NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile represent two distinct eras of GPU design. The data shows a decisive generational shift, with the mobile Ampere part outperforming the older desktop Kepler flagship by a massive margin in available compute benchmarks. While the GTX 780 Ti was a high-end desktop card in its time, the benchmark results indicate that the RTX 3080 Mobile, despite its mobile form factor, delivers a level of raw performance that completely eclipses its predecessor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison is brief but unequivocal. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104,831 points, while the GTX 780 Ti scores 27,326 points. This represents a delta of -73.9% for the GTX 780 Ti, meaning the RTX 3080 Mobile is roughly 3.8 times faster in this compute-heavy workload. The margin is similarly stark in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104,066 against the GTX 780 Ti's 27,238 points, a delta of -73.8%. These are not marginal improvements; they are a complete overhaul of compute capability.

This performance gap is reflected in the aggregate scores. The GTX 780 Ti has an average benchmark score of 24,236, landing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3080 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, has an average score of 23,628, placing it in the 69th percentile. While the desktop card holds a slight edge in the average (about 2.5% higher), this is heavily influenced by the fact that the GTX 780 Ti's scores come only from Geekbench tests, whereas the RTX 3080 Mobile's average includes a broader set of DirectX and Passmark tests where its performance profile differs. The closest rival to the GTX 780 Ti is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, with a delta of -0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at -0.8%. The RTX 3080 Mobile, conversely, sits near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, with a delta of -0.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 at -1%. This suggests the two cards occupy a similar tier in the overall performance distribution, yet the mobile part achieves this with a fraction of the power envelope and across a wider range of workload types.

The individual benchmark suite for the RTX 3080 Mobile shows its strengths. Its Passmark G3D score is 16,321, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 7,276. More telling are its DirectX scores: 170 in DirectX 9, 146 in DirectX 11, 120 in DirectX 10, and 72 in DirectX 12. These numbers, when compared to the GTX 780 Ti's lack of DirectX benchmark data, underscore the modern architecture's ability to handle contemporary APIs. The GTX 780 Ti's only benchmark wins are theoretical; it has no head-to-head victories in the provided data. In the two tests where both cards are measured, the RTX 3080 Mobile wins both. The data is clear: for any compute task that leverages OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX 3080 Mobile is in a different league entirely.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is vast and explains the performance chasm. The GTX 780 Ti is built on the Kepler architecture, using the GK110B chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process shrink is a primary driver of the efficiency and performance gains, allowing for a significantly higher transistor density.

The numbers here are telling. The GTX 780 Ti packs 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.6M / mm². The RTX 3080 Mobile, on the other hand, fits 17,400 million transistors onto a smaller 392 mm² die, achieving a density of 44.4M / mm². This is a 3.5x increase in density, enabling the Ampere chip to house far more compute units. The GTX 780 Ti has 2,880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Mobile more than doubles the shading units to 6,144, while its TMU count drops to 192 and ROPs double to 96. This configuration suggests a design optimized for massively parallel compute throughput rather than traditional rasterization rates.

The feature sets diverge completely. The RTX 3080 Mobile introduces dedicated hardware that the GTX 780 Ti lacks entirely: 48 RT Cores for ray tracing and 192 Tensor Cores for AI acceleration. This is a fundamental architectural addition that enables features like real-time ray tracing and DLSS, which are simply impossible on the Kepler architecture. The GTX 780 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the RTX 3080 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). This is a full API generation ahead, offering features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading. The Vulkan support also differs, with the GTX 780 Ti supporting version 1.2.175 and the RTX 3080 Mobile supporting 1.4. The memory subsystem also reflects the generational leap. The GTX 780 Ti uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 336.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, but with a higher effective clock speed of 14 Gbps, it achieves 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The smaller bus width is compensated by the faster memory, resulting in a 33% bandwidth advantage for the newer card.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti has an average benchmark score of 24,236, which is higher than the RTX 3080 Mobile's average of 23,628. However, the RTX 3080 Mobile wins the two direct head-to-head tests (OpenCL and Vulkan) by significant margins.

Q: What is the performance difference in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104,831, while the GTX 780 Ti scores 27,326. The deltaPct is -73.9%, indicating the GTX 780 Ti is about 74% slower in this test.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Mobile support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 3080 Mobile is equipped with 48 dedicated RT Cores, which enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The GTX 780 Ti has no RT Cores and cannot perform this function in hardware.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity and type?

A: The GTX 780 Ti has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The newer card also has higher bandwidth at 448.0 GB/s compared to 336.6 GB/s.

Q: How do their transistor densities compare?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile has a much higher transistor density of 44.4M / mm², compared to the GTX 780 Ti's 12.6M / mm². This is due to the newer 8 nm process node versus the older 28 nm node.

Q: Which card has a higher power consumption?

A: The GTX 780 Ti has a TDP of 250 W, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W. Despite using less than half the power, the RTX 3080 Mobile is significantly faster in compute benchmarks.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is the superior performer in raw compute and modern API support. Its 3.8x lead in OpenCL and Vulkan benchmarks is a definitive statement of its capability. For users who prioritize compute performance, modern feature sets like ray tracing and tensor cores, and higher memory capacity, the RTX 3080 Mobile is the obvious choice. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a more future-proof foundation than the GTX 780 Ti's 3 GB GDDR5.

The GTX 780 Ti, however, still holds a slight edge in the average benchmark score, driven by its strong Geekbench results. Its 70th percentile ranking versus the RTX 3080 Mobile's 69th percentile shows they are comparable in overall distribution. The GTX 780 Ti also benefits from a higher pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 222.7 GTexel/s relative to its core count, suggesting it may still be competitive in certain legacy rasterization workloads where raw pixel throughput is key. However, its lack of support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and its much lower compute throughput make it a poor choice for modern gaming or professional workloads. The RTX 3080 Mobile's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and its 18.98 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the GTX 780 Ti's 5.345 TFLOPS, makes it the definitive winner for any forward-looking use case. The GTX 780 Ti is an end-of-life product with no successor in the data, while the RTX 3080 Mobile represents a more modern, efficient, and powerful architecture.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | Kepler | Ampere |

| Chip | GK110B | GA104 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 7,080 million | 17,400 million |

| Die Size | 561 mm² | 392 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.6M / mm² | 44.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 875 MHz | 1110 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 928 MHz | 1545 MHz |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 336.6 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2880 | 6144 |

| TMUs | 240 | 192 |

| ROPs | 48 | 96 |

| RT Cores | None | 48 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 192 |

| Pixel Rate | 55.68 GPixel/s | 148.3 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 222.7 GTexel/s | 296.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.345 TFLOPS | 18.98 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None | 18.98 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 115 W |

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

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.175 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2013-11-06 | 2021-01-11 |