Can an NVIDIA graphics card that’s more than 2 years old compete with one that has just been launched at the start of 2023? Now that you have finally decided to buy one, which one should you go for? We are going to make that decision easy for you in this GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Vs GeForce RTX 3080 comparison.
Key Takeaways
- In our 4K gaming benchmarks, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was the better performer, with 16 more frames per second on average, which is a 21% performance boost over GeForce RTX 3080.
- On average, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti used less power in our 4K gaming benchmarks and was 6.5% more power-efficient than GeForce RTX 3080.
- NVIDIA lists GeForce RTX 4070 Ti at $799 and GeForce RTX 3080 at $699, which means buying the GeForce RTX 3080 can mean savings of up to 14.3%.
- GeForce RTX 3080 is based on Ampere architecture built with an 8nm process at Samsung, whereas GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture built with a 4nm process at TSMC foundry.
RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3080 Comparison Table
| Technical Specs | GeForce RTX 4070 Ti | GeForce RTX 3080 |
| GPU Name | AD104 | GA102 |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |
| Process Size | 4nm | 8nm |
| Transistors | 35,800 million | 28,300 million |
| Base Clock | 2310MHz | 1440MHz |
| Boost Clock | 2610MHz | 1710MHz |
| CUDA Cores | 7680 | 8704 |
| Tensor Cores | 240 | 272 |
| RT Cores | 60 | 68 |
| TMUs | 240 | 272 |
| ROPs | 80 | 96 |
| L1 Cache | 128KB (per SM) | 128KB (per SM) |
| L2 Cache | 48MB | 5MB |
| Memory Size | 12GB | 10GB/12GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6X |
| Memory Bus Width | 192-bit | 320-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 504.2GB/s | 760.3GB/s |
| TDP | 285W | 320W |
| Suggested PSU | 600W | 700W |
| Release Date | January 3, 2023 | September 1, 2020 |
| MSRP | $799 | $699 |
| Best Variants | Best RTX 4070 Ti Cards | Best RTX 3080 Cards |
This comparison table should give you a basic idea of how the two cards are different from each other. However, let’s go much deeper into their features to know what makes each one distinguishable from the other.
Architecture
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the new card, and so it’s based on the new Ada Lovelace architecture that has been put together using the 4nm process size. Ampere is the predecessor to Ada Lovelace and is also the architecture on which the older GeForce RTX 3080 is based on. At that time, NVIDIA used the then-best 8nm process size to build its GPU.
Also Read: RX 7900 XTX Vs RTX 3080 Ti
GA102, which is the chip inside GeForce RTX 3080, is a big chip containing 28,300 million transistors. It’s a powerful chip that’s found on other NVIDIA cards, such as the GeForce RTX 3090 and the RTX 3090 Ti. It has come with up to 10752 CUDA cores, but in the case of GeForce RTX 3080, it has 8704 CUDA cores.
AD104 is an extremely efficient chip from NVIDIA that has up to 35,800 million transistors and is based on a 4nm process at TSMC foundry. To date, it can accommodate up to 7680 CUDA cores, which is exactly what you find on GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. The only other card that was supposed to be based on this GPU was the GeForce RTX 4080 with 12GB of memory, which never saw the light of day and was never launched.
Design
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti doesn’t have any specific design from the manufacturer, so you can stop looking for that minimalistic founder’s edition. Most of the board partners working with NVIDIA have gone with a similar design with 3 blade fans on one side.
GeForce RTX 3080, on the other hand, is a 2-slot card with a fan on each side. You couldn’t tell the back from the front of this card from a distance if there was no RTX 3080 logo on its face. The card is 11.2 inches (285mm) long and 4.4 inches (112mm) wide.
There isn’t much to say about the design since GeForce RTX 4070 Ti doesn’t have one. You can always pick your favorite take on its design from companies like ASUS, Zotac, MSI, Gigabyte, etc.
Memory And Clock Speeds
Despite being older, GeForce RTX 3080 isn’t a card to be taken lightly as it was a huge improvement over its predecessor i.e. RTX 2080. Some of the hardware improvements, such as CUDA cores, were nothing short of unprecedented.
