NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti vs NVIDIA T400 Comparison

The NVIDIA T400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, yet both are end-of-life products. The T400 is a low-profile Turing-based workstation card designed for basic display output and light compute, while the GTX 1080 Ti is a high-end Pascal-based enthusiast card built for maximum rasterization performance. Benchmark data shows a massive gulf between them, but the T400 holds its own in specific workstation contexts where the GTX 1080 Ti's raw power is irrelevant.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available head-to-head benchmark comparisons show a decisive victory for the GTX 1080 Ti. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1080 Ti scores 67,929 against the T400's 17,039, a 74.9% advantage. This is not a close contest; the GTX 1080 Ti delivers nearly four times the compute throughput in this test. The gap narrows somewhat in Geekbench Vulkan, where the GTX 1080 Ti scores 40,511 versus the T400's 15,976, but that still represents a 60.6% lead. The T400 wins zero head-to-head benchmarks outright.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the T400's average benchmark score of 16,508 actually exceeds the GTX 1080 Ti's average of 15,548. This is a curious inversion explained by the different benchmark suites each card was tested with. The T400's two available scores (17,039 OpenCL and 15,976 Vulkan) are both in the same performance range, while the GTX 1080 Ti's average is dragged down by its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 231 and DirectX 12 score of 66, which are legacy tests that don't reflect its true capability. The GTX 1080 Ti's Passmark G3D score of 18,600 and Geekbench Metal score of 30,624 show its real strength. In percentile terms, the T400 ranks at the 60th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 1080 Ti sits at the 58th percentile, meaning the T400's limited benchmark set happens to place it higher in the aggregate ranking despite being far slower in direct comparison.

The nearest rival data confirms this oddity. The T400's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 with an average score of 16,504 (0% delta), followed by the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 at 16,415 (0.6% behind). The GTX 1080 Ti's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M380 at 15,521 (0.2% behind), with the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 just ahead at 15,679 (0.8% ahead). These pairings are artifacts of the benchmark databases the cards were tested with, not real-world performance equivalence.

Architecture Differences

The T400 uses the TU117 chip built on TSMC's 12 nm process, while the GTX 1080 Ti uses the GP102 chip on a 16 nm process. The transistor counts tell the story of their different scales: the T400 packs 4,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, while the GTX 1080 Ti crams 11,800 million transistors into a 471 mm² die. Transistor density is similar at 23.5M/mm² for the T400 and 25.1M/mm² for the GTX 1080 Ti, but the GTX 1080 Ti's physically larger chip gives it far more resources.

The T400 is Turing architecture, which brings features like variable rate shading and mesh shaders, though it lacks dedicated RT cores and tensor cores. The GTX 1080 Ti is Pascal architecture, which predates those features. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level compatibility is identical. The T400's compute capabilities are modest: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, yielding 1,094.4 GFLOPS of FP32 performance. The GTX 1080 Ti has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs, delivering 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 — over ten times the raw throughput. The FP16 comparison is even more lopsided in the other direction: the T400 delivers 2.189 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) while the GTX 1080 Ti manages only 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), making the T400 a better choice for FP16 workloads despite its overall weakness.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The T400 has 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 80.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 1080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR5X on a 352-bit bus, delivering 484.4 GB/s — six times the bandwidth. The GTX 1080 Ti's memory clock runs at 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective) versus the T400's 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective). Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern: the GTX 1080 Ti outputs 139.2 GPixel/s and 354.4 GTexel/s, while the T400 manages only 22.80 GPixel/s and 34.20 GTexel/s.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear dichotomy. If you need maximum raw performance for gaming or compute-heavy tasks, the GTX 1080 Ti is the obvious choice by every direct measure: 74.9% ahead in OpenCL, 60.6% ahead in Vulkan, and over ten times the FP32 throughput. Its 11 GB of memory and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large textures and high-resolution workloads that the T400 cannot physically accommodate.

However, the T400 wins on efficiency and form factor. Its 30 W TDP requires no power connectors and only a 200 W suggested PSU, while the GTX 1080 Ti demands 250 W, a 6-pin plus 8-pin connector, and a 600 W PSU. The T400 is single-slot with three mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the GTX 1080 Ti is dual-slot with one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. For a workstation that needs multi-display output in a low-power, compact chassis, the T400 is the practical choice — provided the workload doesn't require significant GPU compute.

The GTX 1080 Ti's launch MSRP was 699 USD. The T400 has no listed launch MSRP. Both are end-of-life, so current availability and pricing are market-driven.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA T400 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti |

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

| Architecture | Turing | Pascal |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 4,700 million | 11,800 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 471 mm² |

| Base Clock | 420 MHz | 1481 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1425 MHz | 1582 MHz |

| Memory | 2 GB GDDR6 | 11 GB GDDR5X |

| Memory Bus | 64 bit | 352 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 80.00 GB/s | 484.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 24 | 224 |

| ROPs | 16 | 88 |

| Pixel Rate | 22.80 GPixel/s | 139.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 34.20 GTexel/s | 354.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,094.4 GFLOPS | 11.34 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 2.189 TFLOPS (2:1) | 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 30 W | 250 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 200 W | 600 W |

| Display Outputs | 3x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Dimensions | Not listed | 267 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm |

| Release Date | 2021-05-05 | 2017-03-09 |

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti scores 67,929 versus the T400's 17,039, giving it a 74.9% advantage in that test.

Q: Does the T400 have any advantage over the GTX 1080 Ti?

A: Yes, in FP16 compute. The T400 delivers 2.189 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while the GTX 1080 Ti manages only 177.2 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. The T400 is also far more power-efficient at 30 W versus 250 W.

Q: Can the GTX 1080 Ti run Vulkan applications?

A: Yes, it supports Vulkan 1.4. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 40,511 compared to the T400's 15,976, a 60.6% lead.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti provides 484.4 GB/s over a 352-bit bus, while the T400 provides 80.00 GB/s over a 64-bit bus.

Q: Which card requires more power connectors?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, while the T400 requires none. The GTX 1080 Ti also has a 600 W suggested PSU versus the T400's 200 W.

Q: Are the API features the same?

A: Both cards support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Neither has RT cores or tensor cores.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1080 Ti wins decisively in any scenario requiring raw compute or high-bandwidth memory access. Its 11.34 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for gaming at high resolutions, 3D rendering, video encoding, and general GPU compute. The 11 GB memory capacity allows loading large datasets or textures without spilling to system memory. Its 88 ROPs and 354.4 GTexel/s texture rate handle high-fill-rate scenarios that would cripple the T400.

The T400 wins in low-power, space-constrained environments. Its 30 W TDP means it can run in systems with minimal power supplies and no auxiliary connectors. The single-slot form factor allows installation in compact chassis where the GTX 1080 Ti's 267 mm length and dual-slot width won't fit. The three mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs provide multi-monitor capability without the GTX 1080 Ti's power overhead. For FP16 workloads, the T400's 2:1 ratio gives it a compute advantage over the GTX 1080 Ti's severely limited 1:64 FP16 throughput. The T400 also has a higher percentile ranking (60th) than the GTX 1080 Ti (58th), though this reflects benchmark selection rather than real-world performance superiority.

Choose the GTX 1080 Ti if your workload demands performance and you have the power and space budget. Choose the T400 if you need a low-profile, low-power display adapter with modern workstation features and don't require significant GPU compute.