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GeForce RTX 5090
Rated: 9.3/10
GeForce RTX 5080
Rated: 9.1/10
Pros And Cons
GPU
Pros
Cons
RTX 5090
✅ Come with PCIe 5.0
✅ Enhanced Performance Via DLSS 4
❌ High Price Point
RTX 5080
✅ Same MSRP as RTX 4080 Super
✅ Efficient Cooling System
❌ Poor performance boost over last gen
Key Takeaways
Starting with gaming and productivity performance, the RTX 5090 was the clear winner with a major 43.3% and 27.2% lead over the RTX 5080, giving it a comfortable win.
On the other hand, the 5080 offered better power efficiency in all departments which could be easily understandable as it offered way less performance.
As for the pricing, since both of these cards are still new, they can only be acquired at MSRP where they have a price difference of 67.7%, which could change at any moment.
Although the RTX 5090 offers a major improvement over the RTX 5080, the main question is whether it is worth the extra cost and whether you have the budget for it.
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Comparison Table
Feature
GeForce RTX 5090
GeForce RTX 5080
Architecture
Blackwell
Blackwell 2.0
Process Node
TSMC 5nm
TSMC 5nm
GPU Die
GB202
GB203
GPU Shaders
21760
10752
Tensor Cores
680
336
RT Cores
170
84
VRAM (GB)
32 GB GDDR7
16 GB GDDR7
VRAM Bus Width
512 bit
256 bit
Architectural Differences
Clock Speed: Starting off, the RTX 5080 has a higher boost clock (2.62 GHz) than the RTX 5090 (2.41 GHz), but the 5090’s extra cores compensate for the difference.
VRAM: In this department, the RTX 5090 packs 32GB GDDR7 (512-bit, 1,792 GB/s), while the RTX 5080 has 16GB GDDR7 (256-bit, 960 GB/s), allowing the 5090 to handle memory-heavy tasks much better.
Process Node: Furthermore, both GPUs are built on TSMC’s4N process, a refined 5nm technology that boosts efficiency and performance.
TDP: In terms of power draw, the RTX 5090 has a 575W TDP, requiring a high-wattage PSU. The RTX 5080 is more power-efficient at 360W TDP.
Supported Technologies: Lastly, both GPUs support DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, ray tracing, PCIe Gen 5, and DisplayPort 2.1b for cutting-edge visuals and performance.
After the recent release of the RTX 5000 series, many people have been wondering how the top dogs of this series perform against each other. In this article, I will be covering this topic and testing these cards through a number of AAA games and software to benchmark their performance.
Gaming Benchmarks – 2160p
Since we have already covered all the nitty-gritty of these cards on paper, it’s time to put them in an identical testing rig and then see how well they perform in real environments. Can they really pull the numbers Nvidia claims or were they numbers that were to be taken with a grain of salt? Let’s check it out.
The RTX 5090 really shows its muscle here, delivering an average of 102 FPS, which is a solid 38.5% jump over the 69 FPS on the RTX 5080. Everything from lightsaber battles to wide-open landscapes just felt smoother.
The 1% lows tell an equally compelling story, with the RTX 5090 coming in at 88 FPS compared to 58 FPS on the RTX 5080 which creates a hefty 41% difference.
A Plague Tale Requiem
A Plague Tale Requiem 2160p Gaming Benchmarks – Image Credits (Tech4Gamers)
With the RTX 5090 pushing 128 FPS versus 78 FPS on the RTX 5080, it’s a night-and-day difference with about 48.5% better frames on the former.
The 1% lows are where it really counts though and the RTX 5090 handles the demanding moments with 92 FPS, a 32.9% uplift over the RTX 5080’s 66 FPS, keeping things consistent
Night City comes to life with the RTX 5090’s 124 FPS, comfortably outpacing the RTX 5080’s 80 FPS by a solid 43.1%, the difference was especially noticeable in car chases and gun fights.
On the stability front, the 1% lows improved by about 47.3%, jumping from 66 FPS on the RTX 5080 to 107 FPS on the RTX 5090 allowing it to smooth out any choppy frame dips.
Dying Light 2 saw a huge performance bump in my testing, with the RTX 5090 delivering 122 FPS compared to 78 FPS on the RTX 5080, giving a whopping 44% boost.
Even during the most demanding moments, the RTX 5090 held steady with 107 FPS on the 1% lows, 45.9% better than the RTX 5080’s 44 FPS. Fewer frame dips made the gameplay feel way more fluid.
Dragon Age The Veilguard
Dragon Age The Veilguard 2160p Gaming Benchmarks – Image Credits (Tech4Gamers)
The RTX 5090 managed 96 FPS here, pulling ahead by 28.5% over the RTX 5080’s 72 FPS in Dragon Age which was fairly noticeable in large-style battles.
Frame dips were much better controlled, with 78 FPS on the RTX 5090 versus just 62 FPS on the RTX 5080. That’s a 26% improvement, which made the transitions between areas feel a lot less choppy.
The Last of Us Part I
The Last of Us Part I 2160p Gaming Benchmarks – Image Credits (Tech4Gamers)
TLOU 1 game definitely benefits from the RTX 5090’s power, as in my test it cranked out 125 FPS compared to the RTX 5080’s 72 FPS, giving it a massive 53.8% lead.
The 1% lows were also much more stable, with the RTX 5090’s 115 FPS staying 59.8% higher than the RTX 5080’s 62 FPS, allowing the intense cutscenes and fights to feel more fluid.
