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I'll cut right to the chase: If you're an RTX 4070 owner looking to upgrade to NVIDIA's latest video cards, the $549 RTX 5070 won't be much different than what you're used to. Aside from DLSS 4's ability to generate multiple extra frames, the 5070 is practically the same as the 4070 Ti in our testing (and in some cases it's worse). So if you're already committed to spending more than $500 for a new GPU, you're likely better off saving up a bit more for the $749 5070 Ti, which has more VRAM (16GB instead of the 5070's 12GB) and more capable hardware for gaming in 4K. Given the current state of the video card market, though, those prices are basically just theoretical. NVIDIA's previous RTX 50-series cards are already selling well above their retail prices at most stores, if you can find them in stock at all. So I wouldn't be surprised to see the RTX 5070 suffering the same fate. For now, though, Best Buy has NVIDIA's Founder's Edition card and an ASUS model listed for $549. The RTX 5070 comes in $50 cheaper than the RTX 4070's original launch price, so at least we're edging closer to the days of the $500 RTX 3070 (again, if you were lucky enough to snag it for that MSRP). The 5070's price alone made it the new NVIDIA GPU I was most looking forward to test. But after spending some time with it, I can see why NVIDIA was able to keep it relatively affordable: It's simply not a huge jump from the 4070. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Hardware As the runt of the litter (so far), the RTX 5070 is clearly behind its siblings on paper. It sports 6,144 CUDA cores, compared to the 5070 Ti's 8,960, and the aforementioned 12GB of GDDR7 memory. Notably, the RTX 4070 also shipped with 12GB of memory, though that was slightly slower GDDR6X RAM. The new card has a 33 percent memory bandwidth advantage 672 GB/s vs 504 GB/s but it would have been nice to see more RAM, especially since AMD managed to deliver 16GB in the upcoming $549 Radeon 9070. The NVIDIA Founder's Edition RTX 5070 we reviewed looks similar to the 5090, with a gorgeous metal case and dual fans to cool down the PCB sandwiched in the middle. A dongle with two 8-pin PSU connections is included in the box, and the 5070 requires a 650W power supply at a minimum. (Though I'd recommend going for at least an 800W PSU if you want to future-proof a bit.) Around the back, the 5070 features three DisplayPort 2.1 connections and an HDMI 2.1 port. RTX 5090RTX 5080RTX 5070 TiRTX 5070RTX 4090ArchitectureBlackwellBlackwellBlackwellBlackwellLovelaceCUDA cores21,76010,7528,9606,14416,384AI TOPS3,3521,8011,4069881,321Tensor cores5th Gen5th Gen5th Gen5th Gen4th GenRT cores4th Gen4th Gen4th Gen4th Gen3rd GenVRAM32 GB GDDR716 GB GDDR716 GB GDDR712 GB GDDR724 GB GDDR6XMemory bandwidth1,792 GB/sec960 GB/sec896 GB/sec672 GB/sec1,008 GB/secTGP575W360W300W250W450W In use: Solid 1440p and 4K, especially with multi-frame generation I was a bit worried that testing the RTX 5070 would meaning scaling down my Avowed settings from maxed out 4K to 1440p. First-world problems, I know. But the 5070 managed to stay above 60 fps in 4K with ray tracing and graphics settings cranked up so long as I was using DLSS upscaling. I typically saw between 65 fps and 75 fps in a variety of areas, which played smoothly on my 32-inch Alienware QD-OLED monitor. I saw a smoother 120 fps while playing Avowed in 1440p, but I preferred sticking with 4K since it's not a very fast-paced game. Instead, it's a title where you're often moving slowly through the world and absorbing breathtaking vistas and gorgeously constructed environments. Without DLSS, the 5070 crawled along at just 15 fps in 4K. In comparison, the 5070 Ti reached 90 fps in 4K with DLSS, and 32 fps in 4K without any upscaling. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Clearly, the RTX 5070 is best-suited to 1440p gaming, just like the 4070. But it's more capable if you don't mind the interpolated frames from DLSS 4's multi-frame generation. It can generate up to three frames from every one that's natively rendered. That led to me seeing 168 fps in Dragon Age: The Veilguard while playing in 4K with graphics settings cranked up. The 5070 Ti, meanwhile, hit over 200 fps while playing Veilguard in 4K, while the 5090 reached 250 fps. Your experience with the RTX 5070 will mostly come down to the amount of games you play with DLSS 3 and 4 support. Halo Infinite, which doesn't work with any upscaling technology yet, hit an acceptable 97 fps in 4K. Still, I think most players would prefer the smoother 138 fps performance in 1440p, or even the 178 fps I saw in 1080p. Cyberpunk 2077, meanwhile, flew in 4K with multi-frame gen in ray tracing overdrive mode, reaching 115 fps. None 3DMark TimeSpy Extreme