RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop: A Guide to Take The Perfect Decision

Okay, So you are looking for a gaming laptop and have crossed path with various options, around $1500. So let me tell you, that you must havn’t compromise with the graphics card. Having a powerful graphics card is very essential for a gaming laptop. But which one? If you search online, you may probably notice that, RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 are one of the popular ones.

You’ll find both this graphics card around this price range. Now you may think, whether you should go with RTX 4060, a little cheaper, or invest a little more and go with the RTX 4070. Well guess what? Your tech buddy will explain, which can be the perfect choice for you. I’ll explain all the aspects about RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop, so that you won’t regret later.

RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop: Side by side comparison

Before going in detailed discussion, Check out the spec comparison in both the laptop GPUs. If you are just want a short comparison, it’ll help you.

RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 both come with 8GB of GDDR6 graphics memory, which in my opinion, is more than enough for most of the users in 2024. Both of them are based on Ada Lovelace architecture, an advanced version of Ampere architecture from the RTX 30 series. Now here comes the differential part for RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop. RTX 4060 GPU has a base clock frequency of 1545MHz, it can be boosted up to 1890MHz. In RTX 4070 you’ll see a jump of 25%. It has a base frequency of 1920MHz and can be boosted up to 2475MHz. But RTX 4060 has a better clock speed of 2000MHz

In the core section, RTX 4070 has a 50% more CUDA, Tensor and Ray-Tracing cores. This results a significant difference in terms of hardware.

Also read RTX 3060 vs 4060 laptop.

Features

As we are discussing the comparison between the RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop, We should know the basic features of NVIDIA’s 40-series cards.

DLSS 3.0

NVIDIA’s revolutionary technology, the DLSS. NVIDIA has started to implement DLSS from their RTX 20- -series cards. Over the years it has already achieved some impressive feats, and now we are here with the latest DLSS 3.0. In short, DLSS uses the muscles of the tensor cores to boost your graphics performance. At first, a frame with lower resolution is rendered, then with the help of Deep learning technology, frames are upscaled to higher resolution.

Frame Generation (FG)

Frame Generation is quite new, compared to the DLSS. In addition to DLSS, It creates additional frames(AI Generated) in between two existing frames. Here the motion vector used is analyzed, to create frames. For more info check out, How NVIDIA Frame Generation works.

NVIDIA Reflex

In simple language, NVIDIA reflex is a technology used to minimize system latency in competitive games. System latency is the time between, when you perform an action(Like you press the mouse) and when you see the result on screen. Always keep in mind that lower is better. It improves your overall gaming performance, by reducing lag and enhancing the gaming experience.

Max-Q Technology

Well, you see, nowadays gaming laptops are putting so much weight, which is not ideal for all. I agree that a gaming laptop has to put a dedicated GPU, powerful power supply, blah blah blah! Now NVIDIA has come up with a solution- The Max-Q technology. It optimizes power efficiency and performance in gaming laptops. The goal is to deliver powerful gaming performance in a thin and lightweight laptop.

Also read RTX 4050 vs RTX 3060 Laptop.

RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop: Performance comparison

Now let’s take a look into the gaming performance test. Both of them have Intel core i9-13900HX and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. You can see the detailed comparison on Jarrod’s Tech YouTube channel.

Red Dead Redemption 2 has been tested on ultra preset with both 1080p and 1440p.

The performance difference is quite less, despite having 50% more Cuda cores in RTX 4070 laptop. RTX 4070 is just 17% faster than RTX 4060.

Microsoft Flight simulator is a CPU intensive game, still it shows a significant performance boost in RTX 4070, 24% faster in 1440p and 22% in 1080p.

Forza Horizon 5 is 16% faster in the RTX 4070 at both 1080p and 1440p. Although a bigger difference in 1% low is found. So higher result in RTX 4070 indicates a much more stable and consistent performance.

In Hogwarts Legacy RTX 4060 shows a better 1% low in both 1440p and 1080p. But again in average fps, RTX 4070 takes the lead. The same thing happened for DOOM Eternal testing, RTX 4060 shows a better 1% low in RTX 4070 in 1080p. Although RTX 4070 kept the lead in terms of average fps (Around 38% higher in 1080p).

Apex legends is just 11% faster in the RTX 4070. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shows a 24% higher FPS with RTX 4070 in 1440p resolution + all settings max out.

On average RTX 4070 laptop GPU with 100W+ able to give 20% more fps in 1080p resolution, whereas in 1440p resolution RTX 4070 gives a 22% average fps boost in most of the games. Honestly a little bit of disappointment with the RTX 4070, Despite of having 50% more CUDA cores, the difference is just merely 20%. But keep in mind, all the games are tested without any DLSS or frame generation support. RTX 4060 able to pull of 60+ FPS in most of the game with 1440p resolution, and 90+ FPS in 1080p settings. a very promising result.

In case, you’re considering to buy RTX 4070 laptop, then I’ll recommend you to check out the RTX 4070 vs 4080 laptop comparison. As RTX 4080 performs significantly better than RTX 4070 laptop, and offers a better value for money.

