Hardware

NVIDIA RTX Super Series Walkthrough – Because Ti was already mainstream!

I got my hands on RTX 2060 Super and RTX 2070 Super

Not long ago we witnessed a teaser from NVIDIA about something super that was going to hit us soon. I am very happy to present you two graphic cards from this line-up. I am talking about RTX 2060 Super and RTX 2070 Super; two GPUs that are trying to refresh the RTX 2000 Series and bring bigger or smaller improvements over the base models. Stay with us throughout this video where we will tackle those two cards to see what they are made of!

Super Specifications

Technically, NVIDIA Super upgrades the older card’s recipes adding some more spices that were missing. On the screen you’ll be able to see two tables which explain better the differences between RTX 2000 Series and the RTX 2000 Super Series, alongside with the new features that NVIDIA brought us comparing to the GTX 1000 Series.

For the ones who don’t know what all of this boring specs are about, I will make a debriefing of what those new cards promise. GeForce RTX 2060 Super wants to be the go-to solution for the customers looking to upgrade an older gen card in order to enjoy the new NVIDIA technology like Ray Tracing without spending a big sum of money. It promises up to 22% performance gains (with an average of 15%) comparing to the RTX 2060 in 1440p gaming. Also, NVIDIA says that the new GPU is 1% slower than the RTX 2070 in games. Comparing to the RTX 2060 we see a 2GB increase in memory, so from 6GB we go to 8GB and with this, we will enjoy a 256-bit bus instead of a 192-bit one. Those changes bring with them a change in the power consumption so the TDP is now 175W instead of 160W. This is not a big deal and most of us will not even feel it.

GeForce RTX 2070 Super on the other hand, is the enthusiast solution from NVIDIA for those of you who enjoy playing the latest and greatest games at their highest presets and high resolutions. Performance wise, GeForce RTX 2070 Super is more powerful than the last generation’s flagship, the GTX 1080 Ti and brings up to 26% (16% average) increase in performance than the RTX 2070. Between those two models, the differences appear to be pretty big, so on paper, the RTX 2070 Super seems to be 20%+ more powerful, but this is also visible on the TDP side, where we see an increase from 175W to 215W. This difference maybe don’t look that big, but can be the decisive factor when choosing a power supply for a build.

Super Design

I tested the Founder’s Edition variants of both cards and we can see a change in the design department too. This time, on the “face” of the card, the logo is centered on a chrome surface. This is a small detail which offers an interesting look, but at the same time is a fingerprint magnet and not just once I found myself cleaning the card to take some pictures of it. The cooling is achieved using two fans and below them is a big radiator. On the back side of the cards, more specifically on the backplate, NVIDIA left another mark under the form of the Super logo. This backplate is also a piece of the cooling system, but I feel that it unleashes the heat generated by the card on the inside of the system. Visually, I think NVIDIA nailed it and delivered products that looks and feel premium. The cooling is also decent and from the acoustic point of view we are good, the GPU being silent in our test system. This is true for both cards, the single big difference being that the RTX 2070 Super is a bit chubbier than its little sister, but this is understandable because it delivers better performance.

Super Performance

There we are, the part all of you are interested in. I will start with a little disclaimer, or a little complaint to NVDIA, who provided an unstable driver that had a pretty bad impact on the performance and I am looking to test those cards further as they mature on the market to see how it really performs when this issue will be fixed. Anyway, we went off the ground so let’s get back to our job. The ring in which we fought the mighty Super cards in made out of a Ryzen 7 2700X CPU alongside 16GB of DDR4 memory at 3200Mhz and a Samsung 960 Pro NVMe SSD for storage, so we will be able to deliver realistic results without occurring bottlenecks or other issues. I chose a combination of three benchmarks and five games to test those cards to the limits, using Ray Tracing, Ultra details, high resolutions and 100% load.

When it comes to benchmarks, the RTX 2060 Super and the RTX 2070 Super achieved great scores and we can see an improvement over the last generation of cards. They are in that 10 to 15 percent difference that NVIDIA promised so we are good.

Now, let’s talk games. In Metro Exodus, at the 1080p resolution with the highest settings and RTX and DLSS enabled, the RTX 2060 achieved a decent 46FPS average while it’s younger sibling, the RTX 2060 Super got a better 51FPS on average. Those results were topped by the 2070 Super with 59FPS, one frame shy of that magical 60FPS mark.

In 1440p, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with the Ultra preset and RTX enabled, we see a 42FPS average from the RTX 2060, while the 2060 Super got 47 FPS and the RTX 2070 Super is getting close to the golden number at 57FPS on average.

In 4K, the difference is again, pretty visible and the RTX 2070 Super gains some distance over the other two cards, getting 54FPS in Far Cry New Dawn at Ultra settings, while the RTX 2060 Super scored 45FPS, and the RTX 2060 only reached 41FPS average.

As you were able to see, there were some differences between those three cards, pretty big ones in some cases, but in the Ubisoft titles I’ve encountered some anomalies. For example, in Far Cry New Dawn, RTX 2060 scored better than the RTX 2060 Super and the 2070 Super at low resolutions. However, in 4K the RTX 2070 Super conquered as the other two were physically unable to deliver great numbers. I hope this is an issue we’ll see fixed as soon as possible and I would really like to see those numbers increase once new and better drivers are out.

Ending Thoughts

There we are then. The RTX 2060 Super is from my perspective the perfect answer for 1080p gaming with Ultra details and RTX enabled, while the RTX 2070 Super is the go-to model for 1400p gaming. Maybe some of you will say that I am crazy or I am expecting too much from those cards but I don’t see the RTX 2060 Super suitable for 1440p gaming because it’s not consistently reaching 60FPS in all those games. Maybe for the given time is ok, but in the not so distant future, we’ll see more and more demanding games. If now, those 60FPS are not achievable at 1440p, nor they will be in the future and I don’t want to be forced to go to Medium settings just to get a smooth experience.

In conclusion, GeForce RTX 2060 Super and the RTX 2070 Super are two, well, SUPER cards. Performance wise they are nice and really are upgrades compared to the previous models and they’re perfect for the people that haven’t got a taste of the Ray Tracing pie NVDIA is offering and I think that now it is the right moment to do so. Alongside those new cards, we have some delicious prices with a pretty small difference between those two cards. Now, it’s everyone decision if they want to pay the extra cash for some nice performance boost or if the RTX 2060 Super is enough for their needs and wallets, of course. Both are nice offerings for their prices and represent a nice upgrade for the people still rocking an older generation card. Now we will just have to wait for custom models from partners and see what they can deliver. Both cards are available for sale from 9th of July 2019.

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