NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER represent two different generations of NVIDIA's mobile and desktop strategy, respectively. The recorded data shows the RTX 4070 Mobile edges out the RTX 2080 SUPER in the aggregate, with an average benchmark score of 27435 compared to 24170, a difference of roughly 13.5%. The RTX 4070 Mobile also sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 2080 SUPER sits in the 69th. The head-to-head results confirm this narrow overall victory, with the RTX 4070 Mobile winning 5 of the 9 benchmark comparisons, while the RTX 2080 SUPER takes 4.

For a laptop chip to beat a desktop card from the previous generation is notable, but the margin is not overwhelming. The RTX 4070 Mobile wins clearly in OpenCL (10% ahead), DirectX 12 (13.3% ahead), and DirectX 11 (8.5% ahead), while the RTX 2080 SUPER fights back decisively in DirectX 10 (17.1% ahead) and the 2D workload (17.1% ahead). The Vulkan result favors the older card by 2.6%. The closest contest is in Passmark G3D, where the RTX 4070 Mobile wins by just 0.5%, a score of 19587 versus 19490. If a user prioritizes modern API performance, particularly DirectX 12, the RTX 4070 Mobile is the stronger choice. If legacy API or 2D performance matters more, the RTX 2080 SUPER holds an advantage. The data suggests the RTX 4070 Mobile is the more future-proof part, but the RTX 2080 SUPER remains competitive in several specific workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 27435, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER has an average score of 24170.

Q: How do the two cards compare in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile wins the Passmark DirectX 12 test with a score of 85, which is 13.3% higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER's score of 75.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 111284, which is 2.6% higher than the RTX 4070 Mobile's score of 108367.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile has a transistor density of 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter, while the RTX 2080 SUPER has a density of 25.0 million transistors per square millimeter.

Q: Which card has the higher TDP?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has a TDP of 250 W, while the RTX 4070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W.

Q: What memory bandwidth does each card provide?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile has a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, while the RTX 2080 SUPER has a much higher bandwidth of 495.9 GB/s.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and manufacturing processes. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses the AD106 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The RTX 2080 SUPER uses the TU104 chip based on Turing architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 12 nm process, a considerably older and less dense node. This process gap explains the dramatic difference in transistor count and die size. The RTX 4070 Mobile packs 22,900 million transistors into a die of 188 mm², yielding a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The RTX 2080 SUPER contains 13,600 million transistors across a much larger 545 mm² die, giving a density of just 25.0 million per square millimeter. The Ada Lovelace chip achieves more than four times the transistor density of the Turing chip.

The architectural feature sets also diverge. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, the RTX 4070 Mobile has 4608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 2080 SUPER has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Ray tracing core counts differ as well: the RTX 4070 Mobile has 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores, while the RTX 2080 SUPER has 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores. The bus interface also changes, with the RTX 4070 Mobile using PCIe 4.0 x8 and the RTX 2080 SUPER using PCIe 3.0 x16.

Specification Differences

The specification table shows several clear differences between the two cards. The RTX 4070 Mobile has a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, while the RTX 2080 SUPER runs at a higher base clock of 1650 MHz and a boost clock of 1815 MHz. Memory clocks differ: the RTX 4070 Mobile runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while the RTX 2080 SUPER runs at 1937 MHz with 15.5 Gbps effective. Both use 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the bus width differs significantly: the RTX 4070 Mobile uses a 128-bit bus, while the RTX 2080 SUPER uses a 256-bit bus. This yields a bandwidth advantage for the older card, 495.9 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s.

Compute throughput also differs. The RTX 4070 Mobile delivers 15.62 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 15.62 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (1:1 ratio). The RTX 2080 SUPER delivers 11.15 TFLOPS of FP32 and 22.30 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). Pixel and texture rates favor the RTX 2080 SUPER: 116.2 GPixel/s versus 81.36 GPixel/s, and 348.5 GTexel/s versus 244.1 GTexel/s. The power profile is stark: the RTX 4070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and no power connectors, fitting an IGP slot width, while the RTX 2080 SUPER has a TDP of 250 W, uses a dual-slot design with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors, and requires a 600 W suggested PSU. The RTX 2080 SUPER also has physical dimensions of 267 mm in length, 116 mm in height, and 35 mm in width, while the RTX 4070 Mobile has no listed dimensions due to its mobile form factor. Display outputs also differ: the RTX 4070 Mobile is portable device dependent, while the RTX 2080 SUPER offers 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The production status differs as well, with the RTX 4070 Mobile listed as Active and the RTX 2080 SUPER as End-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data shows a split decision. The Geekbench OpenCL test favors the RTX 4070 Mobile with a score of 109197 versus 99226, a 10% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 2080 SUPER reverses the result with 111284 versus 108367, a 2.6% win. Passmark DirectX 10 heavily favors the RTX 2080 SUPER, scoring 140 versus 116, a 17.1% lead. Passmark DirectX 11 goes to the RTX 4070 Mobile at 179 versus 165, an 8.5% margin. Passmark DirectX 12 shows the RTX 4070 Mobile ahead at 85 versus 75, a 13.3% gain. Passmark DirectX 9 is close, with the RTX 2080 SUPER winning 227 versus 223, a 1.8% difference. Passmark G2D also goes to the RTX 2080 SUPER at 920 versus 763, a 17.1% margin. Passmark G3D is nearly a tie, with the RTX 4070 Mobile winning 19587 versus 19490, just 0.5% ahead. Passmark GPU Compute goes to the RTX 4070 Mobile at 8399 versus 8290, a 1.3% margin.

The biggest wins for the RTX 4070 Mobile are in DirectX 12 (13.3%) and OpenCL (10%), followed by DirectX 11 (8.5%). The biggest wins for the RTX 2080 SUPER are in DirectX 10 and G2D, both at 17.1%. The near-tie in G3D suggests that raw 3D rasterization performance is comparable between the two, despite the RTX 2080 SUPER's higher clock speeds and wider memory bus. The RTX 4070 Mobile compensates with more shading units and a newer architecture.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 Mobile wins in modern API workloads. It takes DirectX 12, DirectX 11, OpenCL, and GPU compute, which are the tests most relevant to current gaming and compute applications. Its 13.3% lead in DirectX 12 and 10% lead in OpenCL are the strongest arguments for choosing it. The card also leads in the aggregate average score, 27435 versus 24170, and holds a higher percentile ranking, 73rd versus 69th. For users running contemporary titles that leverage DirectX 12 or compute-heavy tasks, the RTX 4070 Mobile is the data-backed selection.

The RTX 2080 SUPER wins in legacy API and 2D workloads. Its 17.1% margins in DirectX 10 and G2D are the largest of any benchmark in the comparison. It also takes Vulkan by 2.6% and DirectX 9 by 1.8%. These wins, combined with its higher pixel rate (116.2 GPixel/s versus 81.36 GPixel/s), texture rate (348.5 GTexel/s versus 244.1 GTexel/s), and memory bandwidth (495.9 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s), make it a strong choice for scenarios that rely on older APIs or bandwidth-heavy operations. The RTX 2080 SUPER also has more TMUs (192 versus 144) and more ROPs (64 versus 48), which may help in certain fill-rate-bound situations. However, its end-of-life production status and higher power draw (250 W versus 115 W) are notable drawbacks. The RTX 4070 Mobile, in contrast, is an active product with a much lower power envelope, making it the more efficient pick for mobile or constrained environments. The data ultimately depicts two capable GPUs with different strengths, where the newer mobile chip generally leads in forward-looking workloads, while the older desktop chip retains an edge in specific legacy and bandwidth-sensitive tasks.