NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the faster card in nearly every recorded test. Out of ten head-to-head benchmarks, the RTX 3070 wins nine, while the RTX 2070 SUPER manages a single victory. The RTX 3070's largest wins come in modern DirectX 12 workloads, where it scores 3162 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 versus 1651 for the RTX 2070 SUPER, a 47.8% advantage. In PassMark GPU Compute, the gap is 32.5%, with the RTX 3070 posting 11195 against 7557. The RTX 2070 SUPER's only win is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 90637 versus 21022, a 331.2% margin that is an outlier relative to every other recorded result.

For buyers choosing between these two, the data points to the RTX 3070 for essentially all modern gaming and compute workloads. The RTX 2070 SUPER should only be considered if a specific application relies on the Vulkan API path where it dominates, or if the older card's availability and form factor are decisive. Both cards are end-of-life, and both launched at the same MSRP of 499 USD, so the newer architecture delivers substantially more performance at the same launch price point.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations and use fundamentally different architectures. The RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using the TU104 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 3070 moves to the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process shrink allows the RTX 3070 to pack 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, compared to the RTX 2070 SUPER's 13,600 million transistors on a larger 545 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: the RTX 3070 reaches 44.4M transistors per mm², while the RTX 2070 SUPER manages 25.0M per mm².

Shading unit counts differ dramatically. The RTX 3070 has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 3070 also has more ray tracing cores (46 versus 40) but fewer tensor cores (184 versus 320). The FP32 throughput reflects this: the RTX 3070 delivers 20.31 TFLOPS, more than double the RTX 2070 SUPER's 9.062 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is also higher on the RTX 3070 at 20.31 TFLOPS (1:1), whereas the RTX 2070 SUPER reaches 18.12 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio.

The memory subsystems are identical in capacity and type: both have 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth and the same 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective). The differences lie elsewhere. The RTX 3070 uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the RTX 2070 SUPER uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the RTX 3070 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and adds a USB Type-C port. Power delivery also changed: the RTX 3070 uses a single 12-pin connector, whereas the RTX 2070 SUPER requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 3070 dominates the head-to-head results across nearly every category. Starting with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the modern DirectX 12 test, the RTX 3070 scores 3162 against 1651, a 47.8% lead. This is the largest performance gap in the entire benchmark set outside of the Vulkan anomaly. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3070 scores 112821 versus 83358, a 26.1% advantage. PassMark G3D shows the RTX 3070 at 22214 against 18169, an 18.2% lead. PassMark GPU Compute shows a 32.5% gap, with 11195 versus 7557.

The older DirectX API tests also favor the RTX 3070, though by smaller margins. In PassMark DirectX 11, the RTX 3070 scores 182 versus 151, a 17% lead. PassMark DirectX 12 shows 85 versus 67, a 21.2% gap. DirectX 10 results are closer: 150 versus 132, a 12% lead. DirectX 9 shows 247 versus 223, a 9.7% difference. Even the 2D test, PassMark G2D, favors the RTX 3070 with 1001 versus 878, a 12.3% margin.

The single win for the RTX 2070 SUPER comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it posts 90637 against the RTX 3070's 21022. That 331.2% margin is extraordinary and contradicts the pattern of every other benchmark. The recorded data shows this is a genuine result, but it is isolated. No other test shows the RTX 2070 SUPER ahead, and the rest of the field shows the RTX 3070 ahead by anywhere from 9.7% to 47.8%.

The average benchmark scores in the database tell a similar story, though with some nuance. The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, which places it at the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3070 has an average score of 17208, placing it at the 61st percentile. These averages are somewhat counterintuitive given the head-to-head results, but they reflect different comparison pools. The RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 (20556, 1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, 1.5% higher). The RTX 3070's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083, 0.7% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, 1% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, 1.1% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468, 1.5% higher). The RTX 3070 sits in a competitive cluster where the spread among rivals is narrow, while the RTX 2070 SUPER benefits from a comparison pool that includes some lower-scoring entries.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in several key specifications. The RTX 2070 SUPER uses the TU104 chip on a 12 nm TSMC process, while the RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor counts are 13,600 million versus 17,400 million, and die sizes are 545 mm² versus 392 mm². Transistor density is 25.0M per mm² for the RTX 2070 SUPER and 44.4M per mm² for the RTX 3070.

Base clocks differ slightly: 1605 MHz for the RTX 2070 SUPER versus 1500 MHz for the RTX 3070. Boost clocks are closer: 1770 MHz versus 1725 MHz. The RTX 3070 has more shading units (5888 versus 2560), more TMUs (184 versus 160), and more ROPs (96 versus 64). Ray tracing cores are 46 versus 40, and tensor cores are 184 versus 320, which is a rare case of the older card having more of a specific unit type.

The RTX 3070 has higher pixel rate (165.6 GPixel/s versus 113.3 GPixel/s) and higher texture rate (317.4 GTexel/s versus 283.2 GTexel/s). FP32 performance is 20.31 TFLOPS versus 9.062 TFLOPS. FP16 is 20.31 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 18.12 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP is slightly higher on the RTX 3070 at 220 W versus 215 W. Both are dual-slot cards and both suggest a 550 W power supply. The RTX 3070 is shorter at 242 mm (9.5 inches) versus 267 mm (10.5 inches) and slightly shorter in height at 112 mm (4.4 inches) versus 116 mm (4.6 inches). The RTX 3070 does not list a width, while the RTX 2070 SUPER is 35 mm (1.4 inches) wide. The RTX 2070 SUPER has a USB Type-C output, which the RTX 3070 lacks, and the RTX 3070 adds HDMI 2.1 support versus HDMI 2.0 on the older card.

Release dates are also different: the RTX 2070 SUPER launched on 2019-07-08, while the RTX 3070 launched on 2020-08-31. Both are end-of-life. The RTX 2070 SUPER's predecessor is GeForce 10 and its successor is GeForce 30, while the RTX 3070's predecessor is GeForce 20 and its successor is GeForce 40.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 3070 wins by a wide margin, scoring 3162 versus 1651 for the RTX 2070 SUPER, a 47.8% advantage.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the RTX 2070 SUPER beats the RTX 3070?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Vulkan the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90637 versus 21022, a 331.2% lead. This is the only test in the head-to-head set where the RTX 2070 SUPER wins.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory configuration?

A: Yes, both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and the same memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each card?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, while the RTX 3070 has an average of 17208.

Q: How do the cards compare in PassMark G3D and GPU Compute?

A: The RTX 3070 leads in both, scoring 22214 in G3D versus 18169 (18.2% higher) and 11195 in GPU Compute versus 7557 (32.5% higher).

Q: Do the cards use different PCIe interfaces?

A: Yes, the RTX 3070 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 2070 SUPER uses PCIe 3.0 x16.