NVIDIA will release a slower RTX 4070 but with the same name and price

NVIDIA quietly announced the release of a new GeForce RTX 4070 variant that features the slower and cheaper GDDR6 memory. NVIDIA states the RTX 4070 GDDR6 variant will offer "similar" performance to its GDDR6X cousin.

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MANLI RTX 4070 Polar Fox (Dual Fan)

Unfortunately, NVIDIA hasn't mandated any clear packaging guidelines for AIBs to inform buyers of the new card has the slower memory, as name "GeForce RTX 4070" features the exact same name as the GDDR6X variant. The lack of packaging change makes it extremely difficult for buyers that aren't familiar with technological terminologies to make informed purchasing decisions, especially considering NVIDIA's decision to price the GDDR6 variant at the same price point as the GDDR6X variant.

NVIDIA stating the new card will have "similar" performance means it won't be identical performance to the GDDR6X variant, which means it will likely fall within less than 5% on average of the GDDR6X card. Moreover, the GDDR6 variant doesn't have any special naming such as "GDDR6" on the box, or feature any monkier title such as "SUPER" or "Ti" to distinguish it from the original RTX 4070.

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MANLI RTX 4070

As for specifications, the new RTX 4070 GDDR6 card has the same core count of 5888 CUDE cores, 12GB of memory, and the same clock speeds and TDP of 200W. The only change is the move to GDDR6 memory, which its clock speed was reduced to 20 Gbps from 21 Gbps.

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MANLI RTX 4070 Polar Fox (Triple-Fan)

It should be noted that not all AIBs are taking advantage of the lack of packing mandate as Manli has decided to put a sticker on the boxes of its three new RTX 4070 variants it plans on releasing. The sticker states "12GB GDDR6" and clearly inform buyers of what they are buying. NVIDIA has confirmed the new RTX 4070 variant will be released next month, but didn't provide an exact release date or price. Videocardz reports NVIDIA will be targeting the price point of the RTX 4070 GDDR6X MSRP.

This naming/packaging problem speaks to a wider problem throughout the technology industry, the naming of products by companies and their seemingly deliberate complex naming of the product stack that lacks obviously explanation as to the ascending/descending order per raw performance. NVIDIA isn't the only culprit of this, as gaming monitor names are their model numbers, which means absolutely nothing anyone that isn't already familiar with how to read it. An example would be AW3225QF, typically the first two numbers seen in the model number represent the size of the display, which in this case would be 32-inch.

CPUs from both sides of the fence also suffer from the same fate and are a prime example of an unnecessarily complicated naming structure of a product stack. The unfortunate reality is people without prior knowledge of these naming structures are at risk of making unfavorable purchasing decisions given their current circumstances, and are especially at risk if they don't spend the time researching their purchases.