Nvidia's RTX 50-series has been launching throughout the start of 2025, and while hopes were high for a phenomenal generation of powerful GPUs, it's not looking too hot thus far.
In January, we covered how RTX 5080 reviews could be bad news for gaming laptops, as many critics cited a disappointing performance jump when compared to its predecessor. And when the community started to realize that Nvidia's RTX 50-series was cutting support for 32-bit CUDA, ensuring some classic games may run worse on RTX 50-series, hope continued to fade.
Capping things off (at least for now), disappointing results are stemming from my most highly anticipated card of the series: the GeForce RTX 5070. Reviews went live on Tuesday and the verdict is rather upsetting — revealing a largely mediocre launch with performance gains that reportedly don't even qualify as such.
Nvidia has seemed to fumble the launch of the RTX 50-series, so the question is: Has Nvidia gotten off to a slow start, or has this entire generation of GPUs gone to waste?
Nvidia RTX 5070 reviews round-up: What's being said?
The vast majority of RTX 5070 reviews aren't hot. IGN's Jacqueline Thomas writes that the RTX 50-series cards have "failed to deliver the kind of generational leaps you would expect after two years," continuing, "The RTX 5070 is the worst example of this yet."
As many publications are reporting, the issue lies with the RTX 5070's performance, which appears far too similar to its predecessor, the RTX 4070 Super. IGN reports a four percent improvement in performance for the RTX 5070 when compared to the RTX 4070 Super. Arstechnica reports that it's around five or six percent, while TechRadar claims the difference is even less.
PCWorld gave the RTX 5070 2.5 stars out of 5, claiming it offers "a bare minimum performance upgrade over its predecessor." In some of the website's tests, the RTX 4070 Super even surpassed the RTX 5070 in performance. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 saw the 5070 achieve 149 frames per second at 1440p, while the 4070 Super only managed to hit 157 fps.
When looking at the power of the RTX 5070 directly, it ultimately fails to improve significantly enough between generations. But surely there's something that the GPU is bringing to offset this disaster?
The answer is DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, which Nvidia claims: "generates up to three additional frames per traditionally rendered frame." This is why the company claimed RTX 5070 could channel the performance of an RTX 4090 when announcing the cards at CES 2025.
Critics are high on DLSS 4, but its application on the RTX 5070 is mixed. Arstechnica shows that in a game like Cyberpunk 2077, because the base framerate is already on the lower side, "user input will feel sluggish, and visual artifacts are plainly visible when objects are in motion."
PCWorld, on the other hand, calls DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation "transformative," further claiming "It can make even a clunky game like Star Wars Outlaws feel as sublime as the legendary Doom (2016)."
DLSS 4 seems to be the key to what makes Nvidia's 50-series a worthwhile generational leap, but is it enough to justify the high price point? There might be another reason why the Nvidia RTX 50-series is the way it is.
The Nvidia RTX 50-series might not be a waste
While it's clear performance isn't the RTX 50-series' strong suit, Nvidia has notably reduced the price point on the most important cards in the series. The RTX 5070 is $549, versus the RTX 4070's launch price of $599. And the RTX 5080's MSRP of $999 is a good bit less than the 4080's original cost of $1,199.
Essentially, rather than treating the RTX 50-series as an all-around leap in graphical performance, the company has seemingly opted for a smaller boost in power in favor of a focus on DLSS 4 while also reducing the price of GPUs.
But is that enough to convince buyers? Considering Nvidia's GPUs have seen massive increases in cost between the 30-series and 40-series, with the RTX 3080 launching at $699 and the 4080 launching at $1,199, we're still far from the glory days of when GPUs didn't cost a fortune. And with the threat of Trump's tariffs looming over the horizon, the lesser cost might be temporary.
More from Laptop Mag
- How AMD's new FSR 4 tech could be the handheld gaming PC upgrade we've been waiting for
- Nvidia's Jensen Huang has some strong words for DeepSeek — and they're probably not what you think
- Some classic games may run worse on RTX 50-series gaming laptops — Here's why
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