Introduction and Analysis
Our review focuses on Gainward's latest offering: the overclocked (OC) version of the Gainward Panther GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (12GB). This graphics card, notable for its premium design, comes with factory adjustments and is equipped with a substantial cooler for optimal GPU temperature management. Gainward's Panther series, known for its more subtle design, deliberately avoids drawing attention. This series, in line with Gainward's tradition of names starting with "P," succeeds the Phantom and Phoenix lineups. The new models in the Panther series are equipped with a 3-slot, triple-fan cooling system, and are designed without LED lights or logos, catering to users who prefer their PC builds to be housed in cases without windows. Gainward has priced the Panther edition with a modest additional cost of $50, setting the total price at $649Targeted at ray tracing, DLSS, and AI-powered assists, the GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER offers quite a bit of performance. At 599 USD, it is in reach for a lot more people as opposed to the previous high-end products At a retail price of $599, the RTX 4070 is a somewhat more affordable option for gamers seeking high-end performance compared to its predecessor, the RTX 4070 Ti, which was initially priced at $899.The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER boasts impressive features such as ray tracing, DLSS3, and AI-powered assists, making it an attractive choice for gamers who demand optimal performance. With 7168 (was 5888) shader cores and 12GB of 21Gbps GDDR6X memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface, the graphics card delivers a maximum bandwidth of 504GB/s. It also includes 56 RT cores, 224 Tensor cores, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, using 35.8 Billion transistors counting AD104 silicon as the RTX 4070 Ti, with 56 out of 60 streaming multiprocessors being enabled. The RTX 4070 SUPER provides a more affordable upgrade solution for gamers who want a high-end graphics card.
| GeForce | RTX 4070 Ti | RTX 4070 SUPER | RTX 4070 | RTX 3070 Ti | RTX 3070 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | AD104-400 | AD104-300 | AD104-250 | GA104-400 | GA104-30X | ||||
| Shader Cores | 7680 | 7168 | 5888 | 6144 | 5888 | ||||
| Base Clock | 2310 MHz | 1980 MHz | 1920 MHz | 1575 MHz | 1500 MHz | ||||
| Boost Clock | 2610 MHz | 2475 MHz | 2475 MHz | 1770 MHz | 1725 MHz | ||||
| FP32 Compute | 40 TFLOPS | 36 TFLOPS | 29 TFLOPS | 22 TFLOPS | 20 TFLOPS | ||||
| Memory | 12 GB G6X | 12 GB G6X | 12 GB G6X | 8 GB G6X | 8 GB G6 | ||||
| Memory Bus | 192-bit | 192-bit | 192-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | ||||
| Memory Speed | 21 Gbps | 21 Gbps | 21 Gbps | 19 Gbps | 14 Gbps | ||||
| Memory Bandwidth | 504 GB/s | 504 GB/s | 504 GB/s | 608 GB/s | 448 GB/s | ||||
| TDP | 285W | 220W | 200W | 290W | 220W | ||||
| Interface | PCIe Gen4 x16 | PCIe Gen4 X16 | PCIe Gen4 x16 | PCIe Gen4 x16 | PCIe Gen4 x16 | ||||
| MSRP | 799 USD | 599 USD | 599 USD | 599 USD | 499 USD | ||||
| Release Date | January 2023 | January 2024 | April 2023 | June 2021 | May 2021 | ||||
The dimensions of the Panther series cards are 328.9mm x 128.0mm x 63.5mm. They require the new PEG connector and offer a typical array of video outputs, including three DisplayPort 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1a port. While these cards have a resemblance to Palit's Jetstream series, they feature a distinct design. Gainward highlights the use of "Cyclone Fans" in these cards, which are key to improving airflow and maintaining temperature control. The Panther series cards feature a triple-slot cooling solution with triple fans, encased in a black shroud decorated with functional indents and patterns. This design not only serves aesthetic purposes but also aids in effective cooling through its extensive flow-through architecture. The graphics cards are built with a large heatsink directly connected to a substantial copper base that covers both the GPU and memory components. To enhance structural integrity and prevent bending, the cards are reinforced with a protective plate. The GeForce RTX 40 Panther series leverages the aerodynamic advantages of the Cyclone Fan. The Wing Tip at the end of the fan aids in directing airflow into the thermal module, while the unique claw mark design on the Cyclone Fan Blades ensures a steady flow of air to the heatsink. Comparative analysis shows that these modes exhibit a mere 2-3% performance deviation from the founder edition. However, temperature and noise levels are influenced by variations in fan speed. In Quiet mode, our acoustic tests recorded noise levels at a low 32-33 dBa. Additionally, Gainward has increased both the power consumption limit (TGP) and the turbo frequency, achieving a clock speed of 2640 MHz. The AD104 GPU powers the GeForce RTX 4070 7168 shader cores, which can generate an impressive 36 FP32 Shader TFLOPS rendering rasterized graphics, 224 Fourth Generation Tensor Cores for AI processing and DLSS, 56 Third Generation Ada RT Cores for driving next-generation ray-tracing The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER like the rest of the GPUs in Nvidia's RTX 40 Series, features Ada technologies like Shader Execution Reordering (SER), the new RT core engines, and DLSS 3. This graphics card, when compared to the founder's edition model, provides a performance increase of around 2-3% for an additional expense of about $50. It features enhanced power consumption limits and turbo frequency, with a boost clock speed of 2640 MHz. With some adjustments, the card can achieve a clock speed of 3.0-3.1 GHz. Additionally, the memory runs effectively at a speed of 21 Gbps.