Power Efficiency and Architecture

Both the RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 come with a TDP of 115W, and have a maximum wattage level of 115W. Basically during gaming test both the GPUs reached a voltage limit around 100W. We can’t get any further FPS boost, beyond 100W. The results are almost same in case of 3D Mark TimeSpy, After 100W both of them hit a wattage plateau. But at the same time, a full powered RTX 4060(100W-140W) performs same as the RTX 4070(60W-70W).

As you can clearly see after 100W power usage FPS become constant at 107FPS.

Also read RTX 3050 vs GTX 1650 laptop.

As we’ve mentioned earlier NVIDIA’s 40 series cards are based on Ada Lovelace architecture, so let’s find out, what it brings on the table.

NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture powers their 40-series GPUs. It’s a significant improvement over the previous Ampere architecture with features like:

• Shader Execution Reordering (SER) for optimized ray tracing performance.
• Latest 3rd Gen RT Cores for maximizing the ray tracing capability.
• 4th Gen Tensor Cores for DLSS 3, which intelligently boosts frame rates and generates additional frames.
• Optical Flow Accelerator (OFA) to enhance DLSS 3’s frame generation capabilities.
• Increased L1 and L2 cache sizes for faster performance.
• AV1 encoders for better video streaming and encoding.

RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop: Price Consideration

Here comes the important part, who provides a better value for money, between the RTX 4060 Laptop and vs 4070 Laptop? If you search for RTX 4060 laptops on Amazon you’ll find options like Acer Nitro 16(AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS + 16GB DDR5 RAM), ASUS ROG Strix G16(Intel i7-13650HX + 16GB DDR5 RAM), MSI Katana 17(Intel i7-13650HX + 32GB DDR5 RAM) models. All of them come to around $1000-$1300. Additionally, You’ll get a top-notch CPU+ RAM combination.

For RTX 4070 laptops, you’ll find options like ASUS ROG Strix G16 of $1999 (Intel i9-13980HX+16GB DDR5 RAM), HP Victus 16(Intel i7-13700H+32GB DDR5 RAM), Dell G16 (Intel i9-13900HX+16GB DDR5 RAM). Most of them are available for around $1400-$1500 except ROG Strix. So comparing it to RTX 4060 laptops, you’re having a serious processor upgrade. But if you’re thinking about an upgrade, then probably it won’t be worth the money. I mean spending an extra 200-300 bucks just for a 15-20% boost in performance won’t be the right decision.

If you’ve already bought an RTX 4060 with a decent power level then there is no need to upgrade. The latest Ryzen 7 or 13th Gen i7 isn’t a bad option at all. Well, I can clearly say that, in terms of value for money RTX 4060 is a clear winner.

Here I’ve included all Laptop links, check them to compare the latest prices.

• ASUS ROG Strix G16 (Intel i7-13650HX + 16GB DDR5 RAM + RTX 4060) – check on amazon.
• Acer Nitro 16 (AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS + 16GB DDR5 RAM + RTX 4060) – check on amazon.
• MSI Katana 17 (Intel i7-13650HX + 32GB DDR5 RAM + RTX 4060) – check on amazon.
• ASUS ROG Strix G16 (Intel i9-13980HX + 16GB DDR5 RAM + RTX 4070) – check on amazon.
• HP Victus 16(Intel i7-13700H + 32GB DDR5 RAM + RTX 4070) – check on amazon.
• Dell G16 (Intel i9-13900HX + 16GB DDR5 RAM + RTX 4070) – check on amazon.

Conclusion

Here in this artice we’ve discussed about the RTX 4060 Laptop vs 4070 Laptop. Both of them performed quite well. Although RTX 4070 pulls out a win by 15-20% margin, RTX 4060 comes victorious as more value for money. Now if you’re spending more than 20% more money for that 20% more performance, it’ll be a waste. Both of them are RTX 40-series laptop, so there is no issue regarding future proofing. All the latest titles for upcoming 4-5 years, will run buttery smooth on these laptops.

FAQ

1. What’s the raw performance difference between the 4060 and 4070?

• Expect a roughly 15-20% performance boost moving to the RTX 4070. This varies depending on the game, resolution, and specific power limits of the laptops being compared.

2. Is the RTX 4060 powerful enough for 1440p gaming?

• Yes, the RTX 4060 can handle 1440p gaming, but you might need to adjust settings in demanding titles to maintain smooth frame rates. The 4070 provides more headroom for smooth high-refresh 1440p gameplay.

3. Do I need the RTX 4070 for content creation and productivity work?

• It depends on the workload. For heavy rendering, video editing with lots of effects, or AI-accelerated processes, the RTX 4070’s extra power and potentially larger VRAM can be beneficial.

4. Is the price difference between a 4060 and 4070 laptop justified?

• This is a personal decision. If you absolutely want the best possible performance and future-proofing, the 4070 could be worth the investment. However, budget-conscious gamers will find the 4060 offers excellent value for the money.

5. Will an RTX 4060 laptop struggle in a few years?

• Not necessarily. The 4060 is quite capable, and as game optimization improves, it’ll deliver enjoyable experiences for years to come. However, if you want to play the latest AAA titles without any little compromise, at high resolutions, you might be better served by the RTX 4070 for longer-term satisfaction.