NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
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 4090 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 12GB GDDR6X | 24GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Bandwidth | 912.4 GB/s | 1008 GB/s |
| Shaders | 8960 | 16384 |
| Boost Clock | 1845 MHz | 2520 MHz |
| TDP | 350W | 450W |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad | 4,797 | 9,236 |
| Best Price | $799 | $1,599 |
| Value Score | 38/100 | 27/100 |
Verdict
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 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 4090: Which Should You Buy?
This is not a close race. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers 146.1 fps at 1440p ultra to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB's 102.3 fps, a 43% gap. Only pick the slower card if it is dramatically cheaper or you need it for a lower resolution.
You pay a 100% premium for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ($1,599 against $799) to get 43% 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 4090 carries 24GB against 12GB — the deciding factor at 1440p and above with ray tracing or texture packs, and the reason 12GB cards age badly; and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB draws 100W less (350W versus 450W), which can mean a smaller PSU and a quieter case.