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

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 shows a clear overall winner, with the mobile Ampere part taking 6 of the 10 benchmark tests. The most decisive result comes from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 2869 against the RTX 2080's 1752, a 63.8% advantage. This is the largest single-test gap in the entire comparison, and it demonstrates that the newer mobile GPU holds a commanding lead in modern DirectX 12 workloads.

The Geekbench OpenCL test also favors the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile heavily. Its score of 117866 outpaces the RTX 2080's 91313 by 29.1%. This is a substantial margin in a general-purpose compute benchmark, suggesting that the Ampere architecture's raw compute throughput translates well into real-world OpenCL performance. The Passmark DirectX 12 test shows another strong win for the mobile part, with a score of 88 versus 72, a 22.2% difference. This reinforces the pattern seen in Steel Nomad: when the workload is modern and heavily threaded, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile pulls far ahead.

The RTX 2080 does not go down without a fight, however. It wins the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 107797 against 107502, a narrow 0.3% margin. This is essentially a tie, but it still counts as a win for the older card. The RTX 2080 also takes the Passmark DirectX 9 test, scoring 223 versus 201, a 9.9% lead. This is notable because it shows the Turing card retaining an advantage in legacy DirectX 9 workloads, likely due to its higher base and boost clocks. The RTX 2080 also wins the Passmark G2D test (907 versus 818, a 9.8% margin), which measures 2D graphics performance, and the Passmark DirectX 10 test (136 versus 131, a 3.7% lead).

In the remaining tests, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins by smaller but still meaningful margins. The Passmark G3D test shows a 3% lead (19288 versus 18720), while the Passmark GPU Compute test shows a 7.6% advantage (8471 versus 7872). The Passmark DirectX 11 test is the closest of the mobile card's wins, with a 3.8% margin (164 versus 158). Overall, the data indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the stronger performer in modern workloads, while the RTX 2080 holds on in older API tests and 2D performance.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and are built on different manufacturing processes. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung, while the RTX 2080 uses the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. This process difference is significant: the Ampere chip, codenamed GA103, packs 22,000 million transistors into a 496 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The Turing chip, codenamed TU104, contains 13,600 million transistors on a larger 545 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 25.0 million per mm². The higher density of the Ampere chip allows it to fit far more compute resources into a smaller area.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 7424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, while the RTX 2080 has 2944 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This means the mobile Ampere part has more than 2.5 times the shading units and 1.5 times the ROPs of the desktop Turing card. The ray tracing and tensor core counts also differ: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores, while the RTX 2080 has 46 RT cores and 368 tensor cores. The higher tensor core count on the older card is notable, though it does not translate into a benchmark advantage in the recorded tests.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The RTX 2080 runs at a base clock of 1515 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile runs at a much lower 810 MHz base and 1260 MHz boost. Despite the lower clocks, the Ampere card achieves higher performance due to its massive increase in shading units. The FP32 compute figures illustrate this: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile delivers 18.71 TFLOPS, while the RTX 2080 delivers 10.07 TFLOPS. Interestingly, the FP16 numbers are closer, with the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile at 18.71 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio) and the RTX 2080 at 20.14 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), meaning the older card actually has higher theoretical FP16 throughput.

Memory configurations also differ. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2080 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus, but with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The effective memory speed is 16 Gbps on the mobile card versus 14 Gbps on the desktop card. The power envelope is also distinct: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and no power connectors, while the RTX 2080 has a TDP of 215 W and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors, with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins in scenarios that stress modern DirectX 12 and compute workloads. The 63.8% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and the 22.2% lead in Passmark DirectX 12 show that this card is designed for current-generation gaming and rendering APIs. The 29.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and the 7.6% lead in Passmark GPU Compute indicate strong general-purpose and compute performance, making it suitable for tasks like machine learning inference, video encoding, and scientific simulations. Its 3% lead in Passmark G3D confirms that it is the better choice for overall 3D graphics performance, even if the margin is not as large as in the newer API tests.

The RTX 2080 wins in legacy and 2D scenarios. Its 9.9% lead in Passmark DirectX 9 shows that older games and applications that rely on DirectX 9 still perform better on this card. The 9.8% lead in Passmark G2D indicates better 2D desktop and UI rendering, which could matter for productivity workloads that do not heavily use 3D acceleration. The 3.7% lead in Passmark DirectX 10 is another legacy win, and the 0.3% lead in Geekbench Vulkan shows that the older card is at least competitive in Vulkan-based workloads, even if the margin is negligible.

