NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive overall victory for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, winning 8 out of 9 head-to-head comparisons against the RTX 3080 Mobile. The only test where the older Ampere part takes the lead is PassMark DirectX 10, with a score of 120 against 116, a modest 3.3% advantage. This single win appears to be an outlier, as every other benchmark favors the Ada Lovelace chip, often by substantial margins.

The largest gap in the entire dataset appears in DirectX 9 workloads. The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 223 versus 170 for the RTX 3080 Mobile, a delta of 31.2%. This suggests that the newer architecture handles legacy API paths with notably greater efficiency, possibly due to improvements in driver overhead or shader compilation. In DirectX 11, the RTX 4070 Mobile again shows a strong lead, scoring 179 against 146, a 22.6% advantage. These two results combined indicate that the 40-series part is not just faster in raw compute, but also more efficient in older, CPU-bound API scenarios.

DirectX 12 results tell a similar story, though the margin narrows slightly. The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 85, while the RTX 3080 Mobile manages 72, a difference of 18.1%. This is a significant lead in a modern API that both GPUs support fully. Moving to synthetic 3D performance, the PassMark G3D score shows the RTX 4070 Mobile at 19587, which is exactly 20% ahead of the RTX 3080 Mobile's 16321. This benchmark is often treated as a general indicator of overall gaming capability, and the data here is unambiguous.

Compute workloads also favor the newer chip, with PassMark GPU Compute scoring 8399 for the RTX 4070 Mobile versus 7276 for the RTX 3080 Mobile, a 15.4% advantage. The Geekbench results, which test both OpenCL and Vulkan, show smaller but consistent wins: 4.2% in OpenCL (109197 vs 104831) and 4.1% in Vulkan (108367 vs 104066). These narrower margins are interesting, as they suggest the RTX 3080 Mobile remains competitive in certain general-purpose compute tasks despite its architectural age.

Finally, the 2D performance test (PassMark G2D) shows the RTX 4070 Mobile at 763 versus 637, a 19.8% lead. While 2D tests are not typically the deciding factor for gaming laptops, this result does indicate that the newer GPU handles desktop composition, video playback, and other basic tasks with more headroom.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different manufacturing processes and architectures. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses the AD106 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses the GA104 chip based on Ampere, fabricated on an 8 nm process by Samsung. This process difference is stark when looking at transistor density: the AD106 packs 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter, while the GA104 manages only 44.4 million. The total transistor count is also higher on the newer chip despite its smaller die: 22,900 million transistors on a 188 mm² die, versus 17,400 million on a 392 mm² die. The Ada Lovelace chip is physically much smaller yet holds more transistors, a clear demonstration of the manufacturing advantage.

The memory subsystem is another major point of divergence. Both GPUs have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the RTX 3080 Mobile uses a 256-bit bus width, giving it a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses a 128-bit bus, resulting in 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, a significant reduction. This is a case where the older chip has a clear hardware advantage on paper. The memory clock also differs: the RTX 4070 Mobile runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), while the RTX 3080 Mobile runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The newer chip's faster memory clock partially compensates for the narrower bus, but the total bandwidth deficit remains large.

Shader core configuration shows a different trade-off. The RTX 3080 Mobile has more shading units (6144 versus 4608), more texture mapping units (192 versus 144), and more render output units (96 versus 48). It also has more RT cores (48 versus 36) and more tensor cores (192 versus 144). Despite this numerical disadvantage, the RTX 4070 Mobile wins most benchmarks, which points to a significant per-core efficiency gain in the Ada Lovelace design. The clock speeds also favor the newer chip: base clock of 1395 MHz versus 1110 MHz, and boost clock of 1695 MHz versus 1545 MHz. Higher clocks on fewer cores, combined with architectural improvements, allow the RTX 4070 Mobile to overcome the raw core count deficit.

The bus interface also differs, with the RTX 4070 Mobile using PCIe 4.0 x8 and the RTX 3080 Mobile using PCIe 4.0 x16. In practice, this difference rarely limits performance in mobile GPUs, as even x8 lanes provide sufficient bandwidth for most workloads. Both chips share the same API support, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The production status also differs: the RTX 4070 Mobile is listed as Active, while the RTX 3080 Mobile is End-of-life, reflecting the generation transition.

