NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
Side-by-side benchmark comparison, specs, pricing, and value analysis.
Benchmark Comparison
Gaming figures are average frames per second, measured by Tom's Hardware GPU hierarchy. Geometric mean of 15 games, ultra settings, no upscaling. Ray tracing figures are DXR-enabled at 1440p. A dash means the card was not tested at that resolution. Productivity and Steel Nomad are synthetic scores on their own scales and are not comparable to the fps columns.
Specifications
| Spec | GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB | GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 12GB GDDR6X | 16GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 912.4 GB/s | 717 GB/s |
| Shaders | 8960 | 9728 |
| Boost Clock | 1845 MHz | 2505 MHz |
| TDP | 350W | 320W |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad | 4,797 | 6,585 |
| Best Price | $799 | $1,199 |
| Value Score | 38/100 | 33/100 |
Verdict
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is faster but costs more. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB offers better value for money. Your choice depends on budget vs. performance priority.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080: Which Should You Buy?
This is not a close race. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers 130.4 fps at 1440p ultra to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB's 102.3 fps, a 27% gap. Only pick the slower card if it is dramatically cheaper or you need it for a lower resolution.
You pay a 50% premium for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ($1,199 against $799) to get 27% more frames. The extra frames do not keep up with the extra cost — the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB is the better value here.
Two things beyond raw speed: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 carries 16GB against 12GB — the deciding factor at 1440p and above with ray tracing or texture packs, and the reason 12GB cards age badly.