NVIDIA made waves at CES 2024 by announcing new GeForce RTX 40 Super graphics cards that promise significant generational leaps in performance and efficiency. The new lineup includes the RTX 4060 Super, RTX 4070 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, and RTX 4080 Super.
RTX 40 Super Cards Offer Up to 2X Performance of Predecessors
According to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the flagship RTX 4080 Super delivers up to 2 times the performance of the previous generation RTX 3080 Ti. Powered by the new Ada Lovelace architecture and made on TSMC’s cutting-edge 4nm process technology, these cards push the boundaries with ultra-fast speeds.
Some key specs of the new cards:
| Card | Boost Clock | Memory | Power | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4060 Super | TBA | 12GB GDDR6X | TBA | $399 |
| RTX 4070 Super | 2310MHz | 12GB GDDR6X | 300W | $799 |
| RTX 4070 Ti Super | 2595MHz | 16GB GDDR6X | 450W | $1099 |
| RTX 4080 Super | 2565MHz | 16GB GDDR6X | 320W | $1199 |
The RTX 4080 Super matches and even exceeds the previous flagship RTX 3090 Ti in many games, while using 70% less power. This combination of extreme performance and efficiency is enabled by Ada Lovelace’s advanced transistor switching technology.
Next-Gen Features Like Real-Time Ray Tracing, DLSS 3
The new RTX 40 series Super GPUs also come loaded with NVIDIA’s latest graphics innovations, including:
- Ray Tracing Cores: Dedicated hardware for real-time ray traced lighting, reflections, shadows and more for the highest quality visuals. Up to 2X faster than last gen.
- 3rd-Gen Tensor Cores: New AI Tensor cores enable DLSS 3, a new AI-powered graphics enhancement that boosts frame rates with zero compromise on image quality.
- Optical Flow Accelerator: A dedicated hardware unit that powers DLSS 3, intelligently generating entire frames for smoother gameplay.
DLSS 3 in particular is a game-changer – it can effectively triple frame rates in supported games by getting advanced AI rendering assistance from the cloud.
Super Cards Aim for the Performance Crown
The RTX 40 Super series is NVIDIA firing on all cylinders, directly taking on AMD’s recently launched Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. Though AMD made big performance leaps of its own, early benchmarks show NVIDIA still having the edge in traditional rasterization and ray tracing workloads.
The flagship RTX 4080 Super is expected to outperform the RTX 3090 Ti by 60-80% depending on the workload, while the RTX 4070 Super surpasses the RTX 3090 outright based on early leaks. This makes these cards extremely compelling upgrades for gamers and creators.
NVIDIA also shared performance previews of the RTX 4070 Ti Super beating the RTX 3090 Ti by up to 3X in AI-accelerated rendering benchmarks. Clearly these cards stand at the bleeding edge.
More Affordable Pricing in Response to Criticism
Interestingly, NVIDIA has priced these new GPUs much lower than the non-Super RTX 40 series cards that launched last year. The RTX 4080 Super costs $300 less than the quickly discontinued RTX 4080 12GB. The RTX 4070 Super also sees a $100 price drop compared to the RTX 4080 at launch.
| Card | Launch Price | Super Price | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4080 | $1199 | $1199 | – |
| RTX 4080 12GB | $899 | Discontinued | -$300 vs Super |
| RTX 4070 | $799 | $799 | – |
| RTX 4070 Super | – | $799 | -$100 vs 4070 |
This shows NVIDIA has responded to feedback and criticism about overly high pricing. Offering such top-tier performance graphics cards at reasonable prices is appreciated and more consumer friendly.
Battle for the Mid-Range: RTX 4060 Super vs RX 7800
While the flagship crown will be contested between the RTX 4080/4070 Super cards and the RX 7900 XTX, NVIDIA is also attacking AMD in the mainstream $400 GPU segment with the new RTX 4060 Super.
This card goes head to head with AMD’s Radeon RX 7800, which offers virtually equivalent traditional rendering speed. However, NVIDIA maintains a significant advantage in ray tracing and AI-powered graphics. For just $50 more, the RTX 4060 Super brings much more future-ready capabilities for gaming.
If the pricing holds at $399, the RTX 4060 Super could become one of the most popular volume selling cards of this generation, like its predecessor the iconic RTX 3060 Ti. For smooth high fidelity 1080p and 1440p gaming, it hits the sweet spot.
Outlook for the High-End GPU Market
NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 40 Super GPUs are certainly exciting products pushing the edge of what’s possible in graphics performance. But with a potential global recession looming, what does the future look like for such premium aimed graphics cards costing over $1000?
Publicly NVIDIA remains strongly optimistic about demand. Founder and CEO Jensen Huang says that even in difficult times, people spend more on things that bring them joy. Gaming has shown resilient growth through previous economic downturns as well.
However, much also depends on crypto mining demand, which drove massive GPU shortages and prices in the last few years but has since collapsed. If crypto enters a bull market again, supply could once more be strained.
Realistically, while the 4080 and 4070 Super cater to enthusiasts happy to spend over $1000 on the ultimate GPUs, the smart money is on the 4060 Super becoming NVIDIA’s volume driver this generation. At under $400 it hits the gaming performance sweet spot for most PC gamers.
The Road Ahead
With the next-generation GeForce RTX 40 Super family launching over the coming months, NVIDIA has thrown down the gauntlet to rival AMD. This sets up an exciting battle at both the high end and mainstream graphics segments.
Gamers, creators and tech enthusiasts will benefit from the renewed competition driving better performing products at more reasonable prices. Exciting technological advancements also lie ahead with wider adoption of real-time ray tracing and AI-powered gaming techniques in the years to come. For now, NVIDIA cements its position as the world’s premier high performance GPU provider.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
