In an effort to meet “strong demand,” NVIDIA is rolling out a downgraded version of the RTX 4070 GPU. If you’re shopping for an RTX 4070, be sure to check whether it uses GDDR6 or GDDR6X memory.
The downgraded RTX 4070, which was announced at the bottom of a Game Ready Driver press release, is practically identical to a standard RTX 4070. NVIDIA simply swapped out the GDDR6X memory for slower GDDR6 VRAM.
GDDR6X memory offers a higher bandwidth and greater power efficiency than GDDR6. This becomes more evident as you crank the resolution and draw distance of a video game (thereby loading more content into memory). The GDDR6 memory will, in most cases, hit a bottleneck and introduce lag or stuttering before GDDR6X. The slower VRAM can also impact render times for video or 3D modeling software.
Here’s the thing: while GDDR6X is capable of supporting a much higher bandwidth than GDDR6, actual performance depends on how the VRAM is clocked. The difference, in this case, may be negligible. We just don’t know the details. NVIDIA claims that the two variants of RTX 4070 “offer similar performance in games and applications.” The average gamer may not notice any difference between a GDDR6 and GDDR6X RTX 4070, especially if they’re running games in 1080p.
In any case, the two variants of RTX 4070 will confuse some customers. If you’re willing to shed some VRAM performance in exchange for a discount, the GDDR6-equipped RTX 4070 will probably be a good purchase. However, those who value performance and plan to run games in 4K resolution should be careful when shopping for an RTX 4070.
Manufacturers will begin selling GDDR6-equipped RTX 4070 GPUs this September. Pricing will probably fall in the $400 to $500 range, as GDDR6X RTX 4070 GPUs currently sell for about $550.
