by We compare the specs, price and performance of RTX 4070 notebook vs 3070 notebook graphics cards
Updated: 21 February 2023 at 22.28
Comparison of RTX 4070 notebook vs 3070 notebook GPUs, in a battle between new gen vs old, what exactly are the differences and which one should you buy? We compare them against each other in terms of specifications, performance and price.
*RTX 4070 notebook pre-orders are live!* You can secure your purchase of these new laptops while stocks last by pre-ordering them ahead of the official release on February 22 from the following online stores: Razer, Best Buy, Amazon, Bestware, Neweggand B&H photo video. Read our Where can I buy portable RTX 4070 page for more retailers and links.
- MSI Katana 15 B12VGK – 15.6″ FHD 144Hz, 1.7GHz i7-12650H, RTX 4070, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD – $1549.00
- MSI Katana 15 B13VGK – 15.6″ FHD 144Hz, Intel Core i7-13620H, RTX 4070, 16GB DDR5, 1TB NVMe SSD – $1,599.00
- MSI Katana 15 B12VGK-082US – 15.6″ FHD 144Hz, i7-12650H, RTX 4070, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD – $2,299.00
- MSI Stealth 16″ 144hz FHD+ – Intel Core i7 13620H, RTX 4070, 1TB SSD, 32GB Memory – $1,999.99
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus 16″ – QHD 240Hz – Intel Core i9, 16GB DDR5 Memory, RTX 4070, 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD – $1,949.99
- Razer Blade 16 – 16″ 16:10 4K/FHD+ Switching 120Hz/240Hz, Intel Core i9-13950HX, RTX 4070, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD – $3,299.99
- Razer Blade 16 – 16” QHD+ 240Hz, 16:10, Intel Core i9-13950HX, RTX 4070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD – $2,999.99
- Razer Blade 18 – 16” QHD+ 240Hz, 16:10, Intel Core i9-13950HX, RTX 4070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD – $3,199.99
- XMG NEO 16 (E23) – 16.0” IPS 2560×1600 240 Hz G-SYNC, Intel Core i9-13900HX – €2,574.01
- XMG NEO 17 (E23) – 17.0” IPS 2560×1600 240 Hz G-SYNC, Intel Core i9-13900HX – €2,624.01
RTX 4070 Notebook vs RTX 3070 Notebook Specs
You can see the comparison of RTX 4070 laptop specs vs. RTX 3070 notebook specs below. Read on for our overview of this information.
| RTX 4070 portable graphics card | RTX 3070 portable graphics card | |
| GPU | AD106 | GA104 |
| CUDA kernels | 4,608 | 5.120 |
| Clock speed | 2.175 GHz | 1.560 GHz |
| VRAM | 8 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 |
| Memorial bus | 128-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | unknown | 384 GB/s |
| TGP | 35-115W | 140W |
Architecture
The older Nvidia 30 series graphics cards are made with Ampere architecture, based on the 8nm Samsung process, while the latest GeForce 40 series graphics cards are built on TSMC’s 4nm process and are named after Ada Lovelace. The new, smaller process means that a greater number of transistors can be put on the same size chip, or the transistor count remains the same, but the chip sizes are reduced. It also leads to increased energy efficiency, which means lower power consumption for the same data output.
GPU and CUDA cores
Nvidia’s GPU codename gives a smaller number to the more powerful GPU chips, so the AD107 GPU for RTX 4060 laptop graphics card is smaller than the AD106 in RTX 4070 laptop graphics card. The prefix AD is the shortened version of Ada Lovelace.
Consequently, the GA104 GPU in the portable RTX 3070 carrier is higher up the hierarchy, even though it is based on an older technology. As a consequence, it has more CUDA cores on the GPU chip than the newer RTX 4070 laptop does, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it will perform better (in fact, it doesn’t in this case).
Clock speed and TGP
Clock speed is one of the key determinants when looking at performance. As you can see, both the base clock (the lowest number in the range) and the boost clock (the higher number) are larger on the newer card than on the RTX 3070 notebook GPU.
TGP (Total Graphics Power) is the usual decision which is the more powerful laptop graphics card of the same name, which means that different RTX 4070 laptops will have different performance levels than their graphics cards if they have different TGP.
However, since these different generation cards are based on different architectures, with different levels of power efficiency, it does not mean that the 140W RTX 3070 notebook GPU outperforms the 115W RTX 4070 notebook GPU, it does mean that the latter will be more energy efficient, hopefully leading to longer battery life for RTX 4070 machines.
VRAM, memory bus and memory bandwidth
VRAM is essentially the short-term memory of the graphics card which functions as a frame buffer and as pixel storage. The memory bus and bandwidth enable the transfer of this information. More VRAM and a larger memory bus/bandwidth enable a smoother experience with better frame rate and latency. It is especially useful for higher resolutions since they have higher pixel counts to fill up many gigabytes.
Although the memory bus on the newer RTX 4070 has decreased, we don’t yet know what the memory speed or bandwidth will be on the newer chip, and if it’s faster, this may offset the reduced bus size.
RTX 4070 laptop vs RTX 3070 notebook performance
Mechrevo, a well-known leaker, has apparently compared the two laptops in the graph below, although these cannot be officially confirmed. The data is based on synthetic benchmarking applications 3DMark time Spy and 3DMark Fire Strike. Time Spy’s comparison uses DirectX 12 and renders in QHD, while Fire Strike compares them with DX11 and renders in FHD.
These are not in-game FPS benchmarks, but they can give us a decent indication. All in all, the results are a bit unimpressive, especially compared to the expected improvements expected from the RTX 4060 notebook GPU. This is somewhat consistent with the general disappointment with the desktop variant of the RTX 4070. Marginal improvement in performance of 11-15 percent does not warrant a several hundred dollar bump in price compared to the RTX 3070 notebook series, especially considering RTX 3070 laptops decreases in price.
One thing we should add is the fact that the performance chart shown below does not count the extra boosts you get while playing that you will receive thanks to DLSS 3.0. Of course, not all titles will support it, but those that do will surely make you see the difference between the performances.
RTX 4070 laptop price vs 3070 laptop price
As for pricing, so far we’ve seen RTX 4070 notebook prices range from $1,549.99 (probably the most underpowered variants in TGP terms) all the way up to $3,299.99. This upper bracket seems rather unjustified, given that we’re likely to see similar performance from RTX 3070 Ti laptops that can be bought for less money than this (albeit without DLSS 3.0 support and older generation CPUs).
High-TGP RTX 3070 laptops can be had for well under $1,500 if you can get one on discount, and prices are likely to only drop further, although these are likely to come with older processors that may bottleneck the RTX 4070 machines. In the end, a portable RTX 3070 Ti is probably the best option.
RTX 4070 mobile vs RTX 3070 mobile FAQ
Is the RTX 4070 better than the RTX 3070?
In short, yes, the RTX 4070 is better than the RTX 3070, both in terms of notebook and desktop GPUs, but whether it’s better enough to justify the price increase is a more complicated question.
When are RTX 4070 laptops coming out?
The RTX 4070 portable carrier is expected to drop on February 22, 2023, while the pre-orders of the device are already active now.
However, this is only for the first models. Other companies will release their models much later in the year.
RTX 4070 notebook vs 3070 notebook final words
We hope that this RTX 4070 Notebook vs RTX 3070 Notebook the site has given you all the information you need to know. Check out our various other portable gaming guides while you’re here.
