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Nvidia has finally removed the covers from its new GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards, promising a huge performance boost over GeForce RTX 2000 series GPUs.
While the monstrously powerful GeForce RTX 3090 is the best graphics card in the range, its $ 1,499 price tag is very steep. And the more affordable GeForce RTX 3070 offers a lot of performance for $ 499, but some may want a bit more power. That’s where the $ 699 GeForce RTX 3080 comes in.
If you have a PC with a modern processor, lots of RAM, and a modern motherboard, then an upgrade to, say, the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, makes perfect sense. That’s because with the RTX 3080, you not only get a huge performance boost, but also access to Nvida’s second-generation ray tracing technology.
But if you have a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, the best GPU in the RTX 2000 series, you might be thinking of upgrading. This is what you need to know.
Nvidia RTX 3080 vs. RTX 2080 Ti: Specifications
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 | Nvidia GeForce 2080 Ti | |
|---|---|---|
| starting price | $ 699 | $ 999 |
| Nvidia CUDA colors | 8,704 | 4,352 |
| Boost Clock (MHz) | 1,710 | 1,545 |
| Standard memory configuration | 10GB GDDR6X | 11GB GDDR6 |
| Memory interface width | 320 bits | 352 bits |
| Memory speed | 19 Gbps | 14 Gbps |
| memory bandwidth | 760.0 GB / s | 616 GB / s |
| Maximum Resolution | 7680×4320 | 7680×4320 |
| Ports | HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a (3x) | DisplayPort, HDMI, USB Type-C |
Nvidia RTX 3080 vs RTX 2080 Ti: performance
Given the specs of the GeForce RTX 3080, it’s no surprise that it outperforms the RTX 2080 Ti. After all, a performance leap from generation to generation is expected.
But what is surprising is that the GeForce RTX 3080 has been touted as being up to twice as fast as the RTX 2080 Ti. We expected a performance increase of around 20%.
The RTX 2080 Ti comes with more memory and a slightly larger memory interface width, but uses GDDR6 video memory, while the RTC 3080 has faster GDDR6X VRAM. And that means it has better memory speed and bandwidth. It also has a faster boost clock speed and doubles the CUDA cores, all of which help explain its increase in performance.
In a Doom Eternal demo, the two cards were pitted against each other, and the RTX 3080 was around 50 percent faster than the RTX 2080 Ti. With 4K resolution and all settings maxed out, it ran the game at over 100 frames per second most of the time, which is blazingly fast for a title where a lot happens on the screen.
And that performance seems to continue in games like Cyberpunk 2077 when ray tracing is enabled, although we haven’t seen a direct comparison. Speaking of ray tracing, the entire GeForce RTX 3000 series has Nvidia’s second-generation RTX hardware, which promises a two-fold increase in ray tracing performance.
With the PS5 and Xbox Series X coming with ray tracing hardware, we can expect more games to come with the real-time light rendering technique enabled. That means more games to put the RTX 3080’s ray tracing power to the test.
The GeForce RTX 3080 also comes with Nvidia’s Second Generation Deep Learning Supersampling (DLSS 2.0), which promises an increase in performance thanks to third-generation Tensor cores (hardware that drives the AI algorithm) that provide double jump in performance. All of this translates to DLSS being better at smartly reproducing sharp, high-resolution graphics without causing a reduction in frame rate.
Basically, the GeForce RTX 3080 is significantly more powerful than the RTX 2080 Ti. The only caveat is that there aren’t many games that can really power the RTX 2080 Ti, unless you’re running the latest games at maximum settings, 4K resolution, and ray-traced enabled. Even then the RTX 2080 Ti will offer playable frame rates, but a constant 60 frames per second may not be achievable.
The RTX 3080 will offer 4K performance at 60fps, so if you have the display to take advantage of that, then it’s an attractive card. And it’s also future-proof for when more ray-traced games arrive.
Winner: GeForce RTX 3080
Nvidia RTX 3080 vs RTX 2080 Ti: price and value
At launch, the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti had a starting price of $ 999. The RTX 3080 will start at $ 699, so it has the oldest card beat. But here is a little more nuance.
With the launch of the GeForce RTX 3080 on September 24, we’ve heard stories from retailers slashing the prices of the RTX 2080 Ti to change stock before the RTX 3080 arrives to make it redundant. As such, it might be a good time to buy an RTX 2080 Ti if you can get it for, say, $ 400.
Once a high-end GPU, the RTX 2080 Ti could turn out to be a solid mid-tier graphics card. After all, it should still have the power to deliver solid gaming performance for a few years.
And if you have a PC that is getting a bit longer, it might be wise to upgrade to the RTX 2080 Ti in the short term. Older processors can effectively hamper a new GPU with the latest graphics technology.
So putting an RTX 3080 in a machine with, say, a first-gen Ryzen CPU could slow it down, while the RTX 2080 Ti could be fully utilized. The same can be said if you don’t have a 4K or high refresh rate display, as all the power of the RTX 3080 could go to waste.
Ultimately, the GeForce RTX 3080 is competitively priced for a high-end graphics card and a lot of performance, making it a winner. But PC fans should still consider the RTX 2080 Ti if they can find it at a bargain price.
Winner: GeForce RTX 3080
Nvidia RTX 3080 vs RTX 2080 Ti: verdict
We have yet to test a PC running GeForce RTX 3080, so our conclusions are based on Nvidia benchmarks. But it looks like the RTX 3080 is set to be a new high-end graphics card champion.
If you’re playing at 1440p and managing to run games at over 60fps, then upgrading from a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti to the RTX 3080 might not yield immediate benefits. But over time, with more ray-traced games releasing, it could be a smart investment.
And if you’re shopping for a new high-end gaming PC, then getting one with an RTX 3080 seems like the sensible move, as that card is set to deliver impressive gaming performance for years to come. We hope to find it in many future picks of our best gaming PCs as 2020 draws to a close and 2021 begins.
