GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5070 Review: Mid-range perfection or a missed opportunity?

The RTX 50-series of cards is slowly, but surely, making its way to the consumer’s pockets, thanks to the abundance of new features that it brings about. Despite its complaints, features like DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation are major driving factors for the new generation’s sales. Now, while the majority of gamers are more inclined towards the more affordable RTX 5060 Ti, there is a good demand for the RTX 5070. On paper, it essentially offers noticeable improvement over the 5060 Ti while still being more affordable than the 5070 Ti.

However, is that really the case? The newer card still sticks to 12GB of VRAM and a 192-bit bus, which definitely raises a lot of eyebrows in 2025, considering that AMD is slinging 16GB cards left and right in this price segment. Well, Gigabyte sent across their variant of the RTX 5070, and we decided to put it through our tests to see where it ranks, especially against its closest rivals: the RTX 5070 Ti and Radeon RX 9070. The goal? To find out whether this card is the new 1440p sweet spot or if buyers are better off spending slightly more (or less) for better value

Design

The GIGABYTE RTX 5070 GAMING OC 12G doesn’t scream for attention, but give it a second, and it quietly flexes all the right muscles. The matte black shroud, with its sharp angles, gives it a modern, stealthy vibe, while the subtle RGB halo lighting around the fans adds just the right touch of personality, without turning your rig into a disco.

Now, cooling is where GIGABYTE clearly knows what it’s doing. The triple-fan WINDFORCE setup uses those alternate spinning “Hawk” fans, and yes, they’re as efficient as they sound. During my testing, the card stayed impressively cool, and unless you’re pushing it hard, the fans barely even kick in. As for the build quality, it’s quite solid as well. There’s a full metal backplate that adds heft and rigidity. Plus, there’s even a little built-in support brace tucked in to help with long-term weight management.

You get a generous selection of ports here, including three DisplayPort 2.1 ports and one HDMI 2.1, which future-proofs things for high refresh rate monitors or even 8K if that’s your thing. Just make sure you have room for it—this is a chunky, triple-slot card, so smaller cases might feel the squeeze. And yes, it uses the new 12V-2×6 (16-pin) power connector, so your PSU setup needs to be ready for that.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 vs RTX 5070 Ti

At first glance, the RTX 5070 and its Ti sibling may seem like close cousins, but the differences are more than skin deep. The 5070 Ti not only boasts 25% more CUDA cores but also ships with a wider 256-bit memory bus and 16GB VRAM, making it a far better fit for heavier workloads and future-proof gaming. Additionally, while both support DLSS 4 and the full suite of Blackwell AI features, the 5070 is ultimately a cut-down die with enough power for 1440p gaming, but less breathing room for 4K or creative tasks.

Test Bench Explained

To evaluate the GIGABYTE RTX 5070's performance, we used the following test bench:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D – A powerhouse for both gaming and productivity.
• RAM: 32GB Kingston DDR5-8000MT/s – Ensures smooth multitasking and gaming.
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X870E AORUS PRO – Offers PCIe 5.0 support and robust stability.
• AIO Cooler: MSI MAG Coreliquid i360 Black – Keeps the CPU temperatures in check.
• PSU: MSI MAG A1000GL Black – A 1000W modular unit providing ample power.
• Cabinet: MSI MAG PANO 100R PZ Black – Spacious with excellent airflow, accommodating the triple-slot GPU comfortably.

This setup ensures that the GPU operates without any bottlenecks, providing accurate performance metrics.

RTX 5070: Performance Analysis

Alright, let's dive into the numbers, and there's no sugarcoating it, the RTX 5070 doesn't exactly shine in synthetic tests. Benchmarks like 3DMark Time Spy Extreme and Port Royal show the 5070 trailing behind the Radeon RX 9070 and sitting noticeably lower than the RTX 5070 Ti. That's not too surprising, though, considering the RTX 5070 walks in with fewer CUDA cores and a narrower 192-bit memory bus.

Interestingly, it's only in 3DMark Solar Bay, which focuses on ray tracing performance, that the RTX 5070 pulls ahead of the RX 9070 by a decent margin. But aside from this win, it's pretty much a red carpet for Team Red in the synthetic arena. Not the most confident debut for NVIDIA's so-called 1440p sweet spot, right?

And unfortunately, that pattern spills into real-world gaming, too. In titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, and Black Myth Wukong, the RTX 5070 consistently falls short of the RX 9070 when it comes to native rendering performance. Even when we cranked things up to 4K (not ideal for either GPU, to be fair), the RX 9070 still held a slight edge. Only the 5070 Ti seemed capable of handling 4K with any real grace.