Geekbench 6 GPU Cyberpunk (4K RT Overdrive DLSS) Blender NVIDIA RTX 5070 10,343 178,795 p>115 fps (4x frame gen) 6,015 NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti 12,675 238,417 153 fps (4X frame gen) 7,365 NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti Super 11,366 220,722 75 fps (1x frame gen) 7,342 NVIDIA RTX 4070 8,610 N/A 55 fps (1x frame gen) 6,020 Benchmarks paint a far starker picture for the RTX 5070. It was practically identical to the RTX 4070 Ti in 3DMark's TimeSpy Extreme and Speedway tests. And it lagged behind that card in the Port Royal and DirectX ray tracing tests, as well as in Blender's benchmark, where it was a full 1,200 points behind the 4070 Ti! NVIDIA clearly leaned more on tensor core performance for DLSS for the 5070, rather than raw rasterized or ray tracing speeds. Unsurprisingly, NVIDIA's Founder's Edition cooling setup shined on the RTX 5070, where it kept temperatures between 35C and 40C while idling, and under 75C while I was gaming and running benchmarks. The fans were audible but not annoying when I was really stressing the card, thoughI didn't notice much since I also had audio blasting on my speakers. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Should you buy the RTX 5070? As I mentioned up top, I don't think the RTX 5070 is a compelling upgrade if you're already satisfied with an RTX 4070. But if you're coming from an older GPU, and you're not ready to shell out $750 (or likely more) for the 4070 Ti, it's currently the best value NVIDIA is offering. The 5070 will handle 1440p gaming well, and it'll be acceptable for basic 4K gaming for non-DLSS titles. Throw multi-frame generation in the mix, and things look even better. Still, for the price, I really wish the 5070 was more of a step up from the 4070. If the 5070 Ti ever comes back down to its $750 retail price, it's likely a better longterm purchase since it has 16GB of RAM. That'll make it better equipped for handling massive 4K textures, and it's also more powerful in general to deal with more demanding gaming engines and ray tracing. The 5070 is a GPU that might satisfy you for a few years, whereas I think the 5070 Ti could handle most of what you throw at it for the next four years. For now, though, my advice is the same as it was in my 5070 Ti review: Don't rush out to buy a new video card right away. NVIDIA's pricing and stock availability is incredibly volatile, and it's not worth paying over $900 for something like the 5070 Ti. In a few months, prices may fall back down to Earth, especially with AMD's more reasonable $549 and $599 Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT in the mix. In fact, it's worth waiting a bit just to see how well those two cards compare to the 5070. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Wrap-up While NVIDIA mostly succeeded with delivering a semi-affordable midrange GPU with the RTX 5070, it's competing against itself when compared to the excellent RTX 4070. It's limited by having only 12GB of VRAM, and without the magic of DLSS AI upscaling, its performance isn't that much different than the 4070 Ti. In the end, the 5070 feels a bit like a missed opportunity to deliver a truly performant card for close to $500. Instead, it's more of the same, with a healthy dose of AI.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070-review-basically-a-4070-ti-thats-better-at-4k-140016718.html?src=rss
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Alienware unveiled a widescreen 34-inch QD-OLED monitor a few years ago and it was hit from the get-go thanks to the HDR brightness, OLED color accuracy and smooth 175Hz refresh rate. Now, the company has launched an updated version that boosts the refresh rate to 240Hz making it a tempting option for gamers who prize visuals and speed. Dell's gaming brand also revealed several inexpensive LCD gaming models, including a 25-inch, 320Hz model for just $250. On top of the boosted refresh rate, the new Alienware 34 Ultra-Wide QD-OLED Monitor (AW3425DW) offers improved connectivity with HDMI 2.1 FRL, while adding G-SYNC, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA AdaptiveSync certification. As before, it comes with WQHD 3,440 x 1,440 resolution and 1800R curve, providing a 21:9 gaming experience that while not as sharp as 4K, is still a huge leap ahead of 1080p. It goes on sale today for $800. Along with that model, Alienware's 27-inch 280Hz QD-OLED Monitor (AW2725D) is also available at a reasonable $550 price point (arriving summer 2025). It combines QHD resolution with a high-speed 280Hz refresh rate, allowing sharp high-quality visuals along with a smooth gaming experience. Rounding out the QD-OLED models is the 27-inch 4K QD-OLED Monitor (AW2725Q) previously announced at CES, with a 240Hz refresh rate and highest pixel density of any OLED or QD-OLED monitor, the company claims. It's available starting today for $900. Finally, Alienware unveiled four new LCD monitors, including 34- and 32-inch curved VA monitors with 180Hz refresh rates priced at $400 and $320, with both available starting March 6th. The most interesting, however, is a 25-inch 320Hz monitor available for just $250 (coming summer 2025), giving pro gamers on a budget a very high-speed option, if they don't mind a smallish screen. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/alienware-boosts-its-34-inch-qd-oled-gaming-monitor-to-240hz-140015276.html?src=rss
