NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the PassMark G3D benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti records a PassMark G3D score of 18600, which is 18.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000's 15117.

Q: Does the Quadro RTX 4000 win any benchmark comparisons?

A: Yes, it wins two head-to-head tests: Geekbench OpenCL (74540 vs 67929, a 9.7% lead) and Geekbench Vulkan (78844 vs 40511, a 94.6% lead).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 416.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR5X on a 352-bit bus with 484.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: They are nearly identical. The Quadro RTX 4000 has 25.0M transistors per mm², while the GTX 1080 Ti has 25.1M per mm².

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has a 160 W TDP and a suggested 450 W PSU. The GTX 1080 Ti has a 250 W TDP and a suggested 600 W PSU.

Q: Which GPU supports hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the Quadro RTX 4000 includes 36 RT cores and 288 tensor cores. The GTX 1080 Ti has no RT cores or tensor cores listed.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different NVIDIA architectures and process nodes. The Quadro RTX 4000 is built on the Turing architecture using a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die. The GTX 1080 Ti uses the older Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process, also from TSMC, with 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die. Despite the older node, the transistor density is nearly the same: 25.0M per mm² for the Quadro and 25.1M per mm² for the GTX 1080 Ti.

The compute core counts differ significantly. The Quadro RTX 4000 has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GTX 1080 Ti has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs. This gives the GTX 1080 Ti a substantial raw shading advantage, which shows up in its higher pixel rate (139.2 GPixel/s vs 98.88 GPixel/s) and texture rate (354.4 GTexel/s vs 222.5 GTexel/s).

The Quadro RTX 4000 introduces dedicated acceleration hardware: 36 RT cores and 288 tensor cores. These are absent from the GTX 1080 Ti. The FP32 throughput tells the story of raw compute: the GTX 1080 Ti reaches 11.34 TFLOPS, while the Quadro RTX 4000 manages 7.119 TFLOPS. In FP16, the Quadro RTX 4000 hits 14.24 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the GTX 1080 Ti is limited to 177.2 GFLOPS with a 1:64 ratio, a massive difference in half-precision capability.

Memory architecture also differs. The Quadro RTX 4000 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus, while the GTX 1080 Ti uses 11 GB of GDDR5X with a 352-bit bus. The GTX 1080 Ti has higher memory bandwidth at 484.4 GB/s versus 416.0 GB/s. Clock speeds are lower on the Quadro (1005 MHz base, 1545 MHz boost) than the GTX 1080 Ti (1481 MHz base, 1582 MHz boost), but the memory clock is higher on the Quadro at 1625 MHz (13 Gbps effective) versus 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective).

API support favors the Quadro RTX 4000. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1080 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The Quadro RTX 4000 also has a display output setup with 3x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C, while the GTX 1080 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1080 Ti wins in traditional rasterization workloads. It takes 8 of the 10 head-to-head benchmarks, including all PassMark DirectX tests and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its lead ranges from 8.5% in DirectX 10 to 35.9% in GPU compute. The GTX 1080 Ti also has more memory (11 GB vs 8 GB) and higher bandwidth, which helps in texture-heavy and high-resolution gaming scenarios. Its larger ROP and TMU counts reinforce this advantage in fill-rate-bound tasks.

The Quadro RTX 4000 wins in compute-oriented and API-specific workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 9.7% higher, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 94.6% higher, which is the largest margin in any test. The presence of RT cores and tensor cores makes it better suited for ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated tasks, even though no dedicated ray tracing benchmark is present in the data. The Quadro also has a lower TDP at 160 W versus 250 W, making it more efficient in power-constrained environments.

The recorded data suggests a clear split: the GTX 1080 Ti is the stronger choice for conventional graphics performance, while the Quadro RTX 4000 is better for compute-heavy and forward-looking workloads that leverage its Turing features. The Quadro's single-slot design and 1x 8-pin power connector also differentiate it physically from the GTX 1080 Ti's dual-slot design and 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors.

Specification Differences

• Process node: Quadro RTX 4000 is 12 nm; GTX 1080 Ti is 16 nm
• Transistors: 13,600 million vs 11,800 million
• Die size: 545 mm² vs 471 mm²
• Base clock: 1005 MHz vs 1481 MHz
• Boost clock: 1545 MHz vs 1582 MHz
• Memory size: 8 GB GDDR6 vs 11 GB GDDR5X
• Memory bus: 256 bit vs 352 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 416.0 GB/s vs 484.4 GB/s
• Shading units: 2304 vs 3584
• TMUs: 144 vs 224
• ROPs: 64 vs 88
• RT cores: 36 vs none
• Tensor cores: 288 vs none
• Pixel rate: 98.88 GPixel/s vs 139.2 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 222.5 GTexel/s vs 354.4 GTexel/s
• FP32: 7.119 TFLOPS vs 11.34 TFLOPS
• FP16: 14.24 TFLOPS (2:1) vs 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64)
• TDP: 160 W vs 250 W
• Slot width: Single-slot vs Dual-slot
• Power connectors: 1x 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 450 W vs 600 W
• Display outputs: 3x DisplayPort 1.4a + 1x USB Type-C vs 1x HDMI 2.0 + 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
• DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (12_1)
• Release date: 2018-11-12 vs 2017-03-09
• Launch MSRP: 899 USD vs 699 USD
• Length: 241 mm vs 267 mm
• Height: 111 mm vs 112 mm

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The GTX 1080 Ti dominates the head-to-head results. Its largest win comes in PassMark GPU compute, where it scores 9632 against the Quadro RTX 4000's 6176, a 35.9% advantage. This is a strong indicator of general-purpose compute performance, where the GTX 1080 Ti's higher shading unit count and FP32 throughput pay off. In PassMark G3D, the GTX 1080 Ti leads 18600 to 15117, an 18.7% margin. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test also favors the GTX 1080 Ti, with a score of 2231 versus 1873, a 16% difference.

The GTX 1080 Ti also wins across the legacy DirectX tests. In DirectX 12, it scores 66 against 52, a 21.2% lead. DirectX 11 shows a 15.2% advantage (151 vs 128), DirectX 9 shows 11.3% (231 vs 205), and DirectX 10 shows 8.5% (118 vs 108). The PassMark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics performance, goes to the GTX 1080 Ti with 939 versus 846, a 9.9% margin.

The Quadro RTX 4000's wins are more specialized but no less significant. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 78844 versus the GTX 1080 Ti's 40511, a 94.6% lead. This is the single largest delta in either direction and reflects the Quadro's architectural advantages in modern API paths. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Quadro RTX 4000 scores 74540 against 67929, a 9.7% advantage. These two wins highlight where the Turing architecture's newer features and compute capabilities outperform the older Pascal design.

The wins break down as 8 for the GTX 1080 Ti and 2 for the Quadro RTX 4000. The GTX 1080 Ti's average benchmark score is 15548, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the Quadro RTX 4000 has an average score of 17789 and sits in the 61st percentile. The Quadro's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.7% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (0.9% higher), AMD Radeon 780M (1.1% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (1.4% higher). The GTX 1080 Ti's closest competitors are the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (0.2% higher), AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (0.8% lower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (1.7% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (1.7% higher).