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The First Liquid-Cooled GeForce RTX 4070 Was Here—and It Wasn’t Cheap

Colorful’s iGame RTX 4070 Neptune OC-V paired a 240mm AIO cooler with a $829 launch price, making it an intriguing but hard-to-justify enthusiast GPU.
Length5 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Colorful’s iGame GeForce RTX 4070 Neptune OC-V was described as the world’s first liquid-cooled GeForce RTX 4070 when it launched in May 2023. It paired NVIDIA’s 5,888-CUDA-core RTX 4070 with a factory-installed 240mm all-in-one cooler—but its $829 launch price was $230 above the standard RTX 4070 and even exceeded the RTX 4070 Ti’s $799.99 starting price.

What was the liquid-cooled RTX 4070?

The headline referred to Colorful’s iGame GeForce RTX 4070 Neptune OC-V, sometimes shortened in coverage to “Neptune OC.” Colorful introduced it around May 1–2, 2023, as part of its broader RTX 4070 lineup, alongside air-cooled cards such as the Vulcan, Advanced, Ultra W and NB EX models. Colorful’s launch announcement listed the Neptune’s $829 price and 240mm liquid cooler.

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This was a factory-assembled closed-loop graphics card—not a normal card with a water block intended for connection to a user-built custom loop. The slim, two-slot GPU section connected by tubing to a 240mm radiator and two radiator fans. The liquid-cooling assembly covered the GPU, memory and VRM power-delivery components.

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The arrangement could make the card itself easier to fit than a bulky triple-fan air cooler, but it did not eliminate space requirements. Buyers still needed a case with a compatible 240mm radiator mount, suitable radiator and fan clearance, and enough room for the tubing.

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Colorful RTX 4070 Neptune OC-V specifications

Specification Detail
Architecture NVIDIA Ada Lovelace
GPU AD104-250, according to launch reporting
CUDA cores 5,888
Memory 12GB GDDR6X
Memory interface 192-bit
Base clock 1,920MHz
Standard boost clock 2,475MHz
One-button OC clock Up to 2,640MHz
Power figure cited in launch coverage 230W power target
Cooler 240mm AIO liquid cooler
Card dimensions 253.5 × 170.8 × 41.5mm, excluding radiator
Power connector 16-pin
Launch price $829

The core specifications match the RTX 4070 family described by NVIDIA. Specialist reporting also identified a 14+3-phase power design and the AD104-250 GPU. The standard RTX 4070 launched with a 200W total graphics power figure, so the Neptune’s cited 230W target gave its custom cooling and power circuitry more room for higher clocks.

The $829 price was the real story

NVIDIA launched the GeForce RTX 4070 at $599 on April 13, 2023, according to NVIDIA’s announcement. Colorful’s Neptune OC-V therefore carried a $230 premium, or roughly 38% more than the baseline card.

That comparison would already have made the Neptune an expensive RTX 4070. The bigger problem was its position against the next model up: the RTX 4070 Ti started at $799.99. In other words, the liquid-cooled RTX 4070 launched $29.01 above a substantially faster GPU tier.

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The Neptune remained an RTX 4070. Its liquid loop, higher power target and advertised 2,640MHz overclock mode did not add CUDA cores or transform it into an RTX 4070 Ti. As HotHardware noted at launch, the Ti’s larger core configuration created a performance gap that higher clocks on the Neptune were unlikely to erase.

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What liquid cooling could—and could not—do

A 240mm radiator was intended to move heat away from the GPU more effectively than a conventional compact cooler. In principle, that can provide lower temperatures, reduced fan stress, and more thermal headroom during sustained workloads or overclocking.

However, the launch reports establish the cooling design and advertised settings—not a verified temperature, noise or gaming-performance advantage over a particular air-cooled RTX 4070. It would be inaccurate to claim that the Neptune was a fixed number of degrees cooler, quieter than every air-cooled model, or guaranteed to overclock better.

The clearest distinction is between thermals and performance tier. Liquid cooling can help a GPU maintain clocks or operate with less cooling noise, but it does not change the underlying silicon. The Neptune could be an interesting enthusiast RTX 4070; it was not a faster class of GPU simply because it used water cooling.

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Installation was more complicated than with a normal RTX 4070

Before buying one, an owner would need to check:

  • Whether the case has an unused, compatible 240mm radiator position.
  • Radiator and fan thickness clearance, including interference with the motherboard or memory.
  • Whether the tubing can reach the GPU without sharp bends or unwanted pressure.
  • Power-supply compatibility with the 16-pin connector and any included adapter.
  • Airflow through the radiator and the case’s overall fan layout.
  • Warranty coverage and regional support, especially if the card is imported.

The integrated pump and liquid loop also add components that a conventional air-cooled card does not have. That does not make the design inherently unsuitable, but it is an additional long-term consideration for buyers of an older or secondhand unit.

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Who was the Neptune for?

The card made the most sense for a narrow group of enthusiasts who specifically wanted factory-installed liquid cooling, a distinctive white-and-silver premium design, a relatively slim GPU body, or the novelty and rarity of an unusual flagship-style RTX 4070. It could also appeal to someone with a sustained workload and a case already designed around a 240mm radiator.

For most buyers, the value calculation was much less favorable. A conventional RTX 4070 offered the same basic GPU tier for $599 at launch, while the same $829 budget reached the faster RTX 4070 Ti’s launch class. Actual used and new-market prices can change the calculation, but the historical MSRP made the Neptune difficult to recommend on performance per dollar alone.

A buyer considering a custom water block should also distinguish that route from the Neptune: this was a self-contained AIO card, not a graphics card designed to plug directly into a standard custom loop. A custom-loop build involves different hardware, cost, installation work and compatibility requirements.

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Availability was uncertain even at launch

Colorful said the card was intended for its official stores, but HotHardware reported that it had not seen the model in the United States at the time and that the reason was unclear. That means the $829 figure should be treated as a reported May 2023 launch price, not a verified current U.S. street price.

As of 2026, any purchase listing should be checked separately for authenticity, stock status, warranty region, import costs, pump condition and included power accessories. The available launch reporting does not establish broad U.S. retail availability or a current price.

Verdict

Colorful’s iGame GeForce RTX 4070 Neptune OC-V was technically unusual: it put a 240mm AIO cooler, higher power target and one-button overclock mode on a relatively slim RTX 4070. But liquid cooling did not change the card’s GPU tier, and the $829 launch price put it above the RTX 4070 Ti’s starting price.

That made the Neptune a niche enthusiast product rather than a sensible default RTX 4070. Its appeal was the integrated cooling system, appearance and novelty—not a clear performance-per-dollar advantage.

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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.

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