PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 review

Our VerdictWhile certainly not a bad graphics card, the PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 doesn’t bring anything extra to the Ada refresh party. That scant 30MHz overclock doesn’t offer any extra frame rates and the cooler isn’t quite as effective as the Nvidia reference version. But it is still an RTX 4070 Super, which means it’s an excellent 1440p card, just arguably not worth more than the $599 MSRP.

Our Verdict

While certainly not a bad graphics card, the PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 doesn’t bring anything extra to the Ada refresh party. That scant 30MHz overclock doesn’t offer any extra frame rates and the cooler isn’t quite as effective as the Nvidia reference version. But it is still an RTX 4070 Super, which means it’s an excellent 1440p card, just arguably not worth more than the $599 MSRP.

ForOffers the RTX 4070 Super’s excellent gaming performanceIt’s quietThe AD104 silicon is very efficientAgainstMiniscule overclockDoesn’t make it any fasterRuns a little hotter than FEMore than MSRP

ForOffers the RTX 4070 Super’s excellent gaming performanceIt’s quietThe AD104 silicon is very efficient

AgainstMiniscule overclockDoesn’t make it any fasterRuns a little hotter than FEMore than MSRP

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The RTX 4070 Super is the first of Nvidia’s refreshed Ada GPUs to hit the market, with another two on the way this month. We’ve covered the new chip in depth in myNvidia RTX 4070 Super reviewof the Founders Edition, but we’ve also got an overclocked version to play with, here in the shape of thePNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8.

Or, to use its preposterous official title, the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super 12GB XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB Overclocked Triple Fan edition. Yeeeaaaah.

And, sometimes, it was worth the extra money to get that bit of extra performance out of your GPU, where the manufacturer might have a specific cooler, and some special overclocking nouse to really get the most out of the silicon. It would also give you the confidence to maybe take that overclock even further and push a factory overclocked card harder knowing it had the power componentry and cooling to make it all possible.

RTX 4070 Super XLR8 specs(Image credit: Future)GPU:Nvidia AD104CUDA cores:7,168Lithography:TSMC 4NL2 cache:48MBBoost clock:2,505MHzMemory:12GB GDDR6XMemory bus:192-bitTGP:220WPrice:~$230

RTX 4070 Super XLR8 specs

(Image credit: Future)GPU:Nvidia AD104CUDA cores:7,168Lithography:TSMC 4NL2 cache:48MBBoost clock:2,505MHzMemory:12GB GDDR6XMemory bus:192-bitTGP:220WPrice:~$230

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

GPU:Nvidia AD104CUDA cores:7,168Lithography:TSMC 4NL2 cache:48MBBoost clock:2,505MHzMemory:12GB GDDR6XMemory bus:192-bitTGP:220WPrice:~$230

That’s not really a thing now we have dynamic clock speeds, which alter on the fly depending on the cooling or power available to the GPU. You can even dial that in to your particular chip with Nvidia’s OC Scanner. That’s an automatic feature which tests different power levels to deliver a voltage curve specific to your own silicon.

That all means graphics cards are already essentially pushing themselves towards the limits of what is possible with each GPU and within certain power limits. Which also makes factory overclocked cards an increasing irrelevance. And, honestly, they have been for generations now.

Image1of3(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

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(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

The base clock of this this PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 remains the same, at 1,980MHz, but where it differs is in the boost clock. Your factory overclock in this instance is 30MHz. Yes, just 30MHz. That’s how it is with factory overclocks these days; so your pricier card has a boost clock of 2,505MHz instead. In dollar terms, it probably works out as about the same increase in price, too. Ahead of launch I don’t have final pricing for this model, but looking at other overclocked RTX 4070 Super cards $630 looks quite likely.

So, should you be willing to pay a dollar for each extra MHz added on to your card’s boost clock out of the box? Absolutely not. In no way is there any benefit to the end user in paying the extra for a factory overclocked card like this, especially not compared to the lovely-looking Nvidia Founders Edition version.

Gaming performance

GPU performance

Should you be willing to pay a dollar for each extra MHz added on to your card’s boost clock out of the box? Absolutely not.

In short, don’t buy the PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 expecting to see any performance benefits—whether that’s in terms of frame rates, cooling, or noise levels.

Image1of3(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

Image1of3

(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

(Image credit: Future)

PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card

Buy if…✅You can neither find a Founders Edition or another MSRP card:Going beyond the $599 MSRP of the RTX 4070 Super gets into expensive territory and makes the old RTX 4070 a very tempting alternative.

Buy if…

✅You can neither find a Founders Edition or another MSRP card:Going beyond the $599 MSRP of the RTX 4070 Super gets into expensive territory and makes the old RTX 4070 a very tempting alternative.

Don’t buy if…❌ You were hoping for higher overclocked performance:While you are getting a higher overall clock speed—we measured an extra 23MHz on average in-game—that doesn’t translate into any tangible frame rate boost.❌You were expecting a cooler GPU:The Founders Edition shroud from Nvidia is an excellent cooling option, and in fact kept our chip a good few degrees cooler on average and at peak than this triple-fan PNY version.

Don’t buy if…

❌ You were hoping for higher overclocked performance:While you are getting a higher overall clock speed—we measured an extra 23MHz on average in-game—that doesn’t translate into any tangible frame rate boost.❌You were expecting a cooler GPU:The Founders Edition shroud from Nvidia is an excellent cooling option, and in fact kept our chip a good few degrees cooler on average and at peak than this triple-fan PNY version.

Our guidance has generally remained the same for all of Nvidia’s GPU launches with a Founders Edition card: if you can find one, buy the reference GeForce card every time. They’re guaranteed to be sold at MSRP, and they’re often some of the most performant versions of the cards, too.

But they do sell out, for that very reason, and so you’re often left with a choice of third-party cards. Yet I would still say your best bet is to find a GPU sitting at Nvidia’s MSRP rather than spending the extra for the ephemeral benefits of a factory overclocked option.

Spending more than $600 on an RTX 4070 Super is a bit of a hard sell, especially when you have the oldRTX 4070still hanging around at a far cheaper price. When it’s near $100 cheaper, and only 10% slower, the older Ada is still a mighty tempting prospect.

Just, y’know, don’t expect any extra performance from your new card’s modest 30MHz overclock.

The Verdict80Read our review policyPNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super XLR8While certainly not a bad graphics card, the PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 doesn’t bring anything extra to the Ada refresh party. That scant 30MHz overclock doesn’t offer any extra frame rates and the cooler isn’t quite as effective as the Nvidia reference version. But it is still an RTX 4070 Super, which means it’s an excellent 1440p card, just arguably not worth more than the $599 MSRP.

The Verdict

80Read our review policyPNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super XLR8While certainly not a bad graphics card, the PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 doesn’t bring anything extra to the Ada refresh party. That scant 30MHz overclock doesn’t offer any extra frame rates and the cooler isn’t quite as effective as the Nvidia reference version. But it is still an RTX 4070 Super, which means it’s an excellent 1440p card, just arguably not worth more than the $599 MSRP.

80Read our review policy

PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super XLR8While certainly not a bad graphics card, the PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 doesn’t bring anything extra to the Ada refresh party. That scant 30MHz overclock doesn’t offer any extra frame rates and the cooler isn’t quite as effective as the Nvidia reference version. But it is still an RTX 4070 Super, which means it’s an excellent 1440p card, just arguably not worth more than the $599 MSRP.

PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super XLR8

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Our Verdict#

Gaming performance#

GPU performance#

Our Verdict

Gaming performance

GPU performance