Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Reviews Are In – A Minor Upgrade or a Missed Opportunity?

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 has officially landed, with reviews rolling in from across the web. Priced at $549, the card is positioned as a direct competitor to AMD’s soon-to-launch Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, priced at $550 and $599, respectively. However, early benchmarks suggest Nvidia’s latest offering may not be as compelling as expected.

How Does the RTX 5070 Compare?

The RTX 5070 comes with 12GB of GDDR7 memory, marking the first RTX 50-series card to dip below the 16GB threshold. This puts it on par with the previous-gen RTX 4070 Super and 4070 Ti in terms of VRAM but lags behind the 16GB-equipped RTX 5070 Ti. Additionally, the 5070 features nearly 3,000 fewer CUDA cores and a 192-bit memory bus, which could impact performance in certain scenarios.

Performance Breakdown – Is It Worth the Upgrade?

According to reviews, the RTX 5070 provides a respectable uplift in performance at lower resolutions. TechPowerUp reports that at 1080p, the card outpaces the RTX 4070 Super and surpasses the RTX 3090, RX 7900 GRE, and RTX 3080. The same trend holds at 1440p, with the 5070 maintaining a decent lead over the RTX 3080 and RX 7900 GRE.

However, at 4K, things get murkier. While the RTX 5070 still edges out the RX 7900 GRE and RTX 3080, its lead shrinks considerably, and the RTX 3090 becomes a closer competitor. Those upgrading from an RTX 3070 or 3070 Ti will see the biggest gains, but anyone already using an RTX 4070 Super may find little reason to switch—unless they plan to take advantage of Nvidia’s new DLSS 4 technology and Multi-Frame Generation.

Ray Tracing and VRAM Concerns

Hardware Unboxed’s review highlights an important issue: the RTX 5070’s 12GB VRAM buffer may become a limiting factor in the future. While not a major drawback today, as more demanding games release, this could impact the card’s ability to fully leverage Nvidia’s RTX features.

Ray tracing performance also presents mixed results. Compared to the RTX 3070, the RTX 5070 offers a significant boost, but when stacked against the RTX 4070 Super, the differences are minimal at best.

Should You Buy It?

Previously, we recorded how Nvidia cards sold out in a matter of hours, but this did not prevent distributors from replenishing their warehouses.

The consensus is clear: the RTX 5070 is an iterative update rather than a game-changer. While it provides solid performance, it’s essentially a slightly improved RTX 4070 Super with a $50 discount. The real wildcard is AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 series, which launches soon. If AMD delivers competitive performance at a lower price, Nvidia’s latest release could struggle to stand out.

For now, those looking to upgrade from an RTX 3070 might find the RTX 5070 a worthy investment. However, if you already own an RTX 4070 or 4070 Super, waiting for AMD’s reviews – or a potential price drop – might be the smarter move.

All eyes are now on AMD’s launch tomorrow. Will the RX 9070 series shake up the market? Stay tuned for the latest updates.