NVIDIA RTX 5070 Review: The RTX 4090 Killer? Not Quite.

When NVIDIA teased us at CES 2025 that the RTX 5070 would perform akin to the RTX 4090, the tech world raised a collective eyebrow. A mid-range card rivalling NVIDIA's current flagship? It seemed too good to be true—and, well, it is sort of.

After real-world testing, benchmarking, and some facepalming, here's what we learned about the new RTX 5070, and if it's a real upgrade over the RTX 4070 Super.

Specs & Architecture: Less Cores, More AI
Theoretical, at least. Theoretically, the 5070 operates in a bizarro fashion. It has fewer CUDA cores than the 4070 Super. That should ring out as reverse progress, but NVIDIA is counting on its newly revealed Blackwell architecture and increased AI throughput to span that gap.

Fifth-gen Tensor Cores

Fourth-gen AI Cores

Up to 420 TOPS of AI performance

The message is unequivocal: AI is leading the charge this generation. Whether it's neural shaders or real-time AI acceleration, NVIDIA wishes you to believe that this is gaming technology's future.

The catch is, however, that most of us aren't training neural networks or running LLMs on our gaming PCs. We're playing games, we're streaming, maybe content creation. The AI focus is cutting-edge, but perhaps not pragmatic—yet.

Power & Cooling: More Juice, More Heat
Even with fewer cores, the RTX 5070 is a power-hungry card, requiring a 650W PSU minimum. Thankfully, MSI’s Gaming Trio edition takes cooling seriously.

With three large 7-blade fans, thermal management is excellent—cool, quiet, and overkill in a good way. Less fan spin means less noise, perfect for late-night gaming marathons (or sneaking in a few matches without your partner noticing).

And yes, MSI nailed the cooler aesthetics too. Matte black, translucent RGB accents, and a shimmering MSI dragon on the backplate—tasteful, not tacky.

Size & Design: This Is No Compact GPU
At 338mm in length and triple-slot thick, the 5070 is a chonky card. It’s the same size as the 5080, so if you’re using a small ITX case, this isn’t the card for you.

But in an age of fish-tank PC builds, do you even want to have a scanty-looking GPU? Probably not. If you do want one that looks awesome and doesn't thermal throttle, though, this one checks all the boxes.

Performance Benchmarks: How It Compares
1080p (Ultra, no DLSS):
Cyberpunk 2077:

5070: 152 FPS

4070 Super: 146 FPS

Not a huge improvement. Not really groundbreaking.

Ray Tracing (Ultra & Overdrive):
To everyone's surprise, the 4070 Super edged out the 5070 in a pair of tests. Not wildly, but by enough to put a dent in the "4090-level" hype.

1440p Performance:
Close-run affair for both cards

The 5070 holds off by a hair in Monster Hunter World, by as much as 7 FPS

In Black Myth: Wukong, it has an attrition battle with the 4070 Super

Short answer: It's not a guaranteed winner. Performance is inconsistent from game to game and test to test.

So… Where's the 4090-Level Magic?
NVIDIA's hyper-aggressive marketing relies heavily on DLSS 4—and in fairness, that's where the 5070 really shines.

With DLSS 4 on:
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, max settings):

4070 Super: 131 FPS

5070: 236 FPS

Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p):
+69 FPS over the 4070 Super

That's a lot. But again, that's only in DLSS 4 supported games. Outside of that narrow lane, performance is far worse.

Final Verdict: Is the RTX 5070 Worth a Buy?
Let's cut through the hype.

It's not a 4090.
Not even close—particularly if ray tracing and 4K gaming are on the table. The bold marketing claims are deceptive.

It is a reasonable upgrade over old cards.
If you're coming from a 3070 or below, or console switch, the 5070 is an acceptable entry into modern PC gaming, if you can get it at MSRP.

Just don't pay too much.
Current scalped prices aren't worth the cost of what you're paying. Wait a few months for prices to level out.

TL;DR
Category\tVerdict
Performance\tMinor bump over 4070 Super, not a 4090
AI Features\tWow on paper, not so usable yet
DLSS 4 Benefits
Huge FPS boosts in supported games
Design & Cool Down
Excellent build, silent and cool
Value
Good—if you can wait for retail price

Talk to Us in the Comments
Honestly, I'm torn. The 5070 is a solid card, but hardly a revolution NVIDIA promised. It is basically a polished 4070 Super with an AI veneer.

What are your thoughts? Is it worth the upgrade to the 5070? Do you wait, or are you taking it now?