GeForce RTX 5070 vs 4090: Performance Showdown!

01

Introduction

In the RTX 50 series graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 5070 is a mid-range model that balances performance and price, making it a top choice for users with certain performance demands but a limited budget.

This article compares the gaming performance differences between the GeForce RTX 5070 and the previous generation flagship model, the GeForce RTX 4090. Of course, expecting the former to match the latter in performance is unrealistic—the outcome is clear. The real point of interest is how large the performance gap actually is, and this article will reveal the answer.

02

Specification Comparison

The GeForce RTX 5070 was released on January 6, 2025, featuring the GB205 GPU chip, built on TSMC’s 5nm process. It has 6,144 CUDA cores, 192 texture units, 48 multiprocessors, 192 tensor cores, and 48 ray-tracing units.

It includes 40MB of L2 cache, with a base clock speed of 2,165 MHz and a boost clock speed of 2,510 MHz. The card comes with 12GB of GDDR7 memory, a 192-bit memory bus, a memory speed of 28Gbps, and a bandwidth of 672GB/s. Its FP32 floating-point performance is 30.84 TFLOPS, with a power consumption of 250W and a reference price of $549.

The GeForce RTX 4090 uses the AD102 GPU, built on TSMC’s 4nm process. It features 16,384 CUDA cores, 176 raster units, 512 texture units, and 128 multiprocessors. It has 72MB of L2 cache, 512 tensor cores, and 128 ray-tracing cores.

The base clock speed is 2,235 MHz, with a boost clock of 2,520 MHz. It comes with 24GB of GDDR6X memory, a 384-bit memory bus, a memory speed of 21Gbps, and a bandwidth of 1,008GB/s. Its FP32 floating-point performance is 82.58 TFLOPS, with a power consumption of 450W.

03

Test Platform Configuration

The main configuration is as follows:

• Processor: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E CARBON
• Memory: 32GB DDR5 6000MHz
• Graphics Cards: GeForce RTX 5070 and GeForce RTX 4090
• Storage: Two Samsung 970 EVO 1TB SSDs
• Operating System: Windows 11

04

Gaming Performance Tests (GeForce RTX 5070 vs 4090)

The following tests cover seven games, all running at 1440P resolution. In the series of images below, the left side represents the GeForce RTX 5070 platform, while the right side represents the GeForce RTX 4090 platform.

Game 1: Ghostwire: Tokyo

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 75
  • Minimum FPS: 62
  • Frame Time: 13.0ms
  • CPU Usage: 11%
  • Power Consumption: 50W
  • Temperature: 55°C
  • Memory Usage: 10.6GB
  • GPU Usage: 99%
  • VRAM Usage: 6.4GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 217W
  • GPU Temperature: 54°C
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 129
  • Minimum FPS: 112
  • Frame Time: 7.5ms
  • CPU Usage: 17%
  • Power Consumption: 52W
  • Temperature: 58°C
  • Memory Usage: 12.7GB
  • GPU Usage: 99%
  • VRAM Usage: 7.2GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 341W
  • GPU Temperature: 56°C
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 has 54 FPS lower average performance, about 58% of the RTX 4090.
  • Minimum FPS is 50 FPS lower, frame time is 6ms higher, power consumption is 124W lower, and temperature is 2°C lower.

Game 2: Red Dead Redemption 2

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 109
  • Minimum FPS: 98
  • Frame Time: 8.1ms
  • CPU Usage: 20%
  • Power Consumption: 56W
  • Temperature: 48°C
  • Memory Usage: 11.8GB
  • GPU Usage: 95%
  • VRAM Usage: 5.3GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 200W
  • GPU Temperature: 50°C
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 177
  • Minimum FPS: 147
  • Frame Time: 6.3ms
  • CPU Usage: 32%
  • Power Consumption: 78W
  • Temperature: 55°C
  • Memory Usage: 12.4GB
  • GPU Usage: 92%
  • VRAM Usage: 5.4GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 322W
  • GPU Temperature: 53°C
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 has 68 FPS lower average performance, about 62% of the RTX 4090.
  • Minimum FPS is 49 FPS lower, frame time is 2ms higher, power consumption is 122W lower, and temperature is the same.

