In the wake of reported production constraints for GDDR6X memory modules, Nvidia is allegedly taking drastic measures. Rather than ride out the storm with reduced stock, the company is preparing a new version of GeForce RTX 4070. Sadly, it’ll be slower than the standard model.
It’s easy to forget but GDDR6X is a defining characteristic of many Nvidia GPUs, including GeForce RTX 4070. It can dramatically increase memory bandwidth thanks to its higher clock speeds relative to GDDR6. For example, this X factor shifted GeForce RTX 3060 Ti’s paltry 448GB/s to 608GB/s. Given how capacity-starved much of the RTX 40 series is, GDDR6X is inarguably important for much of it to maintain pace in the best graphics card battle against competitors.
Unfortunately, it seems that Nvidia disagrees with this assessment of GDDR6X’s importance. According to sources close to BenchLife (via harukaze5719), GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 VRAM is in the works. It appears the memory shortage has hit production of this graphics card particularly hard, which would explain why it’s the only one receiving this treatment.
We’re still waiting for confirmation that GDDR6X is in short supply, so take all the above with a pinch of salt. If Nvidia does release a GeForce RTX 4070 with GDDR6 VRAM, though, it’ll make for a concerning and disappointing release.
As mentioned previously, GDDR6 will negatively impact GeForce RTX 4070 performance, however slight. While average frame rates should only drop by a few frames per second, memory-sensitive scenes and applications will suffer the most.
The bigger issue for me is customer awareness. How obvious will it be to the average consumer that they’re purchasing an inferior version of the card? It’s anyone’s guess for now, but I doubt Nvidia will be keen to make retail packaging immediately distinguishable.
If there’s no stopping Nvidia with its GDDR6 plans, I’d much rather the company take the opportunity to address memory capacity on GeForce RTX 4070. I doubt I’d be alone in being able to accept slower VRAM in place of more of it, giving the GPU more breathing room at higher resolutions. It did small wonders for the eye-wateringly expensive GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, after all.
I’d give this GeForce RTX 4070 a wide berth if it ever comes to market. Stock of the card appears plentiful in the UK and US (for now), but this could change rapidly. If you’re in need of an upgrade now, I wouldn’t wait around. Although, those who can afford to wait for the Nvidia RTX 50 series should be justly rewarded.
In the meantime, check out our GeForce RTX 4070 Super review and Radeon RX 7800 XT review. Both are great alternatives to GeForce RTX 4070 if you can’t find one on store shelves.
