In this article, we’re going to pit the new Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs the RTX 2070 to see if the new Super card is a worthy upgrade.
With Nvidia unveiling a new range of Super RTX graphics cards that promise performance upgrades over the existing RTX cards, we’re looking at if the RTX 2070 Super is worth buying – or if the original RTX 2070 offers better value for money.
Like the RTX 2070, the RTX 2070 Super is a high-end graphics card that is aimed at enthusiasts who want to play their games at high resolutions and with visual settings whacked up to high. They aren’t Nvidia’s highest-end cards, as the RTX 2070 sits below the RTX 2080, and both the RTX 2070 and RTX 2070 Super can’t match the flagship RTX 2080 Ti card either.
So, let’s compare the RTX 2070 with the RTX 2070 Super to see if Nvidia’s upgrade is a worthy purchase.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: specs
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super is based on Nvidia’s TU104 GPU. It features 2,560 CUDA cores, a base clock of 1605MHz, a boost clock of 1770MHz, 184 texture units and a max L1 cache size of 2560KB.
By comparison, the RTX 2070 has 2304 CUDA cores, a base clock of 1410 MHz, a boost of 1,620 MHz, 144 texture units and 2,304 cache.
The RTX 2070 Super also beats the standard RTX 2070 when it comes to texel fill-rate with 325.7 Gigatexels/sec vs 233.3.
So, by and large, the RTX 2070 Super offers a decent spec bump on paper. However, it does share the same specs as the RTX 2070 in some respects, such as memory interface (256-bit), memory data rate (14 Gbps) and memory bandwidth (448 GB/sec).
One area that the RTX 2070 beats the RTX 2070 Super is in power consumption, with the regular card having a TGP of 175 Watts, versus the RTX 2070 Super’s 215 Watts. Considering the upgraded components, it’s not too surprising that the RTX 2070 Super draws more power, but it does mean the regular RTX 2070 is cheaper to run in the long run, and better suited to smaller, lower powered builds.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: price
When the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 launched in October 2018, it cost $499 (about £380, AU$690), while an Nvidia-made Founders Edition cost $599 (£569, AU$899).
This was pretty steep for a ‘70’ card, with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 coming out at $449 (around £350, AU$650).
However, the good news is that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Founders Edition will cost the same as the regular RTX 2070 when it launched, at $499.
Considering the power upgrade, the fact the RTX 2070 Super has launched at the same price as the original RTX 2070 makes the new card seem like very good value. However, we will hopefully see price drops for the original RTX 2070 now that the new card has launched. In fact, the RTX 2070 Super completely replaces the RTX 2070, which means there may be some tempting offers for the older card as retailers clear their stock.
Also, for a limited time, you will get two games - Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood – worth around $90, with a purchase of the RTX 2070 Super, which makes it better value.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: performance
In the benchmark results we’ve seen so far, from both Nvidia and from our own testing, the new RTX 2070 Super offers some decent — but not exceptional — performance gains when gaming compared to the original RTX 2070. For example, in Battlefield V, the RTX 2070 scored 67.3 frames per second. Meanwhile, the RTX 2070 Super managed 73.7 FPS.
The performance difference between the two cards was more noticeable with Metro Exodus, with the RTX 2070 scoring 60.8 FPS compared to the RTX 2070 Super’s 69.4 FPS.
Generally, we are seeing around a 10 FPS performance boost between the cards for most games. That’s probably not a big enough performance increase to justify an upgrade from the RTX 2070. That card remains a good enough performer, so the extra 10 FPS the new card brings won’t seem revolutionary. However, if you are looking to upgrade from an older card then it makes sense to go with the improved RTX 2070 Super.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: should I buy an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super?
As Nvidia claims, the RTX 2070 Super is up to 24% faster than the RTX 2070 for the same price, with an average performance increase of 16%. This means it’s probably not worth the upgrade from an RTX 2070 unless you have money to burn. And if you do have that sort of money, then you’d be better off buying the upcoming RTX 2080 Super or RTX 2080 Ti, which both offer a bigger leap in performance over the regular RTX 2070.
However, if you’re looking to upgrade an older GPU, then the GeForce RTX 2070 Super is definitely worth considering. It’s a very capable card that can handle the latest games at high resolutions, full graphical effects and fast frame rates. It’s a great choice if you don’t want to (or simply can’t) pay for the more expensive RTX 2080 Ti, whilst still providing impressive performance.
While people who just bought an RTX 2070 might feel a little miffed at Nvidia superseding it so soon, the RTX 2070 is still a fine GPU in its own right, and with the RTX 2070 Super replacing it in the RTX line up, it means you may get an excellent deal for the older GPU as retailers clear their stock.
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