N/A |
|
Memory config |
12GB 21Gbps GDDR6X |
10GB 21Gbps GDDR6X |
|
TGP |
285W |
250W |
|
Time Spy Extreme |
<11,000 |
<10,000 |
|
Date spec first reported |
Aug 4, 2022 |
Aug 29, 2022 |
The second SKU has toned down the GPU core count, cut the memory quota, and is approximately 10% slower in synthetic benchmarks. In his update, Kopite7Kimi didn’t share any GPU clock speed indicators, so we don’t have any clues whether GPU clocks have been adjusted as part of the drive down to 250W and a potentially lower entry price.
If the above rumors of Nvidia dithering between the above rather different configurations for the RTX 4070 are true, it looks like the green team is finding it hard to finalize its Ada Lovelace family. We assume Nvidia is juggling these specs to come up with a product that will be agreeable in the face of what its major competitor AMD has brewing with its Radeon RX 7000 Series.
In the longer term, Nvidia can fill out its RTX 40 range with standard models and then supplement those with Ti models, "Super" variants, or whatever to reach a very wide range of performance / price points. However, it would be optimal to get the performance / price positioning of the RTX 4070 right from the start.
Nvidia's xx70 cards are often viewed as the sweet spot that balances price and performance. While the GTX 1060, RTX 2060, and RTX 3060 outsold the 1070, 2070, and 3070, the latter are typically quantified as "high-end" cards while the former are merely "midrange" offerings. Plus, we think it's likely that Nvidia won't launch an RTX 4060 until next year, meaning the RTX 4070 could be the least expensive of the new Ada Lovelace offerings we'll see this year — and current rumors suggest it should come close to matching the outbound RTX 3090 Ti in performance.
The next generation of video cards from both Nvidia and AMD are going to be some of the most exciting we've seen, and in these last weeks ahead of the first launches we may be witnessing some 4D chess shenanigans from the rivals. Is AMD is jebaiting the green team again? We shouldn't have to wait much longer to find out.
