NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 represent two distinct approaches to high-performance graphics, separated by architecture, generation, and intended use case. The RTX 4070 Mobile is a modern laptop part built on a slim, efficient design, while the RTX 3080 is a desktop-class card from the previous generation. Benchmark data from the database shows a clear split: the RTX 3080 wins the majority of head-to-head tests, but the RTX 4070 Mobile delivers a decisive victory in one key modern API test. This analysis breaks down where each card excels, what separates them internally, and which one suits specific workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 dominates the overall benchmark suite, taking 8 out of 9 head-to-head comparisons. Its strongest areas are compute-heavy and legacy DirectX workloads. In compute performance, it leads by a large margin, scoring 14397 in the compute test compared to 8399 for the RTX 4070 Mobile, a gap of 41.7 percent. The RTX 3080 also wins in DirectX 10, 11, and 12 tests, with margins ranging from 13.5 percent to 31.8 percent. Its DirectX 9 score is 258 versus 223, a 13.6 percent advantage. For users running older games or applications that rely on traditional DirectX pipelines, the RTX 3080 is the stronger choice.

The RTX 4070 Mobile has one standout win: the Vulkan benchmark. Its score of 108367 dwarfs the RTX 3080’s 33620, a 222.3 percent difference. This is not a small margin; it is a massive leap that indicates the newer architecture handles Vulkan workloads far more efficiently. For anyone working with Vulkan-based games or applications, the RTX 4070 Mobile is clearly superior. It also posts a higher average benchmark score overall, 27435 versus 23172, though that average includes its Vulkan outlier. In raw rasterization tests like PassMark G3D, the RTX 3080 wins with 25086 points against 19587, a 21.9 percent lead.

The database also shows that the RTX 4070 Mobile sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3080 sits in the 68th. This suggests that despite losing most direct comparisons, the RTX 4070 Mobile has a higher overall standing relative to the full GPU landscape. That is likely due to its Vulkan performance, which lifts its average. For a laptop part, that is an impressive position.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on completely different foundations. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses the AD106 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 22,900 million transistors into a die size of 188 mm², giving a transistor density of 121.8 million per mm². The RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip based on Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It has more transistors, 28,300 million, but on a much larger die of 628 mm², resulting in a lower density of 45.1 million per mm². The process node difference is significant: 5 nm versus 8 nm, which explains why the newer chip can achieve higher efficiency per watt.

Memory configurations also diverge sharply. The RTX 4070 Mobile comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3080 offers 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s. That is nearly three times the bandwidth. The memory clock speeds reflect this: the RTX 4070 Mobile runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while the RTX 3080 runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective. The wider bus and faster memory type give the RTX 3080 a clear advantage in bandwidth-bound scenarios.

Compute resources are also heavily skewed. The RTX 3080 has 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The RTX 4070 Mobile has 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Ray tracing and tensor cores follow the same pattern: the RTX 3080 has 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, while the RTX 4070 Mobile has 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores. The RTX 3080’s raw throughput is much higher, with 29.77 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16, compared to 15.62 TFLOPS for the RTX 4070 Mobile. Pixel rate and texture rate are similarly lopsided: 164.2 GPixel/s versus 81.36 GPixel/s, and 465.1 GTexel/s versus 244.1 GTexel/s.

Power and physical design differ as well. The RTX 4070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and is listed as an IGP with no power connectors, reflecting its mobile nature. The RTX 3080 has a TDP of 320 W, is dual-slot, uses a 1x 12-pin connector, and suggests a 700 W power supply. It also has a full PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the RTX 4070 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The RTX 3080 measures 285 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, while the RTX 4070 Mobile has no listed dimensions due to its portable device dependent design.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest win for the RTX 4070 Mobile is in the Vulkan test. Its score of 108367 is more than three times the RTX 3080’s 33620, a 222.3 percent advantage. This is the kind of result that changes purchasing decisions for developers or users who rely on Vulkan. No other test comes close to this margin.

The largest win for the RTX 3080 is in compute. It scores 14397 against 8399, a 41.7 percent lead. This makes sense given its higher shading unit count and memory bandwidth. For GPU compute tasks like rendering or scientific workloads, the RTX 3080 is the stronger performer. The OpenCL test also favors the RTX 3080, with 152423 points versus 109197, a 28.4 percent lead. That is another compute-oriented workload where the older card’s raw power shines.