So, if you look at RTX 2080, it had only 2944 cores. On the other hand, GeForce RTX 3080 came with a whopping 8704 CUDA cores. What’s even more impressive is that GeForce RTX 4070 Ti has 7680 CUDA cores, which means it is 1,024 cores behind its sibling.
However, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti makes a quick recovery and offers you base clock speeds of 2310MHz compared to the 1440MHz base clock speeds offered by GeForce RTX 3080. The boost clock difference is also huge as GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offers you 2610MHz compared to only 1710MHz offered by GeForce RTX 3080.
To put into perspective, the base and boost clocks on GeForce RTX 4070 Ti are 870MHz and 900MHz faster than the GeForce RTX 3080 respectively. Also, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti has 12GB of memory compared to 10GB of memory on GeForce RTX 3080.
It is important to mention here that the GeForce RTX 3080 is also available in the 12GB version. They both support GDDR6X memory, but the GeForce RTX 3080 has a better memory BUS width of 320-bit compared to 192-bit on the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
The GeForce RTX 3080 is a powerhouse when you look at the fact that its memory bandwidth is 760.3GB/s compared to the 504.2GB/s memory speed of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
Wondering what the performance difference would be like if you put the GeForce RTX 3080 10GB against GeForce RTX 3080 12GB? If yes, you are surely going to love our RTX 3080 10GB Vs RTX 3080 12GB comparison.
Ray Tracing And AI Acceleration
Surprisingly, GeForce RTX 3080 is the better card when you look at the rendering configurations. It has 8704 CUDA cores working in conjunction with 272 tensor cores and 68 RT cores. On the other hand, you have GeForce RTX 4070 Ti with 7680 CUDA cores, 240 tensor cores, and 60 RT cores.
Even the TMUs and ROPs statistics on the GeForce RTX 3080 are better at 272 and 96 compared to the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti’s 240 and 80, respectively. Does it mean the GeForce RTX 3080 is a better card than the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti?
The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti has a trick up its sleeve to prove that wrong, and it’s the improved RT cores and tensor cores technology. In simple words, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offers you 3rd-gen RT cores and 4th-gen tensor cores compared to 2nd-gen RT cores and 3rd-gen tensor cores on the GeForce RTX 3080.
RTX 3080 Vs RTX 4070 Ti: 4K Gaming Benchmarks
A card may sound great when you read its spec sheet, but it doesn’t mean you will get the same level of performance from it. We have to put NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and GeForce RTX 3080 against each other in 4K gaming benchmarks to see which one has the more impressive real-world performance. We head over to Exploring Benchmarks on YouTube for these 4K gaming benchmarks. Let’s take a look at the PC setup they are using for these benchmarks.
Testing PC Specifications
- OS: Windows 10 pro
- CPU: INTEL i9 13900K
- Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z790 – E Gaming
- Cooler: Corsair ICUE H150I ELITE
- GPU 1: Asus ROG Strix Gaming RTX 4070Ti 12GB
- GPU 2: Asus TUF Gaming RTX 3080 12GB
- SSD: Samsung 980 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2
- HDD: WD Blue 4TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive
- PSU: Corsair RMX SERIES RM1000X 1000 WATT
- RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB DDR5 6000MHz RAM
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It is worth keeping in mind that the GeForce RTX 3080 in these 4K gaming benchmarks is the 12GB version of the card. So, let’s get right into it.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was the better performer out of the two in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as it delivered an average of 104FPS compared to 87FPS we got from GeForce RTX 3080.
- Based on the average FPS we got from both cards, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was able to deliver nearly 20% improved FPS performance over the GeForce RTX 3080.
- There was no difference in the amount of power used by the two cards, which in a way proves that the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is more efficient since it gave us a better FPS reading.
- Yet again, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti proves to be quite impressive by staying at 60° Celsius compared to GeForce RTX 3080, which was 6° hotter at 66° Celsius.
Cyberpunk 2077
- GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was again the more impressive GPU out of the two as its FPS reading was 61 while the average FPS delivered by the GeForce RTX 3080 was 44FPS.
- Despite the difference in looking small, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was nearly 39% better than GeForce RTX 3080 in generating frames per second.
- GeForce RTX 4070 Ti surprised us in power usage statistics as it used 39 watts less than GeForce RTX 3080, which used 289W from the PSU.
- It was a back-and-forth battle between the two in terms of heat generation, as the GeForce RTX 3080 was 1° cooler than GeForce RTX 4070 Ti at 65° Celsius.
Forza Horizon 5
- The GeForce RTX 3080 made a comeback in this test and offered us 123FPS on average compared to 121FPS delivered by GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
- It was quite refreshing to see an older GPU beating the new one, although the difference of only 2 frames per second was quite negligible.
- It seemed the GeForce RTX 3080 was the better card overall for playing Forza Horizon 5 as it was using only 3W more than the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was using.
- The temperatures were also more impressive on the GeForce RTX 3080, which was able to offer improved FPS performance while being 49° Celsius compared to its sibling, which was at 53° Celsius.
Also Read: RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3070 Ti
God Of War
- GeForce RTX 4070 Ti makes a comeback after a short downfall by mustering up a score of 97FPS compared to a score of 81FPS for the GeForce RTX 3080.
- In this GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs GeForce RTX 3080 benchmark test, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offered us a performance boost of nearly 20% by delivering 16 more every second.
- The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti proves yet again that it’s the more power-efficient option by consuming 250 watts, which was 26 watts less than what GeForce RTX 3080 used.
- The temperature difference wasn’t huge, but the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was operating at 3° lower than GeForce RTX 3080, i.e., 65° Celsius vs 68° Celsius.
Hitman III
- The difference in framerates widened in this test, and GeForce RTX 4070 Ti came out as the winner by offering 126FPS compared to 98FPS from GeForce RTX 3080.
- By offering 28 more frames every second, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was able to deliver a performance boost of nearly 29% over its sibling.
- Things got only better for GeForce RTX 4070 Ti as it put a load of no more than 269 watts on the power supply, whereas GeForce RTX 3080 did 307 watts.
- The GeForce RTX 3080 turned the tables on the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti by not heating more than 63° Celsius, whereas the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was 67° Celsius.
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Horizon Zero Dawn
- We saw another impressive display of power from the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti when it produced an average of 95FPS compared to an average of 72FPS from the GeForce RTX 3080.
- This difference of 23 frames every second was quite huge as it gave the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti a lead of 32% over its sibling.
- Power consumption statistics from the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti were impressive yet again, as it used no more than 224 watts from the PSU on average compared to GeForce RTX 3080, which used 255 watts.
- There was no temperature difference between the two as both operated at 62° Celsius while playing Horizon Zero Dawn.
Spider-Man Remastered
- GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offered a better framerate of 53FPS, whereas GeForce RTX 3080 offered an average framerate of 39FPS.
- Since both numbers were small, even the small difference of 14FPS meant GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offered us a performance boost of 36% over the GeForce RTX 3080.
- Aside from the FPS battle, the GeForce RTX 3080 was able to win in other departments as it offered a power usage statistic of 230W compared to 251W from GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
- The GeForce RTX 3080 was also able to stay 2° cooler at 57° Celsius compared to the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which was operating at 59° Celsius in this test.
Overall Gaming Performance
Forza Horizon 5 was the only game in these benchmarks where the GeForce RTX 3080 gave us 2 more frames per second than the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. The widest gap in terms of FPS was in Hitman III. In this benchmark, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was able to offer us 28 more frames every second than GeForce RTX 3080.
When you take into account the average performance boost, Cyberpunk 2077 proved to be the best game in favor of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti because it was able to offer us an FPS boost of 39% over the GeForce RTX 3080.
Looking at the overall gaming performance, we got an average FPS of 94FPS from GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, whereas GeForce RTX 3080 was able to deliver an average of 78FPS. This means a difference of 16FPS on average, with GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offering the higher framerate.
We can conclude our analysis of the 4K gaming benchmarks by saying that GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offers a nearly 21% performance boost compared to GeForce RTX 3080.
Want to see GeForce RTX 3080 go head-to-head with one of the best from AMD? You should check out our RX 7900 XT Vs RTX 3080 comparison and gaming benchmarks. See which one comes out as the winner.
