NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data paints an unusually clear picture: the desktop NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti wins 9 of the 10 head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. Its average benchmark score of 29783 places it at the 75th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the mobile part sits at 25740 and the 71st percentile. The 2080 Ti leads by double digits in most tests, with the single exception being Passmark DirectX 12, where the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile edges ahead by 4.5%. Desktop buyers seeking maximum raw performance should pick the RTX 2080 Ti. Laptop users, however, have no choice but the mobile part, and the data shows it is competitive in one specific API workload while trailing elsewhere. The delta between the two is not trivial: the desktop card is roughly 15.7% faster on average, a gap that appears consistently across compute, legacy DirectX, and modern 3D Mark workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti records an average benchmark score of 29783, which is higher than the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 25740.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile beat the RTX 2080 Ti in any test?

A: Yes, in the Passmark DirectX 12 test the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 88 versus 84 for the RTX 2080 Ti, a 4.5% advantage.

Q: How large is the gap in the 3D Mark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti scores 3537 against the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 2869, which is a 23.3% difference in favor of the desktop card.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 7424 shading units, compared to 4352 on the RTX 2080 Ti.

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

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's GA103 chip has a transistor density of 44.4 million transistors per square millimeter, while the RTX 2080 Ti's TU102 has 24.7 million per square millimeter.

Q: Which GPU has the higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has a memory bandwidth of 616.0 GB/s, higher than the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 512.0 GB/s.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs belong to different generations and process nodes. The RTX 2080 Ti uses the TU102 chip on TSMC's 12 nm process, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the GA103 chip on Samsung's 8 nm node. The transistor counts differ substantially, with the mobile part packing 22,000 million transistors versus 18,600 million for the desktop card. However, the die sizes tell a different story: the TU102 measures 754 mm², while the GA103 is only 496 mm². This inverse relationship yields a much higher transistor density for the mobile chip at 44.4 million per square millimeter, compared to 24.7 million for the older desktop part.

The architecture generation also differs. The RTX 2080 Ti is built on Turing, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is Ampere. This shows up in their compute feature sets. The RTX 2080 Ti has 68 ray tracing cores and 544 tensor cores, whereas the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 58 ray tracing cores and 232 tensor cores. The FP16 ratio differs too: the Turing card delivers 26.90 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio relative to FP32, while the Ampere mobile part provides 18.71 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. Both support the same API versions, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so software compatibility is identical at that level. The power delivery approach is fundamentally different as well. The RTX 2080 Ti is a dual-slot desktop card with 2x 8-pin connectors and a suggested 600 W PSU, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has no power connectors of its own, reflecting its integration into laptops.

The memory subsystems are also architecturally distinct. The desktop card carries 11 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 352-bit bus, delivering 616.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The mobile part has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 512.0 GB/s. The effective memory speed is 14 Gbps for the RTX 2080 Ti and 16 Gbps for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. Display outputs also differ sharply: the RTX 2080 Ti provides 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

The bus interface differs as well, with PCIe 3.0 x16 on the desktop card versus PCIe 4.0 x16 on the mobile GPU. Finally, the production status and release dates confirm they are from different eras. The RTX 2080 Ti launched on 2018-09-19 and is marked as end-of-life, with the GeForce 30 series as its successor.

The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is end-of-life as well, releasing on 2022-01-24.

Specification Differences

Focusing strictly on the fields where the two differ, the most obvious contrast is the process node: 12 nm on TSMC versus 8 nm on Samsung. The transistor counts are also distinct, 18,600 million versus 22,000 million, as are the die sizes, 754 mm² versus 496 mm². Transistor density follows accordingly, 24.7 million per square millimeter against 44.4 million. Clock speeds diverge across the board. The RTX 2080 Ti has a base of 1350 MHz and boost of 1545 MHz, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is lower at 810 MHz base and 1260 MHz boost. Memory speed is 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective on the desktop card, versus 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective on mobile. Memory capacity, bus width, bandwidth, and bandwidth all differ as well.

