NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti represent two distinct philosophies from the same manufacturer. The data shows a fascinating split, with the workstation-focused Ada card dominating in compute-oriented OpenCL, while the older Ampere gaming card fights back in legacy DirectX and 2D workloads. Across eight head-to-head benchmarks, the RTX 3080 Ti claims five wins, but the magnitude of the RTX 5880’s single decisive victory is overwhelming.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898, a massive 92.3% higher than the RTX 3080 Ti’s 170,037. This is not a marginal lead; it is a near-doubling of compute throughput, reflecting the Ada card’s 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 performance against the RTX 3080 Ti’s 34.10 TFLOPS. For any workload that scales with raw compute, this delta is the defining metric of the comparison.

However, the RTX 3080 Ti demonstrates its strengths in other areas. In Passmark DirectX 12, the RTX 3080 Ti scores 110, which is 36.4% higher than the RTX 5880’s 70. This is a significant reversal, suggesting the older card’s driver optimizations or architectural scheduling handle modern API draw calls more efficiently in this specific test. Similarly, in Passmark G2D, the RTX 3080 Ti scores 1,091, beating the RTX 5880’s 777 by 28.8%, indicating superior 2D rasterization throughput.

The pattern continues in DirectX 10, where the RTX 3080 Ti wins with 184 against 167, a 9.2% margin. The RTX 5880 does manage a win in DirectX 11 (228 vs 223, a slim 2.2% margin) and a commanding 22.3% win in DirectX 9 (335 vs 274). In the more general 3D and compute tests, the RTX 3080 Ti edges ahead: Passmark G3D shows 26,896 vs 25,096 (6.7% win), and Passmark GPU Compute shows 15,282 vs 14,208 (7% win). Overall, the average benchmark score tells a similar story, with the RTX 5880 at 45,972 and the RTX 3080 Ti at 41,187, a difference that places both cards within a tight percentile band (85th vs 83rd respectively).

The Verdict

The data presents a clear bifurcation. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the choice for compute-bound tasks. Its 92.3% lead in OpenCL and consistent wins in older DirectX API tests (9 and 11) indicate that its architectural focus on raw FP32 throughput and tensor operations pays dividends. The RTX 3080 Ti, conversely, is better suited for real-time graphics rendering that utilises modern APIs; its 36.4% lead in DirectX 12 is substantial, as is its win in the broader G3D test.

Neither card is a universal victor. The RTX 5880’s 85th percentile ranking versus the RTX 3080 Ti’s 83rd is almost negligible. The deciding factor should be the specific benchmark suite that mirrors the target workload. If the application is dominated by OpenCL compute, the RTX 5880 is the decisive winner. If the workload involves DirectX 12 gaming or 2D interaction, the RTX 3080 Ti holds the advantage. The data does not support a single “best” card; it supports two different tools for different jobs.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation utilises the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process at TSMC, packing 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die. In contrast, the RTX 3080 Ti uses the Ampere architecture on Samsung’s 8 nm node, with 28,300 million transistors on a slightly larger 628 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: the Ada chip achieves 125.3 million transistors per mm², while the Ampere chip manages only 45.1 million, a 2.8x density advantage for the newer process.

This density translates into a massive resource difference. The RTX 5880 has 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, versus the RTX 3080 Ti’s 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Ray tracing hardware also differs: the RTX 5880 has 110 RT cores and 440 tensor cores, while the RTX 3080 Ti has 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. Clock speeds tell a contrasting story, with the RTX 3080 Ti running higher base and boost clocks (1,365 MHz and 1,665 MHz) compared to the RTX 5880’s 975 MHz base and 2,460 MHz boost. The higher boost clock on the Ada card helps compensate for its lower base, but the raw throughput metrics favour the Ada chip: 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 vs 34.10 TFLOPS, 1,082.4 GTexel/s vs 532.8 GTexel/s, and 433.0 GPixel/s vs 186.5 GPixel/s.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Q: Is the RTX 5880 always faster in compute workloads?

A: No. While it wins Geekbench OpenCL by 92.3%, it loses Passmark GPU Compute by 7% to the RTX 3080 Ti.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has higher bandwidth at 912.4 GB/s, compared to the RTX 5880’s 864.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a higher boost clock of 2,460 MHz, compared to the RTX 3080 Ti’s 1,665 MHz.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The RTX 5880 has a 285 W TDP and requires a 600 W PSU, while the RTX 3080 Ti has a 350 W TDP and requires a 750 W PSU.

Q: Which card is still in production?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is listed as Active, while the RTX 3080 Ti is End-of-life.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins in compute-heavy scenarios that leverage its massive FP32 throughput and higher transistor density. Its 92.3% OpenCL lead makes it the obvious pick for scientific simulation, AI inference, or any workload that utilises OpenCL or raw FP32 shader math. It also shows wins in DirectX 9 and DirectX 11, suggesting that older or less-optimised game engines might run better on this card, likely due to its sheer shading unit count.

The RTX 3080 Ti wins in modern graphics API performance and 2D interaction. Its 36.4% lead in DirectX 12 is the most critical advantage for contemporary game titles that rely on this API’s low-level features. Combined with its win in Passmark G3D (the general 3D test) and G2D (2D graphics), it is better suited for gaming, desktop composition, and any workload that prioritises rasterization throughput over raw compute. The RTX 3080 Ti’s higher memory bandwidth (912.4 GB/s) may also benefit texture-heavy scenarios, despite its smaller 12 GB frame buffer.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every fundamental specification. The RTX 5880 uses 48 GB GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 3080 Ti uses 12 GB GDDR6X. The process node is 5 nm (TSMC) versus 8 nm (Samsung). Transistor count is 76,300 million versus 28,300 million. The shading units are 14,080 versus 10,240, TMUs are 440 versus 320, and ROPs are 176 versus 112. RT cores are 110 versus 80, and tensor cores are 440 versus 320. The base and boost clocks are 975 MHz / 2,460 MHz versus 1,365 MHz / 1,665 MHz. Power consumption is 285 W versus 350 W, with power connectors of 1x 16-pin versus 1x 12-pin, and suggested PSUs of 600 W versus 750 W. The RTX 5880 has a length of 267 mm, while the RTX 3080 Ti is 285 mm long and 40 mm wide. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RTX 3080 Ti has a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD.