Struggling Start for Nvidia's RTX 50-Series: Potential Wasted Generation or Slow Beginning in Performance Reviews?
In a surprising turn of events, Nvidia's latest offering, the RTX 5070, has not met expectations for a significant generational leap compared to its predecessor, the RTX 4070. Reviews indicate its performance gain over the RTX 4070 Super is minimal, with an average improvement of just 1% at 1440p and 5% at 4K across multiple games[1].
The RTX 5070's power has not significantly improved between generations. In ray-tracing (RT) workloads, a key measure of new generation GPU advancements, the RTX 5070 performs roughly on par with a two-year-old card, failing to show notable gains. For instance, in Dying Light 2 at 1440p with RT, it only leads the 4070 Super by 5%, and sometimes matches or even falls behind it in games like Black Myth: Wukong[1].
Comparisons to the RTX 5060 Ti also suggest the 5070 is too close in performance to that lower-tier card, making its generational upgrade look underwhelming unless DLSS 4 and AI-enhanced features are heavily utilized, which boost frame rates but don't fundamentally improve raw GPU power[3].
However, Nvidia has seemingly opted for a smaller boost in power in favor of a focus on DLSS 4. PCWorld calls DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation "transformative," stating it can make even a clunky game like Star Wars Outlaws feel as sublime as Doom (2016)[2]. Critics have mixed opinions on DLSS 4's application on the RTX 5070, with Arstechnica reporting user input feeling sluggish and visual artifacts being visible in motion[2].
Despite its performance not being its strong suit, the RTX 5070 might not be a waste. Its lesser cost of around $550 might be temporary due to the threat of Trump's tariffs[1]. Moreover, the RTX 5080's MSRP is $999, which is less than the 4080's original cost of $1,199[1].
In conclusion, while the RTX 5070 offers some improvements and is decent for creative work and AI tasks, it fails to deliver a meaningful generational leap in gaming performance over its predecessor, especially in ray-tracing and high-end gaming scenarios[1][3]. The focus on DLSS 4 might be the key to what makes the RTX 50-series a worthwhile generational leap, but its performance gains remain a point of contention among critics.
[1] PCWorld [2] IGN [3] Arstechnica
- The RTX 5070, despite its focus on DLSS 4, has not shown a significant performance increase compared to its predecessor, the RTX 4070, particularly in ray-tracing and high-end gaming scenarios.
- In terms of gaming performance at 1440p, the RTX 5070 leads the RTX 4070 Super by an average of just 1%, and in Dying Light 2, it only outperforms the 4070 Super by 5%.
- Comparisons to the RTX 5060 Ti suggest that the 5070's generational upgrade may be underwhelming, with its performance being too close to that of the lower-tier card.
- The RTX 5070's focus on DLSS 4 is one of its key features, with PCWorld praising DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation as "transformative."
- However, critics have mixed opinions on DLSS 4's application on the RTX 5070, with Arstechnica reporting user input feeling sluggish and visual artifacts being visible in motion.
- Despite its performance not being its strong suit, the RTX 5070 may be a worthwhile investment given its lower cost of around $550 and the RTX 5080's MSRP being less than the 4080's original cost of $1,199.
- Overall, the RTX 5070 offers improvements in creative work and AI tasks, but its gaming performance falls short of meeting expectations for a meaningful generational leap, especially compared to the RTX 4070 Super.
