AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT records an average benchmark score of 11627, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER shows 3075.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT uses 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER packs 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The RX 7800 XT offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5080 SUPER provides 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has 10,752 shading units, compared to 3,840 on the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT.

Q: What is the single head-to-head benchmark result in the database?

A: In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 7800 XT scores 4157 versus 3075 for the RTX 5080 SUPER, a 35.2% delta in favor of AMD.

Q: What are the launch MSRP values for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT has a launch MSRP of 499 USD, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 999 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The database contains a limited set of direct comparisons, but the available data paints a clear picture for specific use cases.

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT dominates the only shared benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a 35.2% advantage over the RTX 5080 SUPER. This is a modern DirectX 12 workload, and the RX 7800 XT's 4157 score versus 3075 indicates a decisive win in that specific rendering path. For users running DX12 gaming workloads comparable to Steel Nomad, the AMD card holds a substantial edge.

The RX 7800 XT also demonstrates broad strength across other recorded metrics. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 54228 and OpenCL score of 18290 show strong compute performance in those APIs. The PassMark G3D score of 24176 and GPU Compute score of 13473 further indicate solid general-purpose and compute capabilities. The card achieves a 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER, by contrast, has only a single recorded benchmark result. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3075 places it at the 19th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals in the database for the RTX 5080 SUPER include the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (3.1% slower in average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce 820A (3.1% faster), which suggests the recorded data for this card is sparse and may not reflect its full capability set. The RTX 5080 SUPER does carry architectural advantages in raw specifications, including 10,752 shading units and 336 tensor cores, which the benchmark data does not yet capture in gaming workloads.

For compute-heavy tasks that leverage FP32 throughput, the RTX 5080 SUPER's 56.28 TFLOPS exceeds the RX 7800 XT's 37.32 TFLOPS. However, in the actual recorded benchmark, the RX 7800 XT wins. The data indicates that the RX 7800 XT is the stronger performer in the tested DX12 scenario, while the RTX 5080 SUPER's advantages remain theoretical until more benchmark results are recorded.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies.

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT uses the Navi 32 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation with the codename Wheat Nas. It is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 81.2M per mm².

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER uses the GB203 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 50 generation. It is also manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, but with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, resulting in a higher transistor density of 120.6M per mm².

The RTX 5080 SUPER includes dedicated tensor cores (336 of them), which the RX 7800 XT lacks entirely. This indicates support for AI-accelerated workloads that the AMD card cannot match at the hardware level. Both cards feature ray tracing cores, with the RTX 5080 SUPER carrying 84 RT cores versus 60 on the RX 7800 XT.

The memory subsystems differ fundamentally. The RX 7800 XT uses GDDR6 memory clocked at 19.5 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5080 SUPER uses GDDR7 at 32 Gbps effective. The RTX 5080 SUPER also has a higher base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2617 MHz, compared to 1295 MHz base and 2430 MHz boost on the RX 7800 XT. The RX 7800 XT has a game clock of 2124 MHz, a metric the RTX 5080 SUPER does not report.

The bus interface differs as well: the RX 7800 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5080 SUPER uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The display outputs are similar, with the RX 7800 XT offering HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1, while the RTX 5080 SUPER has HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge across nearly every major specification category.

The RX 7800 XT has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. The RTX 5080 SUPER has 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The RTX 5080 SUPER also adds 336 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 7800 XT.

Memory capacity and type differ: 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus for AMD versus 24 GB GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus for NVIDIA. The bandwidth gap is substantial, 624.1 GB/s for the RX 7800 XT versus 1.02 TB/s for the RTX 5080 SUPER.

Clock speeds favor the NVIDIA card. The RTX 5080 SUPER runs at 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost, while the RX 7800 XT runs at 1295 MHz base and 2430 MHz boost. The RX 7800 XT has a game clock of 2124 MHz, which the RTX 5080 SUPER does not specify.

Pixel and texture throughput rates also favor NVIDIA. The RTX 5080 SUPER delivers 293.1 GPixel/s and 879.3 GTexel/s, versus 233.3 GPixel/s and 583.2 GTexel/s for the RX 7800 XT. FP32 compute is 56.28 TFLOPS for the RTX 5080 SUPER and 37.32 TFLOPS for the RX 7800 XT, with both cards offering 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratios.

Power and physical specifications show notable differences. The RX 7800 XT has a TDP of 263 W with dual 8-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX 5080 SUPER has a TDP of 415 W with a single 16-pin connector and no suggested PSU listed. Both are dual-slot cards, but the RTX 5080 SUPER is longer at 304 mm versus 267 mm, taller at 137 mm versus 111 mm, and thinner at 40 mm versus 50 mm.

Both cards are listed as Active in production status. The RX 7800 XT was released on 2023-09-05, while the RTX 5080 SUPER is dated 2025-12-31.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records exactly one direct head-to-head comparison between these two GPUs: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

In that test, the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT scores 4157, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER scores 3075. The delta is 35.2% in favor of AMD. This is a substantial margin in a modern DX12 benchmark, and it is the only direct performance data point available.

The RX 7800 XT's broader benchmark suite provides additional context. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 54228 and OpenCL score of 18290 indicate strong API-level performance. The PassMark suite shows 24176 in G3D, 13473 in GPU Compute, 1177 in G2D, and lower scores in legacy DirectX tests: 304 in DX9, 249 in DX11, 121 in DX10, and 93 in DX12.

The RTX 5080 SUPER has no additional recorded benchmarks beyond the Steel Nomad result. Its average benchmark score of 3075 places it at the 19th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 7800 XT sits at the 51st percentile with an average score of 11627.

The nearest rival data for each card further contextualizes the results. The RX 7800 XT's closest competitors by average score include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (0.5% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (0.9% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla K20c (1.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (1.8% lower). The RTX 5080 SUPER's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (2.8% lower), the Intel Arc Pro B60 (3.4% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce 820A (3.1% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M (3.6% higher).

The gap between the two cards in the single shared benchmark is the dominant finding. A 35.2% delta in a DX12 workload is meaningful, and the RX 7800 XT's additional benchmark results reinforce that it performs well across multiple test suites.

The Verdict

The recorded data strongly favors the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT in the only direct comparison available. The 35.2% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is decisive, and the card's broad benchmark profile, including strong Geekbench Vulkan and PassMark G3D scores, supports its position as the better-performing GPU in the database's current measurements.

The RX 7800 XT also offers a lower launch MSRP of 499 USD compared to 999 USD for the RTX 5080 SUPER. Its lower TDP of 263 W versus 415 W, smaller physical footprint, and use of standard dual 8-pin power connectors make it a more straightforward installation for existing systems.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER presents a different story. Its specifications are impressive on paper: more shading units, higher clock speeds, more memory, faster memory, and dedicated tensor cores. The FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS exceeds the RX 7800 XT's 37.32 TFLOPS. However, the only recorded benchmark shows it trailing significantly, and its sparse benchmark data and 19th percentile ranking leave its real-world performance poorly characterized.

Users who prioritize the tested DX12 gaming workload should select the RX 7800 XT based on the data. Users who require the RTX 5080 SUPER's specific features, such as tensor cores for AI workloads, higher memory capacity, or greater compute throughput, would need to weigh those specifications against the lack of supporting benchmark evidence. The data does not currently justify the RTX 5080 SUPER's higher launch MSRP or higher power draw in the scenarios tested.

The verdict from the database is straightforward: the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT wins the only head-to-head test and has a far more complete benchmark record. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER remains an unproven entity in these measurements, with specifications that suggest capability but no recorded results to confirm it.