Mobile GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Solves Key Issues of RTX 5070 & 4070

Key Takeaways

1. The mobile RTX 4070 has less VRAM (8 GB) than the desktop version (12 GB), affecting performance.
2. Nvidia is repeating past mistakes with the upcoming mobile RTX 5070, which will also have only 8 GB of VRAM.
3. A new mobile RTX 5070 Ti will feature 12 GB of VRAM, but it complicates comparisons with the desktop RTX 5070 Ti (16 GB).
4. 8 GB of VRAM is considered a budget target for gaming, particularly at 1080p to 1440p resolutions.
5. The mobile RTX 5070 is positioned as a budget option, likely underperforming compared to its desktop counterpart in gaming scenarios.

Stock problems aside, the desktop GeForce RTX 4070 was well-received when it was released nearly two years ago, so it was only logical to think the mobile RTX 4070 for laptops would follow suit. Sadly, Nvidia dashed those hopes by reducing the VRAM for the mobile edition to just two-thirds of the desktop model (12 GB GDDR6X down to 8 GB GDDR6X). Consequently, the mobile RTX 4070 performs more like the desktop RTX 4060 rather than the desktop RTX 4070.

Repeating Past Mistakes

Nvidia appears set to make the same mistake again with the GeForce 50 series; the soon-to-arrive mobile RTX 5070 will also feature only 8 GB of RAM, just like the mobile RTX 4070. Instead of increasing the mobile RTX 5070’s VRAM to match the desktop version’s 12 GB, a new model called the mobile RTX 5070 Ti is being introduced with the “full” 12 GB of VRAM. Still, this creates confusion since the desktop RTX 5070 Ti comes with 16 GB of VRAM as standard, complicating the VRAM landscape for the mobile Blackwell GPUs.

Gaming Considerations

Having 8 GB of VRAM is generally seen as the least or “budget” target for gaming, even at resolutions ranging from 1080p to 1440p. The launch of the mobile RTX 5070 Ti, especially when there was never a mobile RTX 4070 Ti, indicates that Nvidia is positioning the mobile RTX 5070 towards a more budget-friendly segment rather than elevating it to compete with the upper midrange category of its desktop counterpart. Therefore, when you check the “recommended specifications” for new games, it’s likely that the mobile RTX 5070 will underperform compared to its desktop version.