But here's where the tide starts to turn: Ray Tracing and DLSS. Despite AMD's ongoing improvements to its ray tracing and upscaling capabilities, NVIDIA's combo of DLSS + ray tracing still feels a generation ahead in both performance and visual quality. For instance, in Cyberpunk 2077, the RTX 5070 pulls itself up to a stable 60 FPS average with ray tracing enabled, while both Radeon cards struggle to hit that benchmark.

Throw Frame Generation into the mix, and things get even wilder. AMD may now support frame generation in a handful of titles, but NVIDIA's DLSS 4 blows right past that with support for up to 4X. This gives the 5070 a significant advantage. For instance, in Cyberpunk 2077, it leaps to 181 FPS on average—nearly double what the RX 9070 manages. In Alan Wake 2, it triples the performance.

Now, to be fair, we're comparing DLSS 4 to FSR 3, and in some cases, even older FSR versions. FSR adoption isn't as widespread or consistent, so this isn't a clean tech vs. tech showdown. Still, these results offer a clear takeaway: if a title supports NVIDIA's full AI feature set, the RTX 5070 pulls way ahead in perceived fluidity and visuals.

That said, it's not all DLSS magic and pixel fairy dust. The 12GB VRAM is a real limitation. In poorly optimised or VRAM-hungry titles like Black Myth Wukong, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, or Spider-Man 2, the RTX 5070 can run into microstutters and texture streaming issues, especially at 4K or with high-resolution texture packs enabled.

It gets worse in creative workloads. In PugetBench tests for Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, the RTX 5070 sits behind both the RX 9070 and the 5070 Ti. While NVIDIA's NVENC encoder keeps export times respectable, the lack of VRAM is a bottleneck when dealing with high-res timelines or complex 3D scenes. If content creation is on the table, this card simply isn't it—unless you're dealing with lightweight projects or leaning heavily on AI-assisted rendering workflows.

Pricing and Availability

Here's where things start to fall apart for the RTX 5070. While the launch price of the RTX 5070 was around $549 (~₹47,000), the actual street price in India for a triple-fan setup is closer to ₹70,000. That's a sharp hike, especially considering that the RTX 5070 Ti is retailing at ₹1,00,000, and the Radeon RX 9070 XT sits around ₹75,000 to ₹83,000. Even the RX 9070 comes in at a starting price of ~₹70,000, giving the RTX 5070 very little breathing room in terms of pricing advantage.

What stings even more is that the converted pricing based on USD should've made the RTX 5070 one of the most value-focused picks in its tier. Instead, it's barely cheaper than the RX 9070 XT, which offers significantly better performance at native resolutions and more VRAM. Thankfully, availability isn't an issue, since GIGABYTE and other AIBs have wide distribution across Indian e-tailers. That said, the inflated pricing is a major letdown in an otherwise promising mid-range release.

Verdict

Which brings us to the real question: is the RTX 5070 worth it? On paper, it had all the makings of a 1440p champion for 2025. Sleek design? Check. Capable cooling? Check. Ray tracing lighting and DLSS 4 performance boost? Double check. But its biggest roadblock isn't AMD, or even the 12GB VRAM cap. It's the pricing.

At ~₹75,000, the RTX 5070 creeps dangerously close to high-end territory. And at that price, it's hard to ignore the Radeon RX 9070, which offers similar or better native performance, more VRAM, and is clearly the better choice for creators. If ray tracing isn't top priority, Team Red takes the win—hands down. Stretch the budget a bit more, and the RX 9070 XT steps in with higher performance and better long-term value. Or, if one prefers to stay in NVIDIA's ecosystem, spending a bit extra gets you the RTX 5070 Ti. Yes, it's about a ₹25,000 bump in price, but it's a noticeably more powerful card with wider memory bandwidth and a longer runway for AAA titles down the line.

At the end of the day, sure, the RTX 5070 is a solid leap from the RTX 5060 Ti. But where it lands… is awkward. It's not priced low enough to be the value pick, and it's not strong enough to justify its premium. Unless DLSS 4 and NVIDIA's AI enhancements are a must-have, it's hard to recommend the RTX 5070 over its direct competition. Gigabyte has done its best to ensure the RTX 5070 runs to maximum potential, but unfortunately, that potential isn't that high compared to its alternatives.

Editor's Rating: 7 / 10

Pros:

• Excellent DLSS 4 and Frame Generation support
• Better Ray Tracing performance compared to RX 9070
• Quiet and efficient triple-fan cooler
• Good 1440p gaming performance

Cons:

• Only 12GB VRAM
• Weaker native rendering performance
• Pricing could have been better