NVIDIA set the GeForce RTX 2070 launch for October 17, 2018. U.S. partner cards were advertised from $499, while NVIDIA’s factory-overclocked Founders Edition cost $599. It was the least expensive model in NVIDIA’s original desktop RTX 20-series lineup, bringing Turing architecture, hardware ray tracing and Tensor cores to a lower price tier than the RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti.
What NVIDIA actually announced
NVIDIA’s Gamescom announcement on August 20, 2018 said the RTX 2070 would be available in October, but did not name a day. The specific date, October 17, was announced through NVIDIA’s GeForce social channels on September 25, according to contemporary reporting. NVIDIA’s original announcement listed the card at a $499 starting price and the Founders Edition at $599 (NVIDIA announcement).
October 17 was the announced product launch, not necessarily the date every custom model shipped in every country. Preorders, regional stock, partner-board delivery and retail pricing could differ. It also should not be confused with review-publication dates or the later RTX 2070 SUPER.
Launch pricing and availability
| Version | U.S. launch price | What that price meant |
|---|---|---|
| Partner RTX 2070 cards | $499 starting price | Entry price; individual coolers, factory overclocks and regional stock could cost more. |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Founders Edition | $599 | NVIDIA-branded, factory-overclocked design with its own cooler and premium positioning. |
These were historical U.S. dollar launch prices, not current 2026 prices. The $499 figure was a starting point rather than a promise that every ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, Palit, PNY or Zotac card would sell for exactly that amount. NVIDIA documented the model and cooler differences in its custom-card roundup. EVGA also published launch-day availability information (EVGA release).
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#1 Best Overall
- Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super
- Boost Clock: 1770 MHz
- Video Memory: 8GB GDDR6
- Memory Interface: 256-bit
- Output: DisplayPort x 3 (v1. 4) / HDMI 2. 0b x 1
RTX 2070 specifications
The reference specification below comes from NVIDIA’s contemporary product page. Partner cards could change boost clocks, power limits, dimensions, cooling and connectors.
| Specification | GeForce RTX 2070 |
|---|---|
| Architecture and GPU | NVIDIA Turing, TU106 |
| CUDA, RT and Tensor cores | 2,304 CUDA; 36 RT; 288 Tensor |
| Base clock | 1,410 MHz |
| Reference boost clock | 1,620 MHz |
| Founders Edition boost clock | 1,710 MHz |
| Memory | 8 GB GDDR6 at 14 Gbps |
| Memory interface and bandwidth | 256-bit; 448 GB/s |
| NVIDIA architectural metrics | 6 GigaRays/s; 45T RTX-OPS |
| Board power | 175 W reference; 185 W Founders Edition |
| Recommended system power | 550 W |
| Power connector | One 8-pin connector |
See NVIDIA’s RTX 2070 specifications and the Turing architecture white paper for the underlying core configuration. The 45T RTX-OPS and 6 GigaRays/s figures are NVIDIA’s architectural marketing metrics, not substitutes for frames-per-second benchmarks.
Rank #2
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Founders Edition Graphics Card
- RTX 2070
- Founders Edition Graphics Card
- item package weight: 2.018 kilograms
Why the card mattered in the 2018 RTX lineup
| GPU | Starting price | Founders Edition price | Initial availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 2080 Ti | $999 | $1,199 | September 20, 2018 |
| RTX 2080 | $699 | $799 | September 20, 2018 |
| RTX 2070 | $499 | $599 | October 17, 2018 |
The RTX 2070 was the entry point to NVIDIA’s initial desktop RTX family. NVIDIA positioned Turing around programmable shading, AI processing and real-time ray tracing (NVIDIA’s Turing overview). Its 8 GB of GDDR6 and lower price than the first two RTX models made those features available to more buyers, while NVIDIA’s launch-era review roundup presented it as a 1440p-class gaming card (review roundup).
Ray tracing was a forward-looking launch feature
An RTX 2070 included dedicated RT cores for ray-tracing calculations and Tensor cores for AI-related workloads, but the hardware did not make ray-traced effects automatically available in every game. Microsoft’s Windows 10 October 2018 Update introduced public DirectX Raytracing support, and NVIDIA supplied a Windows 10-only Game Ready driver for the update and DXR (NVIDIA driver announcement).
Rank #3
- Powered by GeForce RTX 2070 Super
- NVidia Turing architecture & Real time Ray Tracing
- Wind force 3x cooling system with alternate spinning fans
- Intuitive controls with AORUS engine
- Core Clock 1815 MHertz
Game support was expected to arrive incrementally. Consequently, an October 17 buyer was paying both for immediately usable rasterized performance and for a platform whose ray-tracing and DLSS software ecosystem was still developing. Actual results depended on the game, API, driver, resolution, settings and any reconstruction technology enabled. NVIDIA’s broad “up to 6X performance” language was a Turing-platform claim, not a universal RTX 2070 gaming result.
What buyers had to weigh at launch
- Price: The $499 partner starting point was $100 below the Founders Edition, but premium coolers and factory-overclocked models could narrow or erase that gap.
- Performance target: NVIDIA’s launch material positioned the card for 1440p gaming; results varied by title and settings.
- Feature value: RT and Tensor cores enabled the new RTX feature set, but compatible games and mature drivers were not universal on launch day.
- Hardware requirements: The reference design called for a 550 W system power recommendation and one 8-pin connector; partner designs could differ.
- Risk of buying early: Buyers accepted uncertainty around software support and the real-world effect of enabling ray-traced features.
Timeline after the launch
- August 20, 2018: NVIDIA announced the RTX family and said the RTX 2070 would arrive in October (announcement).
- September 25, 2018: NVIDIA’s GeForce account publicized October 17 as the specific date, as reported by PCWorld.
- October 17, 2018: The RTX 2070 launched, with partner cards starting at $499 and the Founders Edition at $599.
- October 23, 2018: NVIDIA’s review roundup said the card was available worldwide through numerous partners.
- November 9, 2018: NVIDIA published a roundup of custom RTX 2070 designs (custom-card roundup).
- July 9, 2019: NVIDIA launched the separate RTX 2070 SUPER at a $499 starting price (SUPER announcement).
The RTX 2070 SUPER is not a renamed original RTX 2070. Nor is the desktop card the same product as an RTX 2070 laptop GPU. In 2026, the original RTX 2070 is a discontinued 2018 generation; any current purchase decision requires checking the specific used or refurbished listing, warranty, condition and price against newer hardware.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Real Boost Clock: 1800 MHz; Memory Detail: 8192 MB GDDR6.
- Real-time ray tracing in games for cutting-edge, hyper-realistic graphics.
- Dual HDB fans offer higher performance cooling and much quieter acoustic noise.
- All-metal back plate & adjustable RGB
- 3 year & EVGA's top notch technical support.
Rank #4
- Product Type -Video Card
- Package Quantity-1
- Package Dimension-14.1338582533 inchesL X 8.4645669205 inchesW X 4.8031496014 inchesH
- Package Weight -3.6155810968 Lbs
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
