AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Comparison

The benchmark data positions the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE as close competitors overall, with the AMD card holding a narrow aggregate edge. The RTX 3080 posts an average benchmark score of 35787, while the RX 7900 GRE scores 36101, a difference of 0.9% in favor of the AMD card. Both GPUs sit at the 80th percentile among all GPUs, indicating they are squarely in the same performance tier. The head-to-head results show the RX 7900 GRE winning 8 of 10 tests, but the margins are often modest, and the RTX 3080 secures decisive victories in specific legacy workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant single-test win for the RX 7900 GRE comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 4814 against the RTX 3080’s 4407, a difference of 8.5%. This is the largest performance gap in the entire comparison and suggests the AMD card has a clear advantage in modern DirectX 12 rasterization workloads. The RX 7900 GRE also wins PassMark DirectX 11 by a wide margin, scoring 300 versus 207, which translates to a 31% lead. This is the biggest percentage delta in either direction across all tests.

The RTX 3080 counters with its own strong showing in PassMark DirectX 10, scoring 170 against the RX 7900 GRE’s 139, a 22.3% advantage. This indicates NVIDIA’s architecture retains a significant edge in older DirectX 10 titles. The RTX 3080 also wins the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 145176 versus 144142, a narrow 0.7% margin. That result shows the NVIDIA card can still hold its own in Vulkan-based applications, albeit barely.

The remaining wins for the RX 7900 GRE are consistent but smaller. In PassMark DirectX 12, the AMD card scores 107 versus 100, a 6.5% lead. In PassMark DirectX 9, it wins 310 to 258, a 16.8% advantage. The RX 7900 GRE also takes PassMark G3D (27089 vs 25086, 7.4% ahead), PassMark GPU Compute (15016 vs 14397, 4.1% ahead), PassMark G2D (1180 vs 1054, 10.7% ahead), and Geekbench OpenCL (167913 vs 167014, 0.5% ahead). The OpenCL result is nearly a tie, showing parity in compute-heavy OpenCL tasks.

The aggregate picture is clear: the RX 7900 GRE wins the modern, high-level benchmarks by meaningful margins, while the RTX 3080 dominates only the legacy DirectX 10 test and squeaks by in Vulkan. The 31% delta in DirectX 11 is the standout outlier, suggesting the AMD card has a substantial architectural advantage in that API generation.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different designs. The RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip, based on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It packs 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per square millimeter. The RX 7900 GRE uses the Navi 31 chip, based on AMD’s RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, giving a much higher density of 109.1 million per square millimeter.

The core configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 3080 has 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. It also includes 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, reflecting NVIDIA’s hybrid approach to ray tracing and AI acceleration. The RX 7900 GRE has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 160 ROPs. It has 80 RT cores but no tensor cores, relying on its shader array for compute tasks. The AMD card’s higher TMU and ROP counts contribute to its superior pixel rate of 359.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 718.4 GTexel/s, compared to the RTX 3080’s 164.2 GPixel/s and 465.1 GTexel/s.

Memory subsystems differ as well. The RTX 3080 uses 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7900 GRE uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 576.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has higher bandwidth, but the AMD card offers 60% more capacity. Clock speeds favor AMD: the RX 7900 GRE boosts to 2245 MHz with a 1880 MHz game clock, while the RTX 3080 boosts to 1710 MHz. The AMD card also has a higher FP32 throughput at 45.98 TFLOPS versus 29.77 TFLOPS, and its FP16 rate of 91.96 TFLOPS (2:1) far exceeds the RTX 3080’s 29.77 TFLOPS (1:1).

Power requirements are notably different. The RTX 3080 has a 320 W TDP and requires a 700 W power supply, using a single 12-pin connector. The RX 7900 GRE has a 260 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU, using two 8-pin connectors. The AMD card is more power-efficient in terms of performance per watt, given its higher scores at lower power draw. The RTX 3080 is dual-slot at 285 mm long, while the RX 7900 GRE is also dual-slot but shorter at 276 mm, though slightly wider at 51 mm versus 40 mm.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 GRE is the clear choice for modern DirectX 12 and DirectX 11 gaming. Its 8.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad and 31% lead in PassMark DirectX 11 show it handles contemporary rendering paths with more headroom. The 16.8% win in DirectX 9 also means it is not left behind in older titles, making it a more versatile option for a mixed game library. Its 16 GB memory buffer gives it an edge in texture-heavy workloads at high resolutions, even if the bandwidth is lower than the RTX 3080’s.

