NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti represent two distinct generations of NVIDIA's high-end GPU lineup, with the 40-series Ada Lovelace part facing off against the 30-series Ampere flagship. Benchmark data shows the RTX 4070 Ti wins 9 of 10 head-to-head tests, yet the RTX 3080 Ti takes the sole 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 victory by a narrow 1% margin. Both cards sit close in overall standing — the RTX 4070 Ti holds an 84th percentile ranking across all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 44,795, while the RTX 3080 Ti ranks at the 83rd percentile with an average score of 41,187. This places the newer card roughly 8.8% ahead in aggregate performance, a meaningful but not overwhelming gap.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the overall benchmark comparison?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti wins 9 out of 10 head-to-head benchmark tests, with an average benchmark score of 44,795 compared to the RTX 3080 Ti's 41,187. The RTX 3080 Ti only wins in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (5,077 vs 5,024, a 1% difference).

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4070 Ti in Vulkan compute?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti scores 213,808 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 192,697 for the RTX 3080 Ti, an 11% advantage. This is one of the largest single-test deltas between the two cards.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: Both cards have 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, but the RTX 3080 Ti uses a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 4070 Ti uses a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Ti compensates with faster effective memory speed (21 Gbps vs 19 Gbps).

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has a TDP of 285 W with a suggested 600 W PSU, while the RTX 3080 Ti has a 350 W TDP and requires a 750 W PSU. The RTX 4070 Ti also uses a 1x 16-pin connector versus the RTX 3080 Ti's 1x 12-pin.

Q: Which card performs better in legacy DirectX tests?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti leads in all PassMark DirectX tests: DX9 (352 vs 274, +28.5%), DX10 (187 vs 184, +1.6%), DX11 (288 vs 223, +29.1%), and DX12 (116 vs 110, +5.5%).

Q: What are the launch MSRP values?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti launched at 799 USD, while the RTX 3080 Ti launched at 1,199 USD.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The RTX 4070 Ti uses the AD104 chip on NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The RTX 3080 Ti, by contrast, uses the GA102 chip on Ampere, built on Samsung's 8 nm process. It contains 28,300 million transistors across a much larger 628 mm² die, with a density of just 45.1M per mm².

This process advantage allows the RTX 4070 Ti to achieve significantly higher clock speeds despite lower power draw. Its base clock runs at 2310 MHz with a boost of 2610 MHz, compared to the RTX 3080 Ti's 1365 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost. The RTX 4070 Ti's boost clock is roughly 57% higher than the RTX 3080 Ti's, a direct result of the denser 5 nm process.

The compute configuration differs substantially. The RTX 3080 Ti has more raw hardware: 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 80 RT cores, and 320 tensor cores. The RTX 4070 Ti counters with 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. Despite having fewer execution units, the RTX 4070 Ti achieves higher peak throughput: 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 versus 34.10 TFLOPS FP32, and matching FP16 performance at 40.09 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1). The newer architecture's higher clocks and improved efficiency more than offset the reduction in shader count.

Memory architecture is another key divergence. The RTX 3080 Ti's 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, far exceeding the RTX 4070 Ti's 192-bit bus at 504.2 GB/s. However, the RTX 4070 Ti runs its GDDR6X at 21 Gbps effective versus 19 Gbps on the older card, partially narrowing the gap. Both use the same 12 GB capacity and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface.

Power characteristics reflect the architectural shift. The RTX 4070 Ti draws 285 W TDP versus 350 W for the RTX 3080 Ti, a 65 W reduction. The suggested PSU drops from 750 W to 600 W accordingly. Physical dimensions are nearly identical: both are dual-slot cards at 285 mm length and 112 mm height, with the RTX 4070 Ti slightly thicker at 42 mm versus 40 mm.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is the lone bright spot for the RTX 3080 Ti. It scores 5,077 versus 5,024 for the RTX 4070 Ti, a 1% edge. This suggests that in pure DX12 rasterization workloads, the older card's larger memory bus and raw shader count still hold up. However, the margin is razor-thin and falls well within run-to-run variance.

Every other benchmark favors the RTX 4070 Ti, often by substantial margins. The Geekbench Vulkan test shows an 11% lead (213,808 vs 192,697), while Geekbench OpenCL shows a 4.1% advantage (176,953 vs 170,037). These compute-oriented results indicate the Ada Lovelace architecture's efficiency improvements translate into real-world throughput gains.

The PassMark suite reveals the widest gaps. The RTX 4070 Ti leads PassMark G3D by 17.6% (31,624 vs 26,896) and PassMark GPU Compute by 20.4% (18,396 vs 15,282). Legacy DirectX tests show even more dramatic differences: DX11 delivers a 29.1% advantage (288 vs 223) and DX9 shows a 28.5% lead (352 vs 274). The DX10 test is closer at 1.6% (187 vs 184), while DX12 shows a 5.5% edge (116 vs 110). The PassMark G2D test rounds out the results with a 10% win for the RTX 4070 Ti (1,200 vs 1,091).

The pattern is clear: the RTX 4070 Ti dominates in compute-heavy and API-diverse workloads, while the RTX 3080 Ti's sole victory comes in a single modern DX12 rasterization benchmark. The 29.1% DX11 delta is particularly striking, suggesting the newer architecture handles older API paths with far greater efficiency.

The Verdict

The data points decisively toward the RTX 4070 Ti for most users. It wins 9 of 10 benchmarks, achieves a higher average score (44,795 vs 41,187), and does so while drawing 65 W less power (285 W vs 350 W). The 11% Vulkan lead and 20.4% compute advantage indicate the Ada Lovelace architecture is particularly well-suited to modern rendering and GPU compute tasks. Its higher boost clock (2610 MHz vs 1665 MHz) and smaller die (294 mm² vs 628 mm²) demonstrate that architectural efficiency can overcome raw hardware counts.

The RTX 3080 Ti retains one specific appeal: its 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth is nearly double the RTX 4070 Ti's 504.2 GB/s, and this shows in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result. Users who prioritize that specific DX12 rasterization workload might find the older card marginally preferable, but the 1% margin is unlikely to matter in real-world scenarios. The RTX 3080 Ti also has more shading units (10,240 vs 7,680), more RT cores (80 vs 60), and more tensor cores (320 vs 240), yet these advantages fail to translate into benchmark wins.

For the average buyer, the RTX 4070 Ti is the clear analytical choice. It offers superior performance across a broad spectrum of tests, lower power consumption, and a more modern feature set. The RTX 3080 Ti's only compelling argument is the memory bandwidth advantage, which yields exactly one benchmark victory by 1%. Given that both cards are end-of-life products, the RTX 4070 Ti's combination of higher performance and lower power draw makes it the more compelling option based strictly on the benchmark data.

Specification Differences

| Specification | RTX 4070 Ti | RTX 3080 Ti |

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

| Chip | AD104 | GA102 |

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 35,800 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.8M / mm² | 45.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2310 MHz | 1365 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2610 MHz | 1665 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1313 MHz / 21 Gbps effective | 1188 MHz / 19 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 504.2 GB/s | 912.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 7680 | 10240 |

| TMUs | 240 | 320 |

| ROPs | 80 | 112 |

| RT Cores | 60 | 80 |

| Tensor Cores | 240 | 320 |

| Pixel Rate | 208.8 GPixel/s | 186.5 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 626.4 GTexel/s | 532.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 40.09 TFLOPS | 34.10 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 40.09 TFLOPS (1:1) | 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 285 W | 350 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 750 W |

| Width | 42 mm | 40 mm |

| Release Date | 2023-01-02 | 2021-05-30 |

| Launch MSRP | 799 USD | 1,199 USD |