NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile Comparison

Both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile are Ampere-based offerings for high-performance laptops, but the benchmark data draws a clear line between them. The data shows a 10-0 sweep for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile across all ten head-to-head tests, with an average benchmark score of 25740 against 23518 for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile. That translates to a commanding overall lead for the higher-tier chip, yet the margins vary significantly by workload, which reveals where each GPU’s strengths actually lie. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the faster part, but the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile remains a capable performer in its own right, and the choice between them hinges on how much you prioritize raw compute versus a more balanced feature set.

Where Each One Wins

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins every single benchmark in the head-to-head comparison. However, the size of the victory is not uniform, and that variance is what defines the use-case split. For hardcore compute workloads, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is decisively ahead. In the Passmark GPU Compute test, it scores 8471 against 7504 for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, a 12.9% advantage. Similarly, in the DirectX 12 test, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins by a massive 20.5% margin, scoring 88 versus 73. These are the workloads where the extra silicon and memory bandwidth of the larger chip pay off most.

The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, while losing, is not embarrassed in lighter workloads. In the Passmark DirectX 9 test, the gap shrinks to just 2.6% (201 versus 196), and in the 2D graphics test, the margin is only 4.5% (818 versus 783). The data suggests that for older or less demanding titles, the performance difference is nearly negligible. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile also wins in modern API benchmarks like 3DMark Steel Nomad (2869 versus 2572, an 11.5% lead) and Geekbench Vulkan (107502 versus 100027, a 7.5% lead), but the smaller margins in these tests indicate that the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile holds its ground better in real-world gaming scenarios than in raw compute. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is a more than adequate option for general gaming, where the performance delta is less pronounced.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the same Ampere architecture and are built on Samsung’s 8 nm process node, with an identical transistor density of 44.4M / mm². However, the physical implementations diverge significantly. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the GA103 chip, which packs 22,000 million transistors onto a 496 mm² die. In contrast, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile uses the smaller GA104 chip, with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. That difference in raw silicon is the foundation of the performance gap.

The memory subsystem is another major differentiator. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is limited to 8 GB. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile runs its memory at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), producing 448.0 GB/s. That is a 14.3% bandwidth advantage for the larger card, which directly contributes to its superior compute scores.

The compute resources also favor the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. It has 7424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, compared to 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs on the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile also has more ray tracing cores (58 versus 46) and tensor cores (232 versus 184). In terms of raw throughput, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile delivers 18.71 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1), while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile achieves 16.60 TFLOPS on both. The pixel rate is slightly lower on the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (121.0 GPixel/s versus 135.4 GPixel/s), but its texture rate is higher (292.3 GTexel/s versus 259.4 GTexel/s). Both cards have a TDP of 115 W, use PCIe 4.0 x16, and support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single win for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile comes in the Passmark DirectX 12 test, where it scores 88 versus 73, a 20.5% advantage. This is a strong indicator of its prowess in modern, heavily threaded workloads that leverage the latest API features. The compute-focused tests also show a substantial gap: the Passmark GPU Compute score is 8471 versus 7504, a 12.9% lead, and the Geekbench OpenCL score is 117866 versus 106022, an 11.2% lead. These results confirm that the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is not just faster, but significantly faster when the GPU is pushed to its limits.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is a more balanced gaming-centric workload, shows a narrower margin. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 2869 against 2572, an 11.5% lead. The Geekbench Vulkan test is even closer, at 107502 versus 100027, a 7.5% difference. The smallest gaps appear in legacy DirectX tests. In DirectX 10, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 131 versus 124, a 5.6% lead, and in DirectX 9, the margin is just 2.6% (201 versus 196). The Passmark G3D test, which aggregates many gaming scenarios, shows an 8.8% lead for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (19288 versus 17727). The 2D test is also close, at 4.5% (818 versus 783).

These numbers paint a clear picture: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile excels in compute and modern API workloads, where its extra cores and bandwidth matter most. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is relatively stronger in older or simpler workloads, where the bottleneck is less about raw compute power and more about clock speed. Notably, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has a higher base clock (915 MHz versus 810 MHz) and boost clock (1410 MHz versus 1260 MHz), which helps it stay competitive in latency-bound scenarios.

The Verdict

The data is unequivocal: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile outperforms the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile in every single benchmark. With a 10-0 win record and an average benchmark score of 25740 versus 23518, it is simply the faster GPU. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the right choice if you need maximum compute performance, particularly for tasks that leverage DirectX 12, OpenCL, or general GPU compute. Its 16 GB of memory and 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth also make it better suited for large datasets or high-resolution textures.

However, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is not a poor choice. In legacy DirectX 9 and 10 workloads, the performance gap narrows to under 6%, and in 2D tasks, it is within 4.5%. For gamers primarily playing older titles or less demanding eSports games, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile offers a very similar experience at a lower tier. The data also shows that the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile sits in a comparable performance bracket to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile, with a delta of -0.5% against that card’s average score. This suggests that the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is a strong mid-range option in its own right. Ultimately, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is for users who want the absolute best performance and are willing to pay for the top-tier chip, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is for those who need a capable Ampere GPU without the full flagship experience. Both are end-of-life products, so availability will dictate the final decision.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins all 10 head-to-head benchmarks against the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, covering tests from 3DMark Steel Nomad to Passmark GPU Compute.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two?

A: The largest margin is in the Passmark DirectX 12 test, where the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 88 versus 73, a 20.5% advantage.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile in compute workloads?

A: In the Passmark GPU Compute test, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 8471 against 7504, a 12.9% lead. In Geekbench OpenCL, it leads by 11.2% (117866 versus 106022).

Q: Is the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile competitive in any test?

A: Yes, in the Passmark DirectX 9 test, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is only 2.6% behind (196 versus 201). In the 2D test, the gap is 4.5% (783 versus 818).

Q: What are the memory differences?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 8 GB with 448.0 GB/s. Both use a 256-bit bus.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same power draw?

A: Yes, both the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile and the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile have a TDP of 115 W.