In DirectX 10, the RTX 3080 wins 170 to 116, a 31.8 percent margin. DirectX 11 shows a tighter race: 207 versus 179, a 13.5 percent lead. DirectX 12 follows with 100 versus 85, a 15 percent gap. DirectX 9 is close too, 258 versus 223, a 13.6 percent difference. The 2D graphics test goes to the RTX 3080 with 1054 points versus 763, a 27.6 percent lead. The 3D graphics test, PassMark G3D, gives the RTX 3080 a 25086 to 19587 win, a 21.9 percent margin.

The pattern is consistent: the RTX 3080 wins every traditional graphics and compute test, while the RTX 4070 Mobile wins only Vulkan. The Vulkan win is so large that it flips the average benchmark score in favor of the RTX 4070 Mobile, but the head-to-head record remains 8 wins to 1 for the RTX 3080.

The Verdict

From the data, the choice depends entirely on workload. The RTX 3080 is the better card for anyone prioritizing raw rasterization, compute performance, or compatibility with older DirectX titles. Its wins in DirectX 10, 11, 12, and 9, plus its compute and OpenCL advantages, make it a versatile desktop workhorse. It has more memory, 10 GB versus 8 GB, and vastly more bandwidth, 760.3 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s, which helps at higher resolutions and in texture-heavy scenes. Its higher TDP of 320 W and dual-slot design mean it needs a proper desktop setup with a 700 W power supply, but that trade-off delivers measurable performance.

The RTX 4070 Mobile is the pick for Vulkan-centric use cases. Its 222.3 percent lead in that benchmark is not marginal; it is transformative. If a user runs Vulkan-based games or applications, the RTX 4070 Mobile will outperform the RTX 3080 by a wide margin. It also offers a much lower power draw at 115 W, making it suitable for laptops where the RTX 3080 cannot physically fit. The newer 5 nm process and Ada Lovelace architecture bring efficiency gains that the 8 nm Ampere chip cannot match.

The percentile ranking reinforces this split. The RTX 4070 Mobile sits at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, above the RTX 3080’s 68th percentile. That higher standing is driven by its Vulkan score, which is an outlier in the positive direction. The RTX 3080’s average is dragged down by its relatively weak Vulkan result. For a balanced assessment, the RTX 3080 is the more consistently strong performer across the tested suite, but the RTX 4070 Mobile is the specialist that wins where it matters most for modern Vulkan workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 wins 8 out of 9 tests. The RTX 4070 Mobile wins only the Vulkan test.

Q: How large is the RTX 4070 Mobile’s Vulkan advantage?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 108367 in Vulkan, while the RTX 3080 scores 33620. That is a 222.3 percent difference.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3080 has 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to 256.0 GB/s for the RTX 4070 Mobile. It also has 10 GB of memory versus 8 GB.

Q: What is the compute performance gap?

A: The RTX 3080 scores 14397 in the compute test, while the RTX 4070 Mobile scores 8399. That is a 41.7 percent lead for the RTX 3080.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile sits at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3080 sits at the 68th percentile.

Q: What are the power requirements for each?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and no power connectors. The RTX 3080 has a TDP of 320 W, uses a 1x 12-pin connector, and suggests a 700 W power supply.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses the AD106 chip on Ada Lovelace architecture, while the RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip on Ampere architecture. The process node is 5 nm for the RTX 4070 Mobile and 8 nm for the RTX 3080. Transistor counts are 22,900 million versus 28,300 million, with die sizes of 188 mm² and 628 mm², respectively. Transistor density is 121.8 million per mm² for the RTX 4070 Mobile and 45.1 million per mm² for the RTX 3080.

Clocks differ: the RTX 4070 Mobile has a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost of 1695 MHz, while the RTX 3080 has a base of 1440 MHz and a boost of 1710 MHz. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective for the RTX 4070 Mobile, and 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective for the RTX 3080. Memory type is GDDR6 versus GDDR6X, with bus widths of 128 bit versus 320 bit. Bandwidth is 256.0 GB/s versus 760.3 GB/s.

Shading units are 4608 versus 8704, TMUs are 144 versus 272, and ROPs are 48 versus 96. RT cores are 36 versus 68, and tensor cores are 144 versus 272. Pixel rate is 81.36 GPixel/s versus 164.2 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 244.1 GTexel/s versus 465.1 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance is 15.62 TFLOPS versus 29.77 TFLOPS. TDP is 115 W versus 320 W. The RTX 4070 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors, while the RTX 3080 is dual-slot with a 1x 12-pin connector and a suggested 700 W PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are portable device dependent for the RTX 4070 Mobile, versus 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX 3080. Production status is Active versus End-of-life. The RTX 4070 Mobile has a launch MSRP of null, while the RTX 3080 has a launch MSRP of 699 USD.