Nvidia recently launched the refreshed super version of the RTX 2060 and 2070, so what
are the differences between them and is it worth paying more for the 2070 Super? Let’s
find out in this comparison.
Let’s take a look at how the 2060 Super and 2070 Super differ in terms of specs, note
that things like clock speeds will vary between specific cards, these are just the reference
specs for each model. The 2070 Super has 17% more CUDA cores than the 2060 Super, as well
as higher base and boost clock speeds. Otherwise they both have the same 8gb of GDDR6 memory
running at the same speeds.
For the testing I’m using the MSI Gaming X version of both the RTX 2060 Super and 2070
Super, so results should be fairly comparable, and both do have a small out of the box overclock,
expect slightly different results with different models.
The system that I’m testing with has an Intel i7-8700K CPU overclocked to 5.1GHz on
all cores in an MSI Z390 ACE motherboard, along with 16GB of DDR4-3200 CL14 memory running
in dual channel. You can check the links in the description for details on all of the
components as well as for up to date pricing.
Let’s start out with Battlefield 5, I’ve tested it with ultra settings and RTX off.
The two bars at the top are 1440p results for each card, then 1080p results are below.
At 1080p the 2070 Super was 13% ahead of the 2060 Super, rising up to a 15% lead at 1440p.
With RTX on the 2070 Super is still around 11% faster than the 2060 Super, and both were
playable at 1080p, granted I am also using max settings here.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was tested with the built in benchmark at max settings, and
this test tends to be more CPU heavy, which likely explains why it saw the smallest difference
between these two GPUs out of all games tested. The 2070 Super was just 3% faster in average
FPS, so hardly a difference at all.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the built in benchmark at highest settings.
As this test seems to be more GPU heavy it’s not surprising that this game saw the largest
improvement with the 2070 Super out of all titles tested, with a 17% higher average frame
rate at 1080p, and 18% higher at 1440p.
Far Cry New Dawn was also tested with the built in benchmark at ultra settings. In this
test the 2070 Super was coming out 13% ahead of the 2060 Super both at 1080p and 1440p
resolutions, with similar changes to 1% low performance.
Fortnite was tested with the replay feature, and although the replay file wasn’t exactly
the same due to how frequently the game updates, I test with the same pass through the game
so the results should still be comparable. In this game the 2070 Super was 12% faster
in terms of average FPS at 1080p, and 13% faster at 1440p.
Typically I find The Witcher 3 to be somewhat GPU heavy, however even at ultra settings
there wasn’t that much of a difference between these two. The 2070 Super was 8% ahead at
1080p, and then just 5% ahead at 1440p with an even smaller difference in 1% lows.
Ghost Recon Wildlands was tested using the built in benchmark with ultra settings. The
2070 Super was almost averaging 60 FPS at 1440p, putting it 12% ahead of the 2060 Super,
with a lower 9% lead when it came to 1080p.
I’ve generally found Watch Dogs 2 to be a CPU heavy game, and even with our overclocked
8700K there was only a 6% boost to average FPS at 1080p with the 2070 Super, and closer
to an 8% increase at 1440p.
Rainbow Six Siege was tested using the built in benchmark at ultra settings with a 100%
render scale, and this game saw the second biggest increase with the 2070 Super out of
all games tested, coming out 15% ahead of the 2060 Super in average frame rate.
CS:GO was tested with the Ulletical FPS benchmark at maximum settings, and although this is
typically a CPU bound game there was still a 10% improvement to be had with the 2070
Super at both 1080p and 1440p resolutions.
In terms of overall improvement, over all 11 tests at maximum settings with a 1080p
resolution, on average the RTX 2070 Super was performing 10.7% better when compared
against the RTX 2060 Super in terms of average FPS. As you can see, it really varies and
depends on the specific game. CPU heavy tests like Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs saw
smaller changes, while more GPU heavy tests like Shadow of the Tomb Raider performed much
better comparatively.
At 1440p on average over the same 11 tests the RTX 2070 Super was now 11.4% ahead of
the RTX 2060 Super. In general we’re seeing a larger difference between the two, as 1440p
will be more GPU intensive when compared with 1080p. I’d consider either graphics card
to be capable at 1440p in most of these games too, especially if you’re willing to lower
the settings a bit, as I’ve tested the worst case with highest setting presets here.
As for the differences in total system power draw the system with the 2070 Super was using
52 more watts while running the witcher 3 at 1440p with ultra settings. This is 18%
more power for a game that only saw 5% higher frame rate with the 2070 Super, but like we
just saw on average the difference was 11%. In general though it seems that the 2070 Super
needs more power than the 2060 Super compared to the extra performance it’s offering.
Unfortunately I don’t have temperature results here as I didn’t collect that data when
I had the 2060 Super, which is too bad as they’re both the Gaming X model it would
have been good to compare. I do have the thermal results from the 2070 Super as well as 4K
benchmarks in my full review though.
Now for the final difference, the price. I suggest checking updated prices using the
links in the description, as prices will change over time. On release the MSRP for the 2060
Super was $400 USD, while the 2070 Super was $500 USD, so basically 25% more money for
an on average 11% higher average frame rate at 1440p in the games I’ve tested. Unfortunately
I don’t currently have US pricing for MSI’s RTX 2070 Super Gaming X as it’s not out
in the US yet, however MSI advised me it’ll go for $939 AUD here in Australia. Given the
2060 Super Gaming X I used is $759 AUD that’s a similar 24% price increase for the 2070
Super.
To me the 2070 Super starts approaching worse value as you’re paying more for not as much
of a performance boost. That said, in theory it is meant to be priced the same as the non
super version it’s replacing, so there’s that. I think it’s going to come down to
whether or not you want to pay the extra money for the improvement in games that I’ve shown,
however the 2060 Super is definitely a more than capable 1080p and 1440p option, it just
comes down to the frame rates you want to target.
If you’re buying today and picking between Nvidia’s RTX 2060 Super or 2070 Super let
me know which card you’d pick and why down in the comments.
This specific comparison is of course only relative between these two cards, I’m still
yet to test out AMD’s latest offerings but I’m interested in comparing them when I’m
able to get them, so if you’re new to the channel you’ll definitely want to get subscribed
for future comparisons and tech videos like this one.