Power Usage And Thermal Statistics
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was the only game where there was no difference in the two card’s power usage, and Spider-Man Remastered was the only one wherein GeForce RTX 3080 used less power than the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
In Cyberpunk 2077, the RTX 4070 Ti proved to be the most power-efficient as it only consumed 250 Watts. On the other hand, the RTX 4080 consumed a solid 39 Watts more power.
The average power consumption for GeForce RTX 4070 Ti came to about 247W, whereas the average power usage for GeForce RTX 3080 was 263W. That’s a difference of 16 watts.
With that difference, we can conclude that GeForce RTX 4080 Ti is about 6.5% more power-efficient than the GeForce RTX 3080 in 4K gaming benchmarks of the 7 games we went through.
If you have to add cooling costs to that bill, you might never want to buy an expensive card. When it comes to heat generation, our benchmark results showed that none of them is better than the other.
They both fought a tug of war in heat generation, and while GeForce RTX 3080 was the cooler one in more games, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was cooler by more degrees in the games where its temperature was lower.
In other words, GeForce RTX 3080 experienced lower temperatures in 4 games, but its best performance was when it was 4° cooler than GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in Forza Horizon 5. On the other hand, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was cooler in just 2 games, but it was cooler by 6° Celsius than the GeForce RTX 3080 in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla benchmarks.
Overall, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti maintained a temperature of 62° Celsius, and GeForce RTX 3080 operated at an average temperature of 61° Celsius. As a result, you can call it a tie between the two in thermal performance.
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Pricing And Availability
For the pricing of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, you will have to rely on companies like Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS because they are NVIDIA’s board partners, and the manufacturer hasn’t released a founder’s edition.
Also Check: RX 6700 XT Vs RTX 3070
You will have to get the card with some modifications whether you like it or not. NVIDIA lists the starting price of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti at $799. Luckily, you will find many third-party options at that exact price.
The most expensive option listed by NVIDIA is MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPRIM X 12G, which is available for $949. It comes with a boosted clock of 2775MHz and the TRI-FROZR 3S cooling system.
The starting price of GeForce RTX 3080, according to NVIDIA, is $699 for the 10GB variant. However, you are out of luck if you are looking for this option because it is out of stock. Most of the board-partner variants are also out of stock on Amazon.
The most expensive GeForce RTX 3080 available for buying on Amazon is the Gigabyte 10GB version with Windforce cooling system and is listed at a whopping $1589. If you compare the manufacturer’s suggested price for both cards, GeForce RTX 3080 is $100 cheaper than GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which is a 14.3% saving for those who will choose to go for the former.
RTX 4070 Ti Vs RTX 3080: Which One’s For You?
The card you buy depends entirely on what you prefer. When you compare GeForce RTX 4070 Ti to GeForce RTX 3080, there are 3 main points to consider: price, value, and preference.
If you focus only on price, GeForce RTX 3080 is the cheaper option. If you prefer newer and more optimized architecture, RT cores, and tensor cores, you might want to consider GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.
However, if you are the one who looks for value, then you’ll have to focus on other factors. In our tests, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was 21% better than GeForce RTX 3080 in terms of average FPS in 4K games.
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti was the winner in being energy-efficient, too, because it used 6.5% less power than GeForce RTX 3080, saving 17 watts on average in all 7 games.
We didn’t discover anything mentionable in their thermal statistics. With the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and the GeForce RTX 3080 keeping temperatures at 61° and 62° Celsius, respectively, there was no winner or loser.
Consider those factors and then look at the price difference of 14.3%, with GeForce RTX 3080 being 14.3% lower in terms of price. What makes more sense to you? In any case, we hope that our GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs GeForce RTX 3080 comparison will help you select the right card for your rig.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can find the GeForce RTX 3080 in the 10GB and 12GB versions.
Yes, despite the chip shortage issue, there are several options listed on NVIDIA’s website that you can get for $799.
That’s the maximum boost you can achieve through software, but there are variants of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti from NVIDIA’s board partners that have clocks boosted to 2775MHz.
Also Read:
- Best RTX 3080 Ti: Budget, Overclocking, & Gaming
- Best Airflow PC Cases in 2023
- RX 7900 XT Vs RTX 3080
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