CES 2023: NVIDIA’s 4070Ti is here!

CES 2023 has kicked off and with the pandemic finally starting to die down, we are seeing the return of some semblance of normalcy in all areas. This thankfully includes the technology world – and gaming. For example, a GPU was announced that you will probably actually be able to buy.

Samsung releasing a new folding phone with a 10.5 inch display (and better aspect ratios for us gamers), 8k TVs from multiple manufacturers, VR chairs, the 4070 TI – and so much more. CES looks like it did pre-pandemic and that is great for the consumer world. Who doesn’t love new technology? Keep that F5 going as DVS brings you as much CES in 2023 as you can consume!

Now, let’s get into NVIDIA’s latest entry at an MSRP of $799, a performance point near equal to the 3090Ti, and under a new name: The 12GB NVIDIA 4070TI! It is finally here.

First, the History

Over the past years (who knows how many at this point) AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA have been going at it strong. When they compete, we get nicer things. When we get nicer gaming things, we get better looking pixels, albeit in a confusing manner at times. Enter NVIDIA and the 4070 TI, presented fresh at CES 2023.

Back in the fall of 2022, NVIDIA announced the 4080 12GB at $1099, the 408016GB at $1299, and the 4090 at $1599 (24GB). We all know the 4090 is the bread winner, so that will not be the focus. Instead, we we will look at the 4080s.

The 12GB version was priced at the current price of the 3090TI – and slightly off in performance (like very slightly). The 16GB was roughly 40% better; however, the price doesn’t reflect that. NVIDIA was still asking gamers to cough up too many Benjamin’s for such a huge gap in performance to not be reflected in the cost. The crowd went wild. Gamers flipped tables around the globe. This did not make the 4080 12 GB a bad card. It is just bad at that price/performance ratio. NVIDIA tabled the card. They were in agreement that this caused confusion. Those numbers need to be more defining for the consumer who buys on a budget instead of bar graphs. This brings is to the present.

Why it’s Good News

Fast forward to the present, and CES 2023 under way, the 12GB version has risen from the ashes with a more appropriate name. This was of course, to appease the crowd, solve confusion, and give us what we needed as gamers. The card is exactly the same in every way as the 12GB 4080 – except in price and name. The 4070 TI will release at an MSRP of $799 and has been officially announced at CES 2023.

Why does the 4070 TI matter? $799. With AMD and Intel hot on NVIDIA’s heels to take their crown, price is where NVIDIA has often lost. This card changes that a bit. The price alone makes it a wiser purchase than some of the other options out there. The MSRP of AMD’s top offering is $999 for the 7900XTX (24GB) and it falls bit between the 4070 TI and 4080 (16GB) in terms of performance (and cost). With most gamers still gaming at 1080p, the 4070 TI is the card you probably should buy. The higher VRAM is suited for 4k and beyond – and is just not necessary for gaming below. Even at 1440P the 4070 TI still shines.

Is it for you?

So is this a GPU you should be shopping for? Let me break it down (and yes is the answer).

For a proper real world comparison, the 3090 TI had 24GBs of VRAM – double that of the 4070 TI, yet at a steep price of $2000 (MSRP) – that no one ever really saw. Those cards were often, just a year ago, selling for $3000+ from scalpers only. The 4070 TI will be available (as in you should be able to find it) and its gaming performance is almost identical. Anywhere it loses out, is within the margin of error from every benchmark I have seen.

While $799 is steep – nearly double the cost of a console – it is still the wise investment for a gamer needing a top end GPU in 2023 (cost to performance). This is especially true when just this time last year, it would have cost you three times that to get the same quality of product (if you could find it). Games have not made leaps and bounds to require you to need a 4090 (or all that VRAM) to game comfortably (and at a high level, even Unreal 5). If you need a card, this is the one you want. This leaves the 4070 TI resting comfortably as the lowest but still high end model available to consumers.

Yes, there are at least 3 better GPUs. None at $799 or less.

The Rest of the Story

I admit, as a gamer, the prices are getting nuts. It is an unfortunate thing that our area of the industry is not immune to inflation and the state of economy. The facts are, we are still going to game even if our budgets tighten.

If you need a PC and are budget minded – just be smarter with your purchases. That is where this latest entry from NVIDIA fits in. Bells and whistles are typically for bragging rights, not budgets or practicality. This is a time to game smart and hope the prices adjust, and there is hope! According to a PC Gamer article from August, even NVIDIA doesn’t want the price of a GPU to be nearly double a console.

Check back later for more from CES 2023 and DVS Gaming!