The compute units differ dramatically in shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, tensor cores, pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 and FP16 values. The RTX 2080 Ti has 4352 shading units, 272 TMUs, 88 ROPs, 68 RT cores, 544 tensor cores, 136.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, 420.2 GTexel/s texture rate, 13.45 TFLOPS FP32, and 26.90 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile counters with 7424 shading units, 232 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 58 RT cores, 232 tensor cores, 121.0 GPixel/s, 292.3 GTexel/s, 18.71 TFLOPS FP32, and 18.71 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1). TDP differs at 250 W versus 115 W. Slot width, power connectors, suggested PSU, bus interface, display outputs, dimensions, and launch MSRP also differ. The RTX 2080 Ti has a launch MSRP of 999 USD; the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has no launch MSRP recorded. The dimensions are only listed for the desktop card: 267 mm length, 116 mm height, 35 mm width.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest win for the RTX 2080 Ti comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 132930 against 107502, a 23.7% advantage. Almost equally large is the 3D Mark Steel Nomad DX12 result, with 3537 versus 2869, good for a 23.3% delta. These two modern API tests show the desktop card holds a clear edge in contemporary workloads, not just legacy ones. The Passmark GPU Compute test shows an 18.7% gap, with the RTX 2080 Ti scoring 10056 versus 8471. Legacy DirectX tests also favor the desktop GPU: Passmark DirectX 9 is 235 versus 201, a 16.9% delta, and DirectX 10 is 153 versus 131, a 16.8% delta. Passmark DirectX 11 is similarly one-sided at 190 versus 164, or 15.9%.

Geekbench OpenCL gives the RTX 2080 Ti an 8.7% win, 128171 to 117866. Passmark G3D shows an 11.7% margin, 21548 to 19288, while Passmark G2D is 927 versus 818, a 13.3% delta. The single bright spot for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is Passmark DirectX 12, where it wins 88 to 84, a 4.5% margin. That is the only test where the mobile part leads, and even there the margin is modest. The overall pattern is consistent: the RTX 2080 Ti wins 9 of 10 comparisons, often by double-digit percentages, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's sole victory is narrow.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this narrative. The RTX 2080 Ti's 29783 average places it just 0.5% behind the RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.5% behind the RTX 3070 Ti, and 1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800. It is 2% ahead of the AMD FirePro W8000. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 25740 average sits 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5700, 0.4% ahead of the AMD FirePro D700, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, and 0.4% behind the AMD FirePro W7100. This places the desktop card in the company of much newer and more powerful parts, while the mobile GPU clusters with mid-range desktop and mobile offerings.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 Ti wins across nearly every category of workload represented in the benchmarks. It leads in modern API tests like 3D Mark Steel Nomad DX12 and Geekbench Vulkan, which suggests it handles current-generation DirectX 12 and Vulkan titles better. It also dominates in compute-oriented tests, as shown by the 18.7% lead in Passmark GPU Compute and the 8.7% edge in Geekbench OpenCL. Legacy DirectX performance is strongly in its favor, with wins in DirectX 9, 10, and 11 ranging from 15.9% to 16.9%. Even the 2D test, Passmark G2D, goes to the desktop card by 13.3%. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's single win in Passmark DirectX 12 indicates it has a slight edge in that specific API path, but the margin is only 4.5% and does not offset the broader pattern.

For users who prioritize raw throughput, the RTX 2080 Ti is the clear choice based on the data. Its higher memory bandwidth (616.0 GB/s versus 512.0 GB/s), higher boost clock (1545 MHz versus 1260 MHz), and larger die area with more RT cores and tensor cores all contribute to its benchmark dominance. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile does offer more shading units (7424 versus 4352) and higher FP32 throughput (18.71 TFLOPS versus 13.45 TFLOPS), yet its lower clocks and narrower memory bus hold it back in actual measured performance. The mobile part's higher transistor density (44.4 million per square millimeter versus 24.7 million) reflects a more modern process, but that efficiency does not translate into benchmark wins.

The practical implication is that the RTX 2080 Ti is the stronger performer for desktop users, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the only option in this comparison for laptop systems. The mobile GPU's lower TDP of 115 W versus 250 W makes it suitable for portable devices, and its 16 GB memory capacity is larger than the desktop card's 11 GB. However, the benchmark results consistently favor the older desktop part, which holds the higher percentile ranking at 75 versus 71. The data suggests that users who need maximum performance and have the space for a dual-slot card with PCIe 3.0 x16 should choose the RTX 2080 Ti. Users constrained to a laptop chassis will have to accept the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile with the knowledge that it trails in 9 of 10 tests and leads meaningfully in none by more than 4.