Where Each One Wins

The data suggests the RTX 4070 Mobile is the superior choice for virtually every modern workload. Its wins span across DirectX 11, DirectX 12, DirectX 9, compute, 2D, OpenCL, and Vulkan. The largest margins are in legacy APIs, which might indicate that the Ada Lovelace architecture has better driver optimization for older games and applications. For gamers who play a mix of older titles and modern AAA releases, the RTX 4070 Mobile appears to offer the more consistent experience.

The RTX 3080 Mobile's single win in DirectX 10 is worth noting, but it is a narrow margin of 3.3%. This could be a quirk of the benchmark rather than a meaningful advantage. The RTX 3080 Mobile also retains a theoretical edge in memory bandwidth, which could benefit certain compute-heavy tasks or high-resolution texture streaming. However, the benchmark data does not show this advantage translating into any test wins. The RTX 4070 Mobile wins compute tests by a solid margin, suggesting that its higher tensor core efficiency and faster memory clock compensate for the bandwidth deficit.

For users who prioritize raw pixel throughput, the RTX 3080 Mobile has higher pixel rate (148.3 GPixel/s versus 81.36 GPixel/s) and texture rate (296.6 GTexel/s versus 244.1 GTexel/s). These figures come from the higher shader count and wider bus. Yet, in practice, the benchmark results do not reflect these theoretical advantages. The RTX 4070 Mobile wins the G3D test by 20%, which is the closest thing to a comprehensive gaming metric in this dataset. This suggests that the architectural efficiency of Ada Lovelace outweighs the raw throughput of Ampere.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is the clear winner. It takes 8 of 9 head-to-head tests, with an average score of 27435 in the database compared to 23628 for the RTX 3080 Mobile. This is a 16% advantage in overall average performance. The RTX 4070 Mobile also sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 3080 Mobile sits at the 69th percentile. The newer chip is also in active production, while the older one is end-of-life, which has implications for long-term driver support and availability.

Users who prioritize the highest frame rates in modern games should choose the RTX 4070 Mobile. Its DirectX 12 lead of 18.1% and DirectX 11 lead of 22.6% are decisive. The same goes for compute workloads, where the 15.4% lead in GPU compute makes it a better option for content creation or machine learning tasks. The RTX 3080 Mobile retains a memory bandwidth advantage on paper, but this does not manifest in any benchmark win. Therefore, the choice is straightforward: the RTX 4070 Mobile is the better GPU for essentially all measured use cases.

The only reason to consider the RTX 3080 Mobile would be if a specific software environment is heavily dependent on DirectX 10, where it wins by a small margin. But given that DirectX 10 is a legacy API, this is a niche scenario. For all practical purposes, the data points to the RTX 4070 Mobile as the superior product.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 27435, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628.

Q: How many head-to-head benchmarks does each GPU win?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile wins 8 out of 9 tests. The RTX 3080 Mobile wins only 1 test, which is the PassMark DirectX 10 benchmark.

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

A: The largest gap is in the PassMark DirectX 9 test, where the RTX 4070 Mobile scores 223 versus 170 for the RTX 3080 Mobile, a 31.2% difference.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile has more memory bandwidth at 448.0 GB/s, due to a 256-bit bus. The RTX 4070 Mobile has 256.0 GB/s with a 128-bit bus.

Q: Are both GPUs based on the same architecture?

A: No. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process, while the RTX 3080 Mobile uses Ampere architecture on an 8 nm process.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile is listed as Active, while the RTX 3080 Mobile is listed as End-of-life.

Specification Differences

The following table highlights only the fields where the two GPUs differ according to the database:

| Field | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |

| Chip | AD106 | GA104 |

| Generation | GeForce 40 Mobile | GeForce 30 Mobile |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 22,900 million | 17,400 million |

| Die Size | 188 mm² | 392 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.8M / mm² | 44.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1395 MHz | 1110 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1695 MHz | 1545 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4608 | 6144 |

| TMUs | 144 | 192 |

| ROPs | 48 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 36 | 48 |

| Tensor Cores | 144 | 192 |

| Pixel Rate | 81.36 GPixel/s | 148.3 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 244.1 GTexel/s | 296.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 15.62 TFLOPS | 18.98 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 15.62 TFLOPS (1:1) | 18.98 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-01-02 | 2021-01-11 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 30 Mobile | GeForce 20 Mobile |

| Successor | GeForce 50 Mobile | None |

| Average Benchmark Score | 27435 | 23628 |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 73 | 69 |