Game 3: God of War

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 126
  • Minimum FPS: 114
  • Frame Time: 8.8ms
  • CPU Usage: 22%
  • Power Consumption: 54W
  • Temperature: 55°C
  • Memory Usage: 12.7GB
  • GPU Usage: 99%
  • VRAM Usage: 6.8GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 209W
  • GPU Temperature: 52°C
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 210
  • Minimum FPS: 179
  • Frame Time: 4.6ms
  • CPU Usage: 30%
  • Power Consumption: 72W
  • Temperature: 60°C
  • Memory Usage: 12.4GB
  • GPU Usage: 99%
  • VRAM Usage: 6.9GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 350W
  • GPU Temperature: 55°C
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 has 84 FPS lower average performance, about 60% of the RTX 4090.
  • Minimum FPS is 65 FPS lower, frame time is 4ms higher, power consumption is 141W lower, and temperature is 3°C lower.

Game 4: Cyberpunk 2077

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 72
  • Minimum FPS: 60
  • Frame Time: 14.3ms
  • CPU Usage: 53%
  • Power Consumption: 78W
  • Temperature: 60°C
  • Memory Usage: 12.2GB
  • GPU Usage: 98%
  • VRAM Usage: 9.7GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 210W
  • GPU Temperature: 53°C
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 123
  • Minimum FPS: 83
  • Frame Time: 5.5ms
  • CPU Usage: 68%
  • Power Consumption: 96W
  • Temperature: 66°C
  • Memory Usage: 12.8GB
  • GPU Usage: 95%
  • VRAM Usage: 10.2GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 342W
  • GPU Temperature: 56°C
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 has 51 FPS lower average performance, about 59% of the RTX 4090.
  • Minimum FPS is 23 FPS lower, frame time is 9ms higher, power consumption is 132W lower, and temperature is 3°C lower.

Game 5: Horizon Forbidden West

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 102
  • Minimum FPS: 88
  • Frame Time: 9.8ms
  • CPU Usage: 45%
  • Power Consumption: 95W
  • Temperature: 71°C
  • Memory Usage: 11.5GB
  • GPU Usage: 98%
  • VRAM Usage: 8.1GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 210W
  • GPU Temperature: 51°C
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 152
  • Minimum FPS: 114
  • Frame Time: 6.2ms
  • CPU Usage: 55%
  • Power Consumption: 97W
  • Temperature: 74°C
  • Memory Usage: 13.0GB
  • GPU Usage: 98%
  • VRAM Usage: 9.3GB
  • GPU Power Consumption: 329W
  • GPU Temperature: 54°C
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 has 50 FPS lower average performance, about 67% of the RTX 4090.
  • Minimum FPS is 26 FPS lower, frame time is 2ms higher, power consumption is 119W lower, and temperature is 3°C lower.

Game 6: Microsoft Flight Simulator

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 68
  • Minimum FPS: 59
  • Frame Time: 14.3ms
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 111
  • Minimum FPS: 97
  • Frame Time: 8.7ms
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 achieves 61% of the RTX 4090’s performance, with 43 FPS lower average performance.

Game 7: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

• GeForce RTX 5070:
  • Average FPS: 66
  • Minimum FPS: 54
  • Frame Time: 15.2ms
• GeForce RTX 4090:
  • Average FPS: 99
  • Minimum FPS: 69
  • Frame Time: 11.5ms
• Performance Comparison:
  • The RTX 5070 achieves 67% of the RTX 4090’s performance, with 33 FPS lower average performance.

05

Comparison Conclusion

Overall, the test results align with expectations—there is indeed a significant performance gap between the GeForce RTX 5070 and the GeForce RTX 4090.

Based on comprehensive calculations, the GeForce RTX 5070 delivers approximately 62% of the performance of the GeForce RTX 4090, roughly 60% overall. This conclusion is for reference only.

Given this, it’s essential to clearly define your needs and budget before purchasing a graphics card to find the optimal choice. Generally speaking:

• For most gamers, the GeForce RTX 5070 is the recommended option.
• For users demanding absolute performance, the GeForce RTX 4090 or the upcoming GeForce RTX 5090 would be the better choice.

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