Should I Upgrade from RTX 4070 to RTX 5070? Marginal Gain Analysis

The RTX 4070 remains a capable 1440p GPU in 2026, and the question of whether to upgrade to the RTX 5070 is one many SA gamers are currently wrestling with. The honest answer depends heavily on your specific workload, your display, and how much you value future-proofing versus immediate gains.

Quick Answer

Should you upgrade from RTX 4070 to RTX 5070 in 2026? For most SA gamers at 1440p 144Hz, the upgrade is marginal in rasterisation - roughly 25–35% faster in traditional rendering. The compelling reasons to upgrade are DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation and better ray-tracing performance, not raw FPS gains in well-optimized titles.

🔧 Where the RTX 5070 Pulls Ahead

DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation: This is the biggest differentiator. The RTX 5070 supports DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation, which can multiply displayed frame rates 2–4x from a base render. In games with DLSS 4 support (a growing list in 2026), this makes a significant practical difference - particularly for hitting 240Hz display targets without hammering render resolution.

Raw Rasterisation: In traditional rendering without upscaling, the RTX 5070 is approximately 25–35% faster than the RTX 4070. At 1440p High settings, this often means moving from 90–110 FPS to 120–140 FPS in demanding titles. Meaningful, but not transformative if you were already hitting 100 FPS comfortably.

Ray Tracing: The RTX 5070 uses 4th-generation RT cores (Blackwell) versus 3rd-gen on the 4070. In ray-tracing heavy titles, the gap widens to 40–50%. If you play titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with full RT or Alan Wake 2, this is a more compelling upgrade.

VRAM: RTX 5070 ships with 12GB GDDR7 versus the RTX 4070's 12GB GDDR6X. The GDDR7 brings higher bandwidth (560 GB/s vs 504 GB/s), which helps in texture-heavy 4K scenarios.

📊 Marginal Gain Analysis: RTX 4070 vs RTX 5070

💡 Who Should and Shouldn't Upgrade

Upgrade makes sense if:

• You have a 240Hz 1440p monitor and are currently struggling to consistently hit 200+ FPS in your primary titles
• You want DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation for a dramatically smoother experience in supported games
• You play ray-tracing heavy titles and find your RTX 4070 performance frustrating
• You're planning to move to 4K and need more headroom

Stay on RTX 4070 if:

• You game primarily at 1440p 144Hz and regularly hit 100+ FPS already
• Your primary titles are e-sports games (Valorant, CS2, Apex) where the CPU is more likely your bottleneck
• The R4,000–R5,000 upgrade cost would be better spent on a monitor, RAM, or NVMe upgrade
• You're planning to build a full new system in 12–18 months - save toward that instead

SA budget consideration: The RTX 5070 in South Africa typically prices at R13,000–R16,000, versus R9,000–R11,000 for RTX 4070 stock. That R4,000–R5,000 difference buys a lot of other hardware improvements.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Is the RTX 5070 worth it over RTX 4070 for 1440p gaming? For 1440p 144Hz gaming in traditional rasterisation, the upgrade is moderate - you'll gain 25–35% FPS but may not notice a night-and-day difference if your RTX 4070 was already hitting your monitor's refresh rate. The upgrade becomes more compelling with a 240Hz monitor or for ray-tracing workloads.

What CPU do I need to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5070? For 1440p gaming, an Intel Core i5-13600K or AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and above avoids meaningful CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p in e-sports titles, even the RTX 5070 can be CPU-limited on older gen chips.

Does the RTX 5070 support DLSS 4 Frame Generation? Yes - the RTX 5070 (Blackwell architecture) fully supports DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation. This is one of the most significant advantages over the RTX 4070, which is limited to DLSS 3 Frame Generation.

Evetech stocks RTX 5070 Gaming PCs and All Graphics Cards — browse current SA pricing and availability online.