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Lenovo hasnt even released its futuristic laptop with a rollable screen, but its rejigged all those parts into a whole new thing for MWC in Barcelona. Officially called the ThinkBook codename Flip AI PC Proof of concept (no typos), the laptop uses the same flexible OLED in its rollable, revealed earlier. However, instead of disappearing inside its chassis, the display folds outwards. This allows what is normally a 13-inch panel to double to 18.1 inches. Notably, because the Flips screen bends instead of sliding in and out of the bottom half of the system, Lenovo can use the panels full area. And, just to drill home that its a concept, Lenovo also added a Smart ForcePad, with a three-layer illuminated dashboard with customizable controls and icons. Engadget Then theres the Lenovo ThinkBook 16P, which ostensibly is a lot like other 16-inch ThinkBooks. But, if you use the companys Magic Bay docking system, you can really amp up the screen space. The Magic Bay 2nd Display Concept is a small 8-inch screen that attaches magnetically to the ThinkBook 16P, while the Magic Bay Dual Display Concept adds two 13.3-inch panels that flank the notebooks primary screen, giving you that true Im-a-00s-hacker aesthetic in your local coffee shop. Sadly, the ThinkBook 16P Gen 6 is not slated to be available in North America, so it may have to be a Parisian cafe. Or a cafeterķa in Barcelona? Mat Smith Get this delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest tech stories you missed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 preview: Stunning visuals, innovative combat, prime melodrama Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology prototype drive: Better when chilled We get Dragon Quest-themed golf merch because OG fans are now grandparents How to clean your AirPods Tim Cook teases M4 MacBook Air reveal for this week FAA reportedly ordered staff to find millions of dollars to fund Starlink deal Reports suggest FAA may be considering canceling its deal with Verizon. Employees with the Federal Aviation Administration were reportedly told on Friday to begin finding tens of millions of dollars for a Starlink deal, after The Washington Post reported the FAA may cancel its $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to overhaul the USs airspace management systems and go with Elon Musks company instead. This was a few days after Musk claimed on X that the situation around air traffic control communications is extremely dire, saying the existing system (which he wrongly attributed to Verizon before, later adding a correction) is breaking down very rapidly. Hundreds of FAA employees were fired in February by Musks DOGE. Continue reading. Samsungs midrange Galaxy A56 delivers a spec bump and a physical one Its midranger season. Engadget The Galaxy A56 has broken cover and will be available later this year, starting at $499 (or 499 in the UK), which is slightly cheaper than the Pixel 8a at launch. Samsung also announced the Galaxy A36 and A26 today, starting at $399 and $299, respectively. (But, Mat whispers, dont bother with those.) The A56 is thinner than its predecessor, down to 7.4mm. The phone has a brushed metal frame and a minor design twist: a slightly protruding bump on the side where the volume and power buttons sit. The front of the A56 now has a lower-res 12-megapixel selfie camera, while on the back sits an upgraded 12MP ultrawide, 50MP main sensor with an f/1.8 lens and optical image stabilization. Theres still a 5MP macro lens for someone out there. Those new cameras feature many of the latest upgrades on the S25 family, including improved image signal processing for better low-light performance, as well as a raft of AI features. Id argue not to hit the pre-order button just yet: Its peak midrange phone season. The Galaxy A56 goes up against the iPhone 16e, while rumors suggest Googles Pixel 9a could break cover very soon. Oh, and theres challenger Nothing, with its 3a series set to be revealed later today. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121633661.html?src=rss
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