In addition to announcing a new graphics driver with Black Myth: Wukong support and GeForce NOW upgrades, Nvidia today launched a new version of the RTX 4070 graphics card. The GPU was unveiled quietly in the release notes for the latest driver, which is hardly surprising, considering how little change it contains.
You may remember that Nvidia released the RTX 4070 SUPER in January 2024, but the regular RTX 4070 remained in production. Now, there is a third variant of the RTX 4070 that is almost identical to the original model. The only difference between the two is the memory standard. The new RTX 4070 features "extra fast" GDDR6 memory, while the old model has GDDR6X memory. Other specs are unchanged:
| Cores | Memory | Clocks | TGP | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia RTX 4070 | 5888 CUDA cores | 12 GB GDDR6X 128-bit, 20 Gbps | 1920 MHz base 2475 MHz boost | 200W | $549 |
Nvidia says that the new model features "extra fast" GDDR6 memory that should perform close to its GDDR6X-powered sibling. Real-life tests will show the performance difference, but Nvidia claims the new model "offers similar performance in games and applications." As for why make a new RTX 4070 model with GDDR6 memory, Nvidia cites the need to improve supply and availability in light of the strong demand for these graphics cards.
To improve supply and availability to meet strong demand, we’re introducing the GeForce RTX 4070 with extra fast GDDR6 memory. All of the other specs remain the same. It offers similar performance in games and applications.
You can expect the first RTX 4070 GDDR6 models from Nvidia"s partners in early September. Although the graphics card is not coming out for a couple more weeks, its support is already there in the latest 560.94 WHQL Game Ready driver.
You can learn more about the RTX 4070 GPU family here.