The RTX 3080 wins specifically in legacy DirectX 10 scenarios, where its 22.3% advantage is substantial. This makes it the better pick for anyone running a library of older games that rely on DirectX 10. Its Vulkan win, while narrow at 0.7%, shows it can still compete in Vulkan-based titles. The higher memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s may benefit certain compute or data-intensive tasks, though the benchmark data shows it only edges ahead in Vulkan, not in OpenCL where the RX 7900 GRE wins by 0.5%.

For compute workloads, the results are mixed. The RX 7900 GRE wins PassMark GPU Compute by 4.1%, indicating better raw compute throughput in that test. The Geekbench OpenCL result is nearly identical, so neither card has a decisive edge in general-purpose compute. The RTX 3080’s tensor cores are a feature the RX 7900 GRE lacks, but no benchmark in this data set specifically tests tensor performance, so their impact cannot be quantified here.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the better overall performer. It wins 8 of 10 head-to-head tests, including all the modern API workloads that matter most for current gaming. The 31% lead in DirectX 11 and 8.5% lead in DX12 are decisive. Its lower TDP of 260 W versus 320 W also makes it easier to integrate into a system with a 600 W PSU instead of 700 W. The launch MSRP of 549 USD is lower than the RTX 3080’s 699 USD, though this page does not analyze value.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 should be chosen by users who specifically need DirectX 10 performance, where it is 22.3% faster. It also holds a slight edge in Vulkan, so users of Vulkan-based games might prefer it. Its 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is a hardware advantage, but the benchmark results do not show it translating into wins outside of Vulkan. The RTX 3080 is end-of-life, while the RX 7900 GRE is active, meaning the AMD card is the more future-proof option in terms of availability.

For most builders, the RX 7900 GRE delivers more performance across a wider range of tests. The RTX 3080 is not obsolete—it still ties or beats its rival in two tests—but the data shows the AMD card is the stronger all-rounder. The 0.9% aggregate score difference is small, but the distribution of wins heavily favors the RX 7900 GRE.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE has an average score of 36101, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 35787, a difference of 0.9%.

Q: What is the biggest single-test performance gap?

A: The PassMark DirectX 11 test shows the largest gap, with the RX 7900 GRE scoring 300 versus the RTX 3080’s 207, a 31% difference.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 win any benchmark tests?

A: Yes, the RTX 3080 wins PassMark DirectX 10 (170 vs 139, 22.3% ahead) and Geekbench Vulkan (145176 vs 144142, 0.7% ahead).

Q: How does memory capacity compare between the two cards?

A: The RX 7900 GRE has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 7900 GRE boosts to 2245 MHz, compared to the RTX 3080’s boost of 1710 MHz.

Q: Are both cards in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both the RTX 3080 and RX 7900 GRE sit at the 80th percentile among all GPUs.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE |

|---|---|---|

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 5 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 28,300 million | 57,700 million |

| Die Size | 628 mm² | 529 mm² |

| Shading Units | 8704 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 272 | 320 |

| ROPs | 96 | 160 |

| RT Cores | 68 | 80 |

| Tensor Cores | 272 | None |

| Base Clock | 1440 MHz | 1287 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1710 MHz | 2245 MHz |

| Memory Size | 10 GB GDDR6X | 16 GB GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 320 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 760.3 GB/s | 576.0 GB/s |

| FP32 Performance | 29.77 TFLOPS | 45.98 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 29.77 TFLOPS (1:1) | 91.96 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 320 W | 260 W |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 600 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 12-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Length | 285 mm | 276 mm |

| Width | 40 mm | 51 mm |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB-C |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2020-08-31 | 2023-07-26 |