The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 have soaked up all the oxygen for the big 50-series launch, but for gamers who can’t spend $2,000 on a graphics card, the $550 5070 and $750 5070 Ti remain the more enticing buys. After testing the 5070 Ti, I can already tell this is one of those GPUs that sets a new waterline for a 4K, 60 FPS experience on Nvidia’s GPUs. With few compromises, you can get stable framerates in some of the most demanding games on the highest settings. To take the experience above and beyond to max out that 4K monitor you just bought, multi-frame gen takes care of the rest.
After all, Nvidia promised RTX 4090 performance from a 5070 at less than half the price. After tests, the $750 MSRP card is closer to RTX 4080 Super performance without AI frame trickery. That kind of promotion doesn’t sound as catchy, but who cares? Getting new graphics for less than last year’s second-best GPU sounds like an excellent deal. Unfortunately, it’s not since pernicious pricing has upset Nvidia’s ecosystem, and PC gamers are getting the short end of the stick.
For review, Nvidia sent Gizmodo the Asus Prime RTX 5070 Ti. It’s the first time Nvidia has decided to unleash its “Titanium” edition GPUs alongside the baseline graphics cards. It’s like Nvidia is trying to create a new tier in its lineup. If the 5090 is ultra-premium and the 5080 premium, the 5070 Ti should be “sub-premium,” a step above the $550 RTX 5070, even though Nvidia calls the two cards “a family.” Nvidia claims the Ti performs at least 500 more TOPS of AI over the base 5070. It has 4 GB more VRAM, 2816 more CUDA cores, and 896 GB/sec memory bandwidth compared to 672.
Still, that’s more than you can say for last year’s $800 RTX 4070 Ti Super from 2024. If you compare the cards based on raw year-over-year performance, the 5070 Ti is only a few percentage points superior to the card from last year. In some cases, that performance boost is enough. The Blackwell architecture helps you achieve higher framerates in games with more ray tracing capabilities, like Alan Wake II, and it can make the difference between getting above 60 FPS or below it, such as in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
At 4K, the 5070 Ti can barely hit 60 FPS at ultra settings in most games I tested. Honestly, that’s beastly, and if you like the idea of multi-frame gen, that’s all you need for premium gaming performance without dropping even more cash to join the Blackwell generation. Anybody on an RTX 20- or 30-gen card holding out hope for Nvidia’s cheaper cards can breathe a sigh of relief. Now suck in a breath because there’s a wrench in the works.
All the latest cards in Nvidia’s Blackwell are getting more expensive due to a muddy mix of low supply, high demand, Trump tariffs, and good old-fashioned greed from scalpers. With stock being so tenuous, things will get worse before they get better. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is set to launch on Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. ET, and we suggest you don’t bother buying this card at the cost of an RTX 5080.
Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Is a Subtle Brick Hiding its Potential
The Asus Prime RTX 5070 Ti is a 2.5-slot, three-fan GPU with a sleek, relatively minimalist design that won’t turn eyeballs from a casual PC gamer. The brushed steel underside will be what you see most once you have it seated in your case. A sloped side runs down to the fans, bearing the GeForce RTX logo, though there’s no RGB to see. The card also has a physical switch to launch the card in either quiet or performance BIOS modes, though the GPU is quiet enough at peak I can’t imagine you would ever have a need to turn on quiet fans. Why else did you get this GPU if not to get as much performance from it as possible?
This is a non-overclocked card with 16 GB of VRAM (compared to the upcoming RTX 5070’s 12 GB). There are three DisplayPort 2.1 and one HDMI. The extra benefit of this card is that it will switch off fans when it recognizes that internal temperatures are below 50 degrees Celsius. If you have a case that produces cavernous echoes, the Asus Prime may be a better choice. That being said, it wasn’t exactly an easy card to seat. My 12VHPWR connector was an incredibly tight fit, more than on an MSI-brand 4070 Ti and 4080 Super or the RTX 5080 and 5090 FEs. It took a concerning amount of force to get my power cable slotted in correctly.
The Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti Hits Just Above the 4070 Ti Super, but Sometimes That’s Enough
The PC I used for testing remains consistent across the new RTX 50-series. The desktop includes an Intel Core Ultra 285K CPU and 32 GB of LDDR5X RAM. For cooling, it uses an iCUE H150i Elite liquid cooler, and for power, there’s a 1,000 W Corsair RM1000e Plus Gold power supply. The RTX 5070 Ti FE and the Asus Prime require a 750W PSU minimum. The previous 4070 Ti and Ti Super required a 700W PSU. That’s not a major jump, especially compared to the RTX 4090 to 5090 (850 W compared to 1,000 W).
