In this article, we'll take a look at the new Nvidia RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2070 graphics card to see if the new Super card is worthy.
With Nvidia introducing a new line of Super RTX graphics cards that promise a performance boost over existing RTX cards, we're looking at whether the RTX 2070 Super is worth buying or the original RTX 2070 offers better value for money.
Like the RTX 2070, the RTX 2070 Super is a high-end graphics card aimed at enthusiasts who want to play their games at high definition and with visual settings cranked up to the max. They are not Nvidia's top-tier cards, as the RTX 2070 sits below the RTX 2080, and both the RTX 2070 and RTX 2070 Super cannot match the flagship RTX 2080 Ti card.
So let's compare the RTX 2070 with the RTX 2070 Super to see if the Nvidia upgrade is a worthy buy.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070 Specifications
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super is based on the Nvidia TU104 GPU. It has 2560 CUDA cores, a base clock of 1605 MHz, a boost clock of 1770 MHz, 184 texture units, and a maximum L1 cache size of 2560 KB.
By comparison, the RTX 2070 has 2304 CUDA cores, a base clock of 1410 MHz, a boost of 1620 MHz, 144 texture units, and 2304 caches.
The RTX 2070 Super also beats the RTX 2070 standard when it comes to texel fill rates: 325,7 Gtexels/sec vs. 233,3.
So overall, the RTX 2070 Super offers a decent spec sheet on paper. However, in some respects it shares the same specs as the RTX 2070, such as memory interface (256 bit), memory transfer rate (14 Gb/s), and memory bandwidth (448 GB/s).
One area where the RTX 2070 outperforms the RTX 2070 Super is power consumption, with a regular card having a TGP of 175 Watts versus the RTX 215 Super's 2070 Watts. In terms of upgraded components, it's no surprise that the RTX 2070 Super draws more power, but it does mean the regular RTX 2070 is cheaper in the long run and better suited for smaller, lower power builds.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: Price
When the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 launched in October 2018, it was priced at $499 (around £380, AU$690), while the Nvidia Founders Edition was priced at $599 (£569, AU$899).
That was pretty cool for a "70" card: The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 is $449 (about £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 that the RTX 2070 Super was released at the same price as the original RTX 2070 makes the new card very attractive. That said, we're hoping to see a price drop for the original RTX 2070 now that the new card has been launched. In fact, the RTX 2070 Super replaces the RTX 2070 entirely, which means there could be some tempting deals for the old card as retailers clear their stock.
Plus, for a limited time, you'll get two games - Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood - worth around $90 with an RTX 2070 Super purchase, making it a better deal.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: Performance
In the benchmark results we've seen so far, both from Nvidia and our own testing, the new RTX 2070 Super offers a decent, but not exceptional, performance boost when gaming over the original RTX 2070. For example, in the Battlefield V RTX 2070 showed 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 hitting 60,8 FPS compared to the RTX 2070 Super at 69,4 FPS.
We typically see a 10 FPS performance increase between maps for most games. That's probably not a big enough performance increase to justify upgrading from the RTX 2070. This card remains a good enough performance that the extra 10 FPS that the new card brings won't look revolutionary. However, if you're looking to upgrade from an older card, it makes sense to go with the improved RTX 2070 Super.
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070: Should You Buy Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super?
According to Nvidia, the RTX 2070 Super is 24% faster than the RTX 2070 at the same price, with an average performance boost of 16%. This means it's probably not worth upgrading from an RTX 2070 if you don't have the money to burn. And if do have that kind of money, then you'd be better off buying the upcoming RTX 2080 Super or RTX 2080 Ti, which both offer a bigger jump in performance over the regular RTX 2070.
That said, if you're looking to upgrade from an older GPU, then the GeForce RTX 2070 Super is definitely worth considering. This is a very capable card that can handle the latest high resolution games, full graphic effects and high frame rates. It's a great choice if you don't want (or simply can't) pay for the more expensive RTX 2080 Ti while still maintaining impressive performance.
While people who just bought the RTX 2070 might be a little upset that Nvidia will replace it so soon, the RTX 2070 is still a great GPU and the RTX 2070 Super will replace it in the RTX line, that means that you can get a great deal on older GPUs as retailers clear their stock.