• Best for mobility

  Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

  Graphics RAM Size

  8GB GDDR6X

  Brand

  Nvidia

  Architecture

  Ada Lovelace

  Process

  4nm

  Shader Units

  4,608

  Ray Accelerators/Cores

  36

  Nvidia's Ada Lovelace architecture comes to mobile computing as the GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPU. This power-constrained GPU enables thin form factors and gaming on-the-go.

  Pros & Cons

  • Low power requirements
  • Newest RTX and DLSS features

  • Fewer CUDA cores than the desktop version
  • Not a huge upgrade over last gen

  $2000 at Amazon
• Editor's Choice

  Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070

  Graphics RAM Size

  12GB GDDR6X

  Brand

  Nvidia

  Architecture

  Ada Lovelace

  Process

  5nm

  Transistors

  35.8 billion

  Shader Units

  5,888

  Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4070 is the current value champ for desktop graphics cards, with a mainstream price that brings the Ada Lovelace architecture to a wider audience.

  Pros & Cons

  • First mainstream price Ada Lovelace GPU
  • Low power requirement

  • Only one NVENC encoder
  • Still uses 16-pin 12 VHPWR connector

  $600 at Amazon

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is the latest dedicated desktop GPU from the company and one of the best graphics cards for price and performance. The graphics card is a cut-down version of the AD104 chip used in the more expensive GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, aimed at 1440p gamers who want high framerates for their mid-tier resolution.

Nvidia has also released the GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPU, which uses the AD106 chip. Higher numbers here mean that it’s lower down on the continuum of Nvidia’s product stack, so even though it might wear the same name as the desktop GPU, it likely won’t perform as strongly. We’re here to compare the desktop version of the GeForce RTX 4070 with the mobile version to see what you might lose in the trade-off for portability.

NVIDIA Mobile RTX 4070 vs. desktop 4070: Price, specs, and availability.

Nvidia launched both of these graphics cards in the early months of 2023. The desktop GeForce RTX 4070 costs $600 MSRP, with Nvidia opting to make a FE version of the card, which it skipped for the GeForce 4070 Ti. The Nvidia mobile RTX 4070 was announced at CES in January 2023, with laptops featuring this chip already on the market starting from $999.

Even with the mobile RTX 4070 going into some of the best gaming laptops on the market, it’s worth noting that the two GPUs are similar in name only. The mobile RTX 4070 might be built on the same architecture as its desktop counterpart, but it has fewer CUDA cores, lower clock speeds, a smaller amount of memory with a smaller bus width, and a vastly lower power draw.

The crucial specification for the laptop GPU is power delivery. The mobile RTX 4070 has a configurable total graphics power of between 35W and 115W, with an additional 15 to 25W Dynamic Boost from the CPU. That makes the eventual performance very dependent on the laptop manufacturer's set wattage and the cooling solution's effectiveness.

• 	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
  Graphics RAM Size	8GB GDDR6X	12GB GDDR6X
  Brand	Nvidia	Nvidia
  Architecture	Ada Lovelace	Ada Lovelace
  Process	4nm	5nm
  Shader Units	4,608	5,888
  Ray Accelerators/Cores	36	46
  Stream Processors	36	46
  Base Clock Speed	1,230MHz	1,920MHz
  Boost Clock Speed	2,175MHz	2,480MHz
  Memory Bus	128-bit	192-bit
  Memory Bandwidth	256GB/s	504.2GB/s
  Power Draw	35 - 115W	200W

Architecture

Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace architecture is used for both graphics cards. This generational leap drops the process to 4nm, which is a more economical node for power consumption than the Samsung 8nm process used on Ampere. Nvidia has dropped power requirements substantially while increasing core frequency to get more graphical power per watt.

You can expect similar performance per watt as they are on the same architecture. Both are also excellent for gaming, benefiting from the company's improved performance from years of research and development.

As with other Nvidia graphics cards, specifications are only half of the picture. The company has advanced AI-assisted performance options, such as the third generation of its super sampling tech DLSS, third-generation ray tracing cores, and AI frame generation, which infers the motion in a frame to generate additional frames with a very low-performance hit.

The desktop RTX 4070 is built on the AD104 chip, with fewer CUDA cores than the full-fat AD104 used in the RTX 4070 Ti. The mobile RTX 4070 uses a different chip, AD106, with fewer CUDA cores yet again and a lower power envelope.

We’re unsure why Nvidia would get into this naming issue again, using the same graphics card name to describe two completely different chips. When the RTX 4080 was first announced, it had two versions with different graphics cores and differing VRAM amounts inside. Nvidia recalled one version and relaunched it later as the RTX 4070 Ti.

Performance

Laptop variants have historically had lower power than their desktop counterparts due to the smaller form factor's stricter power and thermal limits. The laptop maker’s balancing act is to unite the three, tweaking clock speeds and power limits to provide enough gaming performance to excite the user while not overwhelming the thermal solution.

The higher CUDA core count of the desktop Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 will always beat the mobile RTX 4070, whatever the task. With half the power envelope to play with and four fewer GB of GDDR6X, the mobile chip doesn’t stand a chance.

We haven’t had hands-on experience with either of these graphics cards. Without first-hand benchmarks, we’ve searched the internet for other testing results. Popular testing software, 3DMark, has an online database of all the tests its users produce. The desktop GeForce RTX 4070 has a current score of 17,848, just a few hundred points higher than the last gen’s RTX 3080. The mobile RTX 4070 scores 12,101, below the desktop RTX 3060 Ti but above the mobile RTX 3080.

Perhaps that result could be explained by the unknown laptop configuration in which the mobile RTX 4070 was used. We look forward to updating you as we get more devices in to test with Nvidia’s latest.

Which GPU is right for you?

Unlike many of our graphics card comparisons, there is a clear winner this time. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 will be the best choice for those who want the best frame rate out of their gaming time. It is also the first relatively-affordable graphics card in this generation, after months and months of GPUs with astronomical prices.

The downside is that it needs a dedicated desktop PC to use, ruling portable gaming out of the equation. The landscape for building your own PC has sucked lately, with delays and stock issues on almost every part. If so, it might be easier to snag one from one of the best pre-built gaming PC manufacturers.

The mobile RTX 4070 is no slouch, and the lower power consumption figures make it a viable option for gamers that need mobility over any other consideration. When choosing which laptop, opt for one with a 1440p screen so the resolution isn’t as demanding as 4K on the mid-tier graphics chip.