Swinging through New York felt incredible on the RTX 5090, with an impressive 212 FPS. giving 48.6% higher frames than the RTX 5080’s 129 FPS. The fluidity made every web-slinging moment feel like it was straight out of a movie.
Even the 1% lows showed big gains, with the RTX 5090 hitting 171 FPS compared to 109 FPS on the RTX 5080, a 44.2% improvement.
The RTX 5090 pulls ahead big time in the Hogwarts Legacy in my testing, delivering 144 FPS compared to the RTX 5080’s 100 FPS, giving a solid 36% boost.
Moreover, the 1% lows were also noticeably better, with the RTX 5090 sitting at 82 FPS, a 35.9% improvement over the RTX 5080’s 57 FPS.
Productivity Benchmarks
Now that we have covered the gaming aspect, we know there are many users out there who use graphic cards for their productivity tasks as well. Therefore, I took additional steps to run these cards through some software to test their performance in productivity.
The RTX 5090 achieves 135 FPS, delivering a 25% improvement over the RTX 5080’s 105 FPS. This results in faster real-time rendering, making game development workflows significantly smoother.
With 155 FPS, the RTX 5090 outperforms the RTX 5080 by 23%, which was running at 123 FPS. This means quicker scene rendering and a more responsive experience when working on complex assets.
DaVinci Resolve Studio
DaVinci Resolve Studio Productivity Benchmarks – Image Credits (Tech4Gamers)
The RTX 5090 scores 13,370, marking a 13.6% boost over the RTX 5080’s 11,659. Video editors will experience faster rendering times and smoother playback when working with high-resolution footage.
The RTX 5090 delivers a 47.1% increase, reaching 15,216 points compared to the RTX 5080’s 9,411. This translates to significantly faster rendering times in 3D workflows, making it a powerhouse for animation and modeling.
Overall Performance
Graphic Cards
RTX 5090
RTX 5080
Average FPS
📈131.6
📈84.7
1% Lows
📉105
📉68.1
Productivity (Rating)
✏️9/10
✏️7/10
Winner: GeForce RTX 5090
Average Framerate
Based on all the eight games that were tested on these cards, the RTX 5090 was able to pull an easy win over the RTX 5080 as the average performance difference between the two cards is a whopping 43.3%, making it the perfect choice for gaming enthusiasts.
1% Lows
A similar picture was drawn when it comes to 1% lows, as the RTX 5090 maintained an average lead of 42.5% over the RTX 5080. This difference allows the former to make games feel more fluid whether you are sitting enjoying a story play or engaging in first-person shooting situations in a game.
Productivity
I didn’t see much difference when it came to productivity benchmarking as well, since the RTX 5090 was leading the results by 27.2% on average against the RTX 5080. This difference can easily improve the productivity rating of any rig.
Power Consumption
Power Consumption
RTX 5080
RTX 5090
Idle
21⚡
31⚡
Gaming
326⚡
588⚡
Ray Tracing
333⚡
562⚡
Maximum
376⚡
602⚡
Winner: GeForce RTX 5080
In terms of power management, the 5080 was the obvious winner as it provides lesser performance, allowing it to function while consuming almost half the power of the RTX 5090, making it more lucrative for users who aren’t looking to upgrade their power supply or want power efficiency.
Price
GPU
RTX 5090
RTX 5080
Price Difference
Launch MSRP
💲1999
💲999
67.7%
Current Price
💲1999
💲999
67.7%
The prices of these cards still warrant some attention as both the cards are new and can be difficult to find or acquire. Moreover, since we still don’t have other variants we have to consider the MSRP as the base price for now which showcases a major 67.7% difference, but this could change in the near future.
What We Recommend
GeForce RTX 5090: The RTX 5090 was designed to reign supreme over the RTX 5000 series and it is doing that job perfectly. Still, many users are still wondering whether the high price is worth it as the debate of real vs AI frames continues, where users are skeptical about the raw performance of this card.
GeForce RTX 5080: Although the RTX 5080 is a decent graphics card, many users are still disappointed regarding its small performance jump over its last-gen rival the RTX 4080 Super, as they consider that Nvidia hasn’t delivered everything that it promised when they announced the RTX 5000 series.
Finally based on the performance in gaming and productivity, the RTX 5090 is the clear winner and my recommendation among these two. But whether you think the price difference and budget is worth it is something that each user has to decide which could sway your decision to pick the RTX 5080.
FAQs
What are the key differences between the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090?
The RTX 5090 has more CUDA cores, higher clock speeds, increased VRAM, and better memory bandwidth, making it significantly faster.
How do these GPUs perform in ray tracing-heavy games?
The RTX 5090 excels in ray tracing with improved RT cores and bandwidth, while the RTX 5080 may need DLSS for smooth performance.
Is the RTX 5090 worth the upgrade over the RTX 5080?
If you’re gaming at 4K, want the best ray tracing, or do professional work, yes but for 1440p, the RTX 5080 is still a strong choice.
What kind of power supply do these cards require?
The RTX 5090 likely needs at least 850W, while the RTX 5080 should run fine on 750W+, depending on system configuration.
What is Multi Frame Generation in the RTX 5080 and 5090?
Multi Frame Generation in DLSS 4 allows these GPUs to generate multiple extra frames per rendered frame, massively boosting FPS.
Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.
