Nvidia RTX 4060 vs GTX 1070 comparison – time to upgrade?

MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4060

Base Clock

1830MHz

Boost Clock

2460MHz

VRAM

8GB

Recommended PSU

300W

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This is our Nvidia RTX 4060 vs GTX 1070 comparison – has the time finally come to upgrade your graphics card?

Nvidia’s RTX 4060 is released meaning that now is the time to weigh up the pros and cons of the card. A big selling point for people interested in the 4060 is its access to DLSS 3.0 and advanced ray tracing for the cheapest price yet. That is, until the rumoured RTX 4050 gets a release date.

So, where does this leave the old tried and tested GTX 1070? We’re big fans of the 1070, which was released all the way back in 2016. It’s proven time and time again that it can take the heat, deliver the frame rates and has the CUDA cores for a great gaming performance. But does it still have what it takes in 2023, and are you missing out without DLSS and ray tracing?

Let’s compare these two cards and find out.

RTX 4060 vs GTX 1070 – specs comparison

	RTX 4060 specs	GTX 1070
Architecture	Ada (TSMC 4NM)	Pascal (16NM) (GP106-400-A1)
CUDA cores	3,072	1,920
Base Clock (MHz)	1,830	1,506
Boost Clock (MHz)	2,460	1,683
Memory	8GB GDDR6	8GB GDDR5
Memory Bus	128-bit	256-bit
Memory Bandwidth	272.0GB/s	256.3GB/s
Total Graphics Power	110W	150W

We can let the specs speak for themselves here, though we’ll highlight a few key differences. First up, the total graphics power for the 4060 is lower than the GTX 1070. In part because of its older Pascal architecture, the 1070 is the less power-efficient card. Meanwhile, the 4060 also enjoys a higher boost clock of 2,460MHz compared to the GTX 1070’s 1,683.

The VRAM size is an interesting spec here too. The RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti have both been criticised for their low 8GB VRAM, which is definitely a little on the small size considering the demands of modern AAA games. While the 4060 has GDDR6, the 1070 has the slower GDDR5 and is more reliant on its 256-bit memory bus and bandwidth for loading games. The 4060 meanwhile can take advantage of its speedy L2 cache which makes it less reliant on its 129-bit memory bus. Indeed, these next-gen specs for the 4060 will easily make it one of best graphics cards you can get for under $500.

So, while the 4060 may not see the same raw performance lifts, the card has the advantage of future AI capabilities which significantly improve the frame rates and image rendering without sacrificing on frames per second.

RTX 4060 vs GTX 1070 – architecture

First, let’s fill you in on the 1070’s Pascal architecture, and how it fares in 2023. With a generous 1,920 CUDA cores and relatively high clocks, there’s plenty of life still left in this card. When it replaced the previous generation of Maxwell GPUs, we saw a performance uplift of around three times the speed, enabling 6.5 TFLOPS of overall performance. The main downsides of Pascal architecture in the 1070 though are its lack of effective ray tracing and non-existent DLSS. Did we also mention that a GTX 1070 won’t be enough for Starfield according to the game’s system requirements? It’s a bummer.

The RTX 4060 meanwhile uses the new Ada Lovelace architecture and has the advantage of fourth-generation ray tracing, third-generation tensor cores, and DLSS 3. The fact that it’s built on a 4NM node compared to Pascal’s 16NM is a notable difference, making the Ada architecture significantly more efficient.

Overall, the 4060’s architecture makes significant improvements over the 1070. It’s AI capabilities which simply weren’t around for the 1070’s release will also provide crisper and sharper images without sacrificing frame rates.

RTX 4060 vs GTX 1070 – performance

There’s no beating around the bush here – the RTX 4060 is expected to outperform the GTX 1070, particularly when it comes to AI frame generation and lighting effects. Though we’re yet to see any official benchmarks, we’re expecting the RTX 4060 to be amongst the best GPUS for 1080p gaming. One of the main features we want to spotlight here is the addition of DLSS 3.0 which is responsible for boosting your framerates and keeping your gameplay silky smooth. The 4060 might also be preferable if you’re using an older graphics card since DLSS 3 takes some of the strain of your CPU. That’s not to say the GTX 1070’s performance is obsolete.

It’s worth adding that the 1070’s performance can be boosted by getting the best thermal paste and making sure your Nvidia drivers are up to date. You could also invest in one of the best CPUs for gaming to support your 1070.

We also recommend checking out how the GTX 1070 compares to the 4060 Ti which has been out for slightly longer.

Final word

With the right tweaking and optimisation, it looks like the 1070 can still manage older titles on lower game settings. If you’re interested in playing newer titles like Starfield, you’ll definitely want to consider upgrading. If not to the 4060, why not see how it compares to the RTX 3060 instead?

Essentially, if you are on the hunt for a new card, there is no doubt that the RTX 4060 makes more sense to go for than the GTX 1070. If you have the GTX 1070 and are thinking of upgrading, the RTX 4060 is not a bad choice to go for either. It’ll give you a nice performance boost without costing an arm and a leg.

Frequently asked questions

How many years will GTX 1070 last?

Having been discontinued by Nvidia, the GTX 1070 will not last long if you’re playing graphically demanding games. If you’re buying a second hand 1070 in 2023, it depends on what state you buy it in. To maximise the time, we recommend replacing your thermal paste and cleaning the dust from your fans.