Quick Answer

The RTX 4070 at ~R11,000 offers 35–50% more fps than the RTX 3060 Ti at 1440p, and 15–25% more than the RTX 3070 Ti. Against the RTX 3060 Ti, the upgrade makes clear sense — against the RTX 3070, it's 30–40% faster. The 12GB GDDR6X VRAM (vs 8GB on both RTX 3060 Ti and 3070) is a practical advantage at 1440p high settings.

Performance Comparison at 1440p High

Game RTX 3060 Ti RTX 3070 RTX 4070 vs 3060 Ti
Cyberpunk 2077 ~65fps ~72fps ~90fps +38%
Hogwarts Legacy ~68fps ~74fps ~95fps +40%
Starfield ~63fps ~70fps ~88fps +40%
Apex Legends ~110fps ~125fps ~160fps +45%

For SA gamers on an RTX 3060 Ti, the RTX 4070 is a compelling upgrade — particularly if moving from a 1080p 144Hz monitor to a 1440p 144Hz panel.

The 12GB VRAM Advantage

The RTX 4070's 12GB VRAM vs the RTX 3060 Ti's 8GB is particularly relevant when running texture mods, MSFS 2024, or Microsoft Flight Simulator with photogrammetry data. At 1440p Ultra textures, modern AAA games regularly exceed 8GB — the 3060 Ti stutters in these scenarios while the 4070 handles them cleanly.

DLSS 3 Frame Generation: Only on RTX 40

The RTX 4070 supports DLSS 3 with Frame Generation; the RTX 3060 Ti and 3070 only support DLSS 2. In titles like Alan Wake 2 or Cyberpunk 2077, DLSS 3 with Frame Generation at 1440p can deliver 2x the fps of the RTX 3060 Ti with DLSS 2 Quality — a significant real-world gap beyond raw rasterization performance.

FAQ

Should I upgrade from RTX 3070 to RTX 4070 in SA?

For 1440p gaming, the RTX 4070 is 25–35% faster natively and adds 12GB VRAM vs 8GB. The R11,000 cost vs your RTX 3070's resale value (R4,500 second-hand in SA) makes the net upgrade cost ~R6,500. That's reasonable for a 30% fps jump plus DLSS 3 support.

What's the best PSU wattage for an RTX 4070 build?

The RTX 4070 draws 200W TDP. A 650W 80+ Gold PSU is sufficient alongside a Ryzen 5 7600 or Core i5-13600K. For a high-end CPU like Ryzen 9 7950X, step up to 750W for comfortable headroom.

Is the RTX 4070 a good 4K card?

The RTX 4070 handles 4K at 45–55fps natively in demanding titles. With DLSS 3 Quality enabled at 4K, expect 65–80fps in most AAA games — a playable 4K experience. For consistent 4K 60fps without DLSS reliance, the RTX 4070 Super (~R12,000) is a stronger choice.

TIP

's 'Optimal Playable Settings' for your games — it automatically tuned resolution scaling and DLSS presets per-game to maximize fps without manual tweaking on your specific RTX 4070 card.