For users, the split is clear: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the better choice for modern gaming, DirectX 12 titles, and compute-heavy tasks. The RTX 2080 retains an edge in older DirectX 9 and 10 games, as well as 2D-heavy desktop work, but those scenarios are increasingly rare in modern workloads. The wider memory capacity (16 GB versus 8 GB) on the mobile card also gives it more headroom for high-resolution textures and large datasets, though this is not directly measured in the benchmark scores.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in several key specifications beyond their benchmark scores. The process node is different: 8 nm for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile versus 12 nm for the RTX 2080. The foundry is also different, with Samsung producing the Ampere chip and TSMC producing the Turing chip. Transistor counts differ massively: 22,000 million for the GA103 versus 13,600 million for the TU104. The die size is smaller on the Ampere chip (496 mm² versus 545 mm²), but the transistor density is much higher (44.4M per mm² versus 25.0M per mm²).

Memory capacity is doubled on the mobile card: 16 GB versus 8 GB. The memory type is the same (GDDR6), and the bus width is the same (256 bit), but the bandwidth is higher on the mobile card (512.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s). The effective memory speed is also higher at 16 Gbps versus 14 Gbps. The shading unit count is 7424 versus 2944, the TMU count is 232 versus 184, and the ROP count is 96 versus 64. The RT core count is 58 versus 46, while the tensor core count is lower on the mobile card at 232 versus 368.

Clock speeds differ substantially: base clock is 810 MHz versus 1515 MHz, and boost clock is 1260 MHz versus 1710 MHz. The FP32 compute is 18.71 TFLOPS versus 10.07 TFLOPS, while FP16 is 18.71 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 20.14 TFLOPS (2:1). The pixel rate is slightly higher on the mobile card (121.0 GPixel/s versus 109.4 GPixel/s), but the texture rate is lower (292.3 GTexel/s versus 314.6 GTexel/s). TDP is 115 W versus 215 W, and the power connector requirements differ: none on the mobile card versus 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin on the desktop card.

The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 on the mobile card versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the desktop card. The RTX 2080 has specific dimensions (267 mm length, 116 mm height, 35 mm width) and is a dual-slot card, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has no listed dimensions and is described as portable device dependent. The RTX 2080 has a launch MSRP of 699 USD, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has no launch MSRP listed. The release dates are also different: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile was released on 2022-01-24, while the RTX 2080 was released on 2018-09-19.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 25740, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 has an average score of 22895. The mobile card is ahead by roughly 12.4% based on these averages.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 with an average score of 25726, a delta of 0.1%. It is also 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25633) and 0.4% behind the AMD FirePro D700 (25842).

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile ranks in the 71st percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 2080 ranks in the 68th percentile. This places the mobile card slightly higher in the overall performance distribution.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 2080 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the mobile card has higher bandwidth at 512.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and requires no power connectors. The RTX 2080 has a TDP of 215 W and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Which card performs better in DirectX 9 workloads?

A: The RTX 2080 wins the Passmark DirectX 9 test with a score of 223 versus the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 201, a 9.9% advantage. This is one of the few tests where the older card leads by a significant margin.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile for most use cases. It wins 6 of 10 head-to-head tests, including the most demanding modern workload (3DMark Steel Nomad DX12) by a massive 63.8%. Its 29.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 22.2% lead in Passmark DirectX 12 make it the obvious choice for users running contemporary games, compute applications, and DirectX 12 titles. The 16 GB memory capacity and higher bandwidth also provide more headroom for future workloads, even if those are not directly measured in the benchmark scores.

The RTX 2080 is not without merit. Its wins in DirectX 9 (9.9% lead), DirectX 10 (3.7% lead), and G2D (9.8% lead) show that it remains competitive in legacy scenarios. The 0.3% lead in Geekbench Vulkan is negligible but still counts as a win. For users who primarily play older games or work in 2D-heavy applications, the RTX 2080 could still be a reasonable choice, especially given its higher base and boost clocks.

However, the overall picture is unambiguous. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a higher average benchmark score (25740 versus 22895), a higher percentile ranking (71st versus 68th), and a wider memory buffer. It achieves this with a much lower TDP (115 W versus 215 W), making it more efficient per watt. The RTX 2080 was a strong desktop card in its day, but the mobile Ampere part has moved the performance baseline forward. Users should pick the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile for modern gaming and compute, and only consider the RTX 2080 if their workload is dominated by legacy DirectX 9 or 10 titles and 2D performance.