The Olympic-level leap in synthetic benchmark performance between the RTX 5080 and 5090 was staggering. The jump from the RTX 5070 Ti to the 5080 is still significant but less dramatic. In 3D Mark Speed Way, the RTX 5080 scores 8,692, while the 5070 Ti does 7,761. I found a 1,435-point difference in 3D Mark Steel Nomad and a 1,700-point difference in Time Spy Extreme.
Compared to the RTX 4070 Ti Super, the 5070 Ti managed 13,615 in Time Spy Extreme compared to 11,625 on the older card. In Port Royal, a superior test for real-time ray tracing capabilities, the 5070 Ti scored 4,027 points over its older brother. That’s a wider gulf between the RTX 4080 Super and the 5080. Better yet, those point values are near-equivalent to the 4080 Super.
In-game benchmarks were less dramatic. The sub-premium Nvidia GPU, which I found, was the absolute minimum for getting a set 60 FPS at 4K in many games. However, in some of the more intensive titles, you’ll still need to compromise on some ray tracing settings to get the necessary 60 FPS. Sure, that’s the base standard these days for gameplay, but it’s also what you need to get the most out of Nvidia’s multi-frame gen.
In Cyberpunk 2077, with Ultra settings, balanced DLSS mode, and no path tracing, you can reach about 60 FPS. With path tracing enabled, the game hit closer to 48 in benchmarks. When you enable 4x frame gen on those settings, you’ll hit closer to 100 FPS. But this isn’t a magic trick for turning lead into gold. Actually, playing under those settings doesn’t feel as responsive as those frame numbers suggest they should. You need to hit 60 first before enabling frame gen.
The generation-on-generation leap wasn’t dramatic at all in some games. For Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered, I benchmarked 117 FPS on the RTX 5070 Ti and 114 FPS on the 4070 Ti Super. In Alan Wake II, the newer GPU averaged around 45 FPS without enabling path tracing effects and DLSS on balanced settings. That’s better than the average of 35 FPS on the 4070 Ti Super. You can finagle some settings to hit the necessary 60 FPS. Add in 4x frame gen, and that game can technically hit close to 160 FPS on an RTX 5070 Ti.
I wanted to know if the RTX 5070 Ti was the right card to play some recent big-hit games from last year and today. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I managed, on average, 77 FPS on balanced DLSS and max settings, practically the same as what I saw on the RTX 4080 Super. It was similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, though with more dips in framerate, depending on what happens on screen. I did just below 60 FPS with “very high” ray tracing settings. For a stable framerate, you need to shift the needle higher for routinely smooth gameplay and for frame gen to be most effective.
Beyond the most demanding games from the last few years, I wanted to know if the RTX 5070 Ti is a good card for those who may not be coming from the RTX 40 series but from the RTX 20- or 30-series GPUs. When I popped on with Kingdom Come II: Deliverance, a game that isn’t yet propped up with multi-frame gen, I could hit 110 FPS in the beginning battle portion of the game with DLSS on balanced mode. The RTX 4070 Ti Super could average, on average, five to 10 frames less in those same scenarios.
The RTX 5070 Ti Is an Excellent Card at $750, But Don’t Pay 5080 Prices for it
I have yet to try overlocking on this card or the RTX 5080. There is reportedly enough headroom for players to get even more from their cards, possibly pushing the 5070 Ti to the edge of the “best bang for your buck” category. Unfortunately, I simply don’t know if you’ll be able to get one close to the $750 mark. Best Buy currently lists the Asus Prime at $900. Micro Center has it listed for $750 just before the launch date of Feb. 20. I can pray that stocks and prices will remain consistent, but I doubt any deity is listening.
I would have an easier time recommending it if it didn’t cost $150 more than Nvidia’s minimum MSRP. Asus has jumped the price of its Blackwell 50-series prices by nearly 20% since the RTX 5090 launch. Who’s to blame? Nvidia, Asus, scalpers, President Donald Trump’s tariffs? The cards cost what they cost, and it’s a lose-lose situation for consumers. I want to recommend it for gamers who finally want to upgrade their setup to a 4K standard, but I can’t if the card costs between 16 and 20% more than it should.
Those with older 20- or 30-series RTX cards in their machines stand to gain a great deal from the RTX 5070 Ti. It’s an excellent uplift that does what it needs to for $750 and makes a case for itself among the broadening Blackwell lineup. Pay attention to prices, and if you can’t get it for below the cost of an RTX 5080, hum a tune, watch the clouds, and pretend you can be patient for a few months more.