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We measure real-world power consumption using Powenetics testing hardware and software. We capture in-line GPU power consumption by collecting data while looping Metro Exodus (the original, not the enhanced version) and while running the FurMark stress test. We also check noise levels using an SPL meter. Our test PC for Powenetics remains the same old Core i9-9900K as we've used previously, to keep results consistent.
We also collect power data on our newer 13900K platform using PCAT v2 hardware, which gives a wider view of power use and efficiency. We'll start with the gallery of our PCAT results.
There's a lot of data in the above tables, but we'll mostly focus on the 4070 results. Maximum power use is officially rated for 200W on the reference RTX 4070, and both the Nvidia and PNY models generally stay at or below that limit. Actually, the PNY model tends to use 5–10W less power than the Founders Edition across our test suite.
The most demanding games, in terms of GPU power use, were Borderlands 3, Control, Metro Exodus Enhanced, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and Total War: Warhammer 3. At the other end of the spectrum, Far Cry 6, Forza Horizon 5, Minecraft, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Watch Dogs Legion all tend to stay well below the 200W mark.
Efficiency on the RTX 4070 cards is near the top of the list, with only the RTX 4080 sometimes surpassing it. It's no surprise that the previous generation RTX 30-series and RX 6000-series cards can't keep up with the latest GPUs in the efficiency department — it would be pretty terrible if efficiency decreased gen over gen.
The value proposition is another strong point for the RTX 4070. It's generally the best bang for the buck, at least if you're only focusing on the cost of the graphics card and the performance it offers. AMD's RX 6950 XT does come close, however — depending on the current street price.
Average clocks while gaming were consistently in the 2.7 GHz range, with the Founders Edition clocking a bit higher than the PNY model overall. As usual, Nvidia's rated boost clock is quite conservative and most games will exceed it by about 150–200 MHz. Temperatures stayed below 70C for all of our tests, with the Founders Edition beating the PNY by about 5C on average.
Powenetics Testing
Our previous power testing focused more on pushing GPUs to their limit, and while that's a valid approach, we do feel the above power, clocks, and temperature data taken while running our normal gaming benchmarks presents a better view of what to expect. Still, we're keeping the Powenetics testing around as it's also interesting. We run Metro Exodus at settings that will basically max out power draw where possible, and the same goes for FurMark. Here's the data.
There's little question of which cooler and card are the superior design. PNY takes a conservative approach that drops the GPU clocks more in order to stay within the desired power envelope, and it even tends to run about 10–15W below the rated 200W TGP. Nvidia's Founders Edition meanwhile clocks a bit higher, runs a bit cooler, and uses a bit more power.
There's also a curious bump in power use on the Founders Edition that occurred about two minutes into the test, where it goes from just under 200W to suddenly using 205W. There was no corresponding change in clocks, fan speeds, or temperature, so we don't have a good explanation other than noting that it happened in our testing.
While the power and other data can be interesting, the noise produced by the cards' fans arguably rates as being the more important aspect. We check noise levels using an SPL (sound pressure level) meter placed 10cm from the card, with the mic aimed right at the center of one fan: the center fan if there are three fans, or the the right fan for two fans — or the only fan facing to the left of the card in the case of the RTX 4070 Founders Edition. This helps minimize the impact of other noise sources like the fans on the CPU cooler. The noise floor of our test environment and equipment is around 31–32 dB(A).
After running Metro for over 15 minutes, the RTX 4070 Founders Edition settled in at a fan speed of 56% and a noise level of 39.7 dB(A). That's about as quiet as almost any high-end GPU we've tested during the past couple of years, though not particularly surprising considering the card only has to dissipate 200W. PNY's RTX 4070 ended up being slightly louder at 42.7 dB(A) with 57% fan speed, likely because the two fans aren't of the same level as the Nvidia fans (plus one Nvidia fan is on the opposite side of the card).
We also tested with a static fan speed of 75%, which caused the RTX 4070 Founders Edition to generate 48.5 dB(A) of noise. The PNY card had a noise level of 51.4 dB(A) with the fans at 75%. We don't expect the cards would normally ever hit that level without overclocking, but it does give you some idea of what you can expect in warmer environments.
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