GeForce RTX 2070 Review: Same Architecture, Lower Cost, No Ray Tracing Yet

[Julio Franco]

Today we have our day-one GeForce RTX 2070 review for you and I suspect like most other publications, we were seriously under the pump for this one. Nvidia's own review guide shows the RTX 2070 easily beating the GTX 1070 and then the 970 before it, though that's a little misleading as it's priced to compete with the GTX 1080 and Vega 64, so those are the models we'll focus our attention on when comparing performance.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1727-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2070/

 

[Vito05]

This is what we get when there is no competition :S

 

[Squid Surprise]

Until we find out about Ray Tracing, these cards are not worth purchasing... As this site (and many others) have been telling us for awhile now, this is basically a slightly better 1080 - for more money.

If you MUST upgrade right now, I suggest getting a 1080 - but if you can wait a few months, hopefully Ray Tracing will be a known commodity, and hopefully AMD's new offerings will compete and force pricing down a bit...

 

[gigantor21]

I see no reason to buy any of these RTX cards right now.

 

[ET3D]

Slightly better performance with slightly lower power consumption than the 1080 -- not bad, if it was sold at the SRP of $500.

 

[Eldritch]

This generation of Nvidia is just ridiculous. RTX 2070 is basically slightly better 1080 but far below 1080 ti.

Some may say that this is to be expected as all next gen gpus meet their one level higher counterpart eg 1060 matches 970. However, what has gone horribly wrong is that 2070 has price of not 1070 but 1080! This makes this whole generation pointless for most gamers.

I always buy medium tier gpu on launch of next gen but this time I will skip it for sure.

This gentlemen, is why competition is good for the market as well as consumer. Classic monopolistic pricing.

 

[veLa]

None of us are surprised. This generation is but a marginal boost. Get used to this and sit tight.

 

[amstech]

So, it is a 1080 with Ray Tracing.
It's value is once again distinguished by price.

 

[ZackL04]

I just bought a 1070 FE on craigslist that was like new for $225....I win right?

 

[dirtyferret]

Overpriced, wake me when the AMD RX 590 and Nvidia RTX 260 launch.

Steve, What are your thoughts on the Nvidia multi-year NDA??

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/08/28/nvidia_controls_aib_launch_driver_distribution/

 

[BlackCarT]

I just bought a 1070 FE on craigslist that was like new for $225....I win right?

yep!!!

 

[harm9963]

For $629.00 at Fry's , got me a 1080ti Gigabyte OC ,basically 2080 experience at 2070 cost, still a lot of money.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Nothing wrong with the tech, everything wrong with the price. At least the 10x0 series is still available.

For now.

 

[texasrattler]

Didn't HardOCP just a day ago say the 2070 was going to have like 1080 Ti performance? Im a lil disappointed as I thought the performance was going to be a lil bit better.

While I already have a 1070, my overall computer is 4-5 years old and need a new one soon. I guess it's either find a 1080 ti built computer or a 2080 with one.

 

[ShagnWagn]

I'm still rocking a 980 with a 1080p monitor. I haven't seen a need to upgrade yet. When I do, I plan to go to a mid-high end 4K. Unless the market is being taken advantage of as it appears to still be now.

 

[ShagnWagn]

Didn't HardOCP just a day ago say the 2070 was going to have like 1080 Ti performance? Im a lil disappointed as I thought the performance was going to be a lil bit better.

While I already have a 1070, my overall computer is 4-5 years old and need a new one soon. I guess it's either find a 1080 ti built computer or a 2080 with one.

Why do you "need" a new one soon? As far as gaming it doesn't appear to be any better if you just put a 1080 in your existing rig.

 

[toooooot]

I just bought a 1070 FE on craigslist that was like new for $225....I win right?

After I bought a used vid card from ebay which was overheating in games, I do not like to buy used video cards. If you do, test them thoroughly or make seller test them for you. Thats your 200 risk vs no risk for 300 -500 new. Hopefully you dont encounter unstable used cards like I did. There is also another risk. The risk of getting mining vid card. I do not want to get one of them at all. I dont care if it works flawlessly. I remember Nvidia managers words that a vid card on average has 5 years of life if used right. These mining cards have exceeded any life possible and even if they are used in a well cooled room, which is the best scenario, you are testing your luck hoping to use them few more years. As to the test results, they disappoint me. I skipped 1080 hoping for a nice jump to 2080 or 2070. And there is no breakthrough. I think I will use 980 until it dies or I find another badly optimized game that it cant run on high preset.

