The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Founders Edition Review: Mid-Range Turing, High-End Price
by Nate Oh on October 16, 2018 9:00 AM ESTOverclocking
Last, but not least, we'll take a look at overclocking. While NVIDIA does support overclocking, they have limited actual overvolting, and instead providing the ability to unlock 1-2 more boost bins and associated voltages. Either way, Maxwell 2 and Pascal certainly have much to thank for high clockspeeds; for Maxwell 2, it was a combination of high efficiency and ample overclocking headroom, while Pascal took advantage of the FinFET process to ramp up the clocks to new heights.
Built on the 12nm "FFN" process, Turing doesn't appear to push the envelope spec-wise, although it does introduce GPU Boost 4 and NVIDIA Scanner, both of which are naturally featured in EVGA's Precision tool. Re-designed into the RTX-oriented Precision X1, the utility succeeds Precision XOC, and we've opted to use that tool for our overclocking today. We adjusted the core and memory clocks, as well as the power/temperature limit and percent 'overvoltage.' For the 185W RTX 2070 Founders Edition, this is a 116% TDP limit (215W). We were unable to fully test the new Scanner functionality as it would not save to a profile and crashed on certain button presses, which is somewhat unsurprising given that Precision X1 is still in beta. But as far as NVIDIA's GPU Boost 4 is concerned, it exposes certain boost algorithms to users so that you can manually modify the voltage-frequency curve.
A total of four different overclocks were tested. First was a baseline, consisting of 100% overvoltage and max power/temperature limits. The second was overclocking the GDDR6 memory by 1Gbps. The third was overclocking the GPU by +100MHz; in practice this resulted in observed clocks between 1900 and 1990 MHz. Lastly, all previous adjustments were combined for an overall overclock.
| RTX 2070 Founders Edition Overclocking | |||||||
| Stock (FE) | Baseline | Memory OC | GPU OC | All OC | |||
| Core Clock | 1410MHz | 1410MHz | 1410MHz | 1510MHz | 1510MHz | ||
| Boost Clock | 1710MHz | 1710MHz | 1710MHz | 1810MHz | 1810MHz | ||
| Max Boost Clock | 2160MHz | 2160MHz | 2160MHz | 2160MHz | 2160MHz | ||
| Memory Clock | 14Gbps | 14Gbps | 15Gbps | 14Gbps | 15Gbps | ||
| Max Voltage | 1.050v | 1.087v | 1.087v | 1.087v | 1.087v | ||
| Power Limit | 185W (100%) | 215W (116%) | 215W (116%) | 215W (116%) | 215W (116%) | ||
Naturally, these results cannot be taken as representative of all RTX 2070 Founders Edition cards, but results here can offer some insight.
Although this is more of a cursory look than anything else, the combined overclock provides the best performance, just like it was for the Pascal based cards like the GTX 1080 and 1070. Given the GDDR6-equipped 2070, we would expect memory overclocking to be less effective, though it appears it's necessary for the best overclock here. Ultimately, the combined overclock can make up some ground, but the extent of its benefits are largely comparable to Pascal cards.
OC Power, Temperature, and Noise
There isn't much to add on the power, temperature, and noise front. The card will heats up a few more degrees, but kept relatively quiet thanks to its open air cooler. The full OC costs about ~30W at the wall in games, bringing it up to 1080 Ti FE levels, though only select games will see an overclocked RTX 2070 surpass the 1080 Ti.
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thestryker - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
I feel much the same as you, and honestly I'd bet most people who buy the upper-mid range feel the same way. I also have a GTX 970 and as I told a couple of my friends while laughing at the new RTX pricing "this makes it so much easier to wait for 2020 to see if Intel can compete". I stick by that statement and barring a pricing revolution or my 970 dying here's to 2020.Lazlo Panaflex - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
@thestryker, same here. I got a 970 a couple years ago, and won't be upgrading any time soon. I'm sure it'll run Doom Eternal just fine...thanks Vulcan ;-)Targon - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
New consoles have been hitting $600 at release, and then come down after a year or two. So, $600 for a new card is still in that range of being the price of an entire console. When I see $700+, that is when I really question how much faster the card is to justify the higher price.cfenton - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
The most expensive console launch recently was the Xbox One X at $500. The PS4 and PS4 Pro were $400 at launch.eva02langley - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
The thing is that MS, Sony or Nintendo can sell their consoles at a lost because they are going to get it back on software... a GPU doesn`t work this way.@cfenton, 599$? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOHqG1nc_tw
wr3zzz - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Count me the same as well. With AAA developers no long pushing technology beyond console envelops, instead of a new GPU every other gen I am likely going with just one GPU (980) for this entire current console cycle.colonelclaw - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Completely agree. For the cost of the most expensive games console you should at least get the most powerful gfx card. Have Nvidia forgotten that you basically need to spend the same amount again to get a working computer? $500 for a 'mid-range' card is utter lunacy.adlep - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
Used, 2nd hand market price breakdown for both 1070ti and 1080 are going to be a major headache for Nvidia. I bought my MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X for the "buy it now price" of $320.00 and 1070ti cards go for less than $300.00 on the 2nd hand market such us ebay, facebook marketplace, and FS/FT sections of AT Forum.The_Assimilator - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
1080 Ti as well - the fastest cards from the previous gen usually get the largest % discount.brunis.dk - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
i get dizzy from turning my head to read the labels. i loved that you made the AMD bar in the compute benches red, helps me identify red team. maybe make a repeating bg with barely discernible logo's. Just saw i dont get dizzy, help an old man out :) If you need help with the web dev, let me know.