 

[poohbear]

U guys were being too nice with this review. This 2070 is supposed to replace the 1080, but it costs MORE! Who in their right mind would pay to have 1080 performance but pay more for it??? Doesn't make any sense at all!

 

[ZackL04]

After I bought a used vid card from ebay which was overheating in games, I do not like to buy used video cards. If you do, test them thoroughly or make seller test them for you. Thats your 200 risk vs no risk for 300 -500 new. Hopefully you dont encounter unstable used cards like I did. There is also another risk. The risk of getting mining vid card. I do not want to get one of them at all. I dont care if it works flawlessly. I remember Nvidia managers words that a vid card on average has 5 years of life if used right. These mining cards have exceeded any life possible and even if they are used in a well cooled room, which is the best scenario, you are testing your luck hoping to use them few more years. As to the test results, they disappoint me. I skipped 1080 hoping for a nice jump to 2080 or 2070. And there is no breakthrough. I think I will use 980 until it dies or I find another badly optimized game that it cant run on high preset.

Ive been buying used cards for a few years now. Probably bought 6 980ti’s last year, they all ran flawlessly. Stay away from Ebay if your scared, or better yet, use the power of ebay and RETURN IT.

 

[texasrattler]

Why do you "need" a new one soon? As far as gaming it doesn't appear to be any better if you just put a 1080 in your existing rig.

Not a video card, a new system. Using a i7 3rd gen, ddr3. I want a 8th gen proc, ddr4 and a m.2

 

[ShagnWagn]

Not a video card, a new system. Using a i7 3rd gen, ddr3. I want a 8th gen proc, ddr4 and a m.2

Ah, yeah that would see some improvement. That's about 5-6 years ago. I would as well then. I was saying around 4 years ago they still have enough horsepower to run the 1080 almost at max. At least according to a few articles.

 

[darkzelda]

After reading all these RTX cards reviews, all my hopes remain on AMD. I would really love to get back to an AMD card.

 

[Jackwoz]

As above, I just hope AMD can produce something of similar benchmarks in the near future. As AMD have taken the back seat and havent been winners in a long time surely they would price correctly, unlike Ngreedia.

 

[Evernessince]

I just bought a 1070 FE on craigslist that was like new for $225....I win right?

After I bought a used vid card from ebay which was overheating in games, I do not like to buy used video cards. If you do, test them thoroughly or make seller test them for you. Thats your 200 risk vs no risk for 300 -500 new. Hopefully you dont encounter unstable used cards like I did. There is also another risk. The risk of getting mining vid card. I do not want to get one of them at all. I dont care if it works flawlessly. I remember Nvidia managers words that a vid card on average has 5 years of life if used right. These mining cards have exceeded any life possible and even if they are used in a well cooled room, which is the best scenario, you are testing your luck hoping to use them few more years. As to the test results, they disappoint me. I skipped 1080 hoping for a nice jump to 2080 or 2070. And there is no breakthrough. I think I will use 980 until it dies or I find another badly optimized game that it cant run on high preset.

Um, repaste? It's not hard to do. On eBay you have an entire month to make sure the card is working. Simple as that. Mined on cards usually aren't that bad. A simple re-paste and new fans fixed 99% of issues. Most miners know to keep the cards in safe conditions, many gamers do not. TBH eBay's return process is a heck of a lot easier then going through the manufacturer if something happens with your new card.

The only component you have to worry will fail is the capacitors, which have a rated life time. A little note to that though is the cooler they are run at, the longer the life. Most miners will keep them at lower temps then gamers FYI. If you want to calculate total possible hours of usage just find the date of manufacture.

Don't take anyone's word at fact value, inspect and verify yourself and great deals can be had.

As above, I just hope AMD can produce something of similar benchmarks in the near future. As AMD have taken the back seat and havent been winners in a long time surely they would price correctly, unlike Ngreedia.

I think Navi will be good but I don't think it will catch AMD up to Nvidia. I've heard reports that Navi won't be MCM, which is what they really need to beat Nvidia.

 

[Nightfire]

Very nice review as always.

The 2070 is not quite as fast as I expected. The card has tons of bandwidth, so I was expecting between the 1080 and 1080ti. The extra price is in no way worth it over the 1080.