NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 represent two distinct generations of NVIDIA graphics architecture, separated by a two-year gap in release timing. The 3080 12 GB, built on the Ampere architecture and released in early 2022, carries a 28th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database. The 4070 GDDR6, using the Ada Lovelace architecture and released in mid-2024, sits at the 25th percentile. Both cards hold 12 GB of memory, but their underlying designs diverge sharply in transistor count, process node, and memory technology. The recorded benchmark data for this comparison comes from a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the 3080 12 GB scores 4791 points against the 4070 GDDR6's 4334.5 points. That difference translates to a 10.5 percent lead for the older card, a notable margin in a head-to-head comparison between generations.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole benchmark result in the database, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, shows the RTX 3080 12 GB outperforming the RTX 4070 GDDR6 by 10.5 percent. The 3080 12 GB records 4791 points, while the 4070 GDDR6 manages 4334.5 points. This is a decisive win for the Ampere card, and it is the only recorded head-to-head test. The 3080 12 GB takes the victory in this single matchup, giving it a 1-0 record in wins.

To contextualize these scores, the database places each card among its nearest rivals. The 3080 12 GB's 4791 points sits within 0.1 percent of the AMD Radeon R5 M255, which scores 4788, and within 0.8 percent of the AMD Radeon R5 M335 at 4752. It also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, which scores 4844, a 1.1 percent difference, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M at 4855, a 1.3 percent gap. These rivals are all far lower-tier mobile or legacy parts, which indicates the 3080 12 GB's score, while leading the 4070 GDDR6, is not exceptionally high in absolute terms within the broader database.

The 4070 GDDR6, scoring 4334.5 points, is bracketed by similarly modest competition. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 scores 4360, a 0.6 percent difference, and the AMD FirePro W2100 scores 4295, a 0.9 percent gap. The NVIDIA GeForce 930M scores 4388, 1.2 percent higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M scores 4282, 1.2 percent lower. Like the 3080 12 GB, these rivals are not comparable desktop gaming cards. The nearest rival data reinforces that both cards occupy similar percentile territory, though the 3080 12 GB holds a clear edge in the direct comparison.

The 10.5 percent delta in favor of the 3080 12 GB is the key takeaway from the head-to-head data. That margin is substantial enough to represent a meaningful performance tier separation in this specific DX12 workload. The 4070 GDDR6, despite being two years newer and built on a more advanced process, cannot match the older card's raw score in this test. The database records the 3080 12 GB as the winner with a 10.5 percent advantage, and no other test results are available to alter that picture.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is wide. The RTX 3080 12 GB uses the GA102 chip on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process by Samsung. The die measures 628 mm² and packs 28,300 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per square millimeter. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 uses the AD104 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its die is far smaller at 294 mm², but it contains 35,800 million transistors, producing a density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The newer node allows nearly four times the transistor density in less than half the die area.

Clock speeds also favor the newer card. The 3080 12 GB runs a base clock of 1260 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz. The 4070 GDDR6 starts at 1920 MHz base and boosts to 2475 MHz. That higher clock rate helps the Ada card compensate for its reduced core count. The 3080 12 GB has 8960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The 4070 GDDR6 has 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Despite having 34 percent fewer shading units, the 4070 GDDR6's higher clocks bring its FP32 throughput to 29.15 TFLOPS, only slightly below the 3080 12 GB's 30.64 TFLOPS. Both cards offer FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, meaning the same 30.64 and 29.15 TFLOPS figures respectively.

Ray tracing and tensor core counts differ as well. The 3080 12 GB includes 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores. The 4070 GDDR6 has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The newer architecture's RT and tensor cores are more efficient per unit, but the raw counts favor the older card. Pixel and texture rates also lean toward the 3080 12 GB: it achieves 164.2 GPixel/s and 478.8 GTexel/s, while the 4070 GDDR6 delivers 158.4 GPixel/s and 455.4 GTexel/s. These are modest differences, roughly 4 to 5 percent, reflecting the 4070's higher clocks partially offsetting its lower core counts.

Memory is another major divergence. The 3080 12 GB uses GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The 4070 GDDR6 uses GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, halving the bus width and cutting bandwidth to 480.0 GB/s. The effective memory clock for the 3080 is 19 Gbps, while the 4070 runs at 20 Gbps. The 3080's bandwidth advantage is nearly double, which likely contributes to its lead in the DX12 benchmark despite the 4070's faster core clocks. Both cards have 12 GB capacity, so capacity is identical, but the memory subsystem performance is not.

Power consumption and physical design also separate them. The 3080 12 GB has a TDP of 350 W and requires a suggested 750 W power supply, using a single 12-pin connector. The 4070 GDDR6 has a TDP of 200 W, a suggested 550 W PSU, and uses a 16-pin connector. The 4070 is also shorter, measuring 240 mm versus 285 mm for the 3080, with nearly identical height and width. Both are dual-slot cards. The 3080 draws 75 percent more power, which explains its higher performance in the recorded test.

The production status for both is end-of-life. The 3080 12 GB launched on January 10, 2022, with a launch MSRP of 799 USD. The 4070 GDDR6 launched on August 19, 2024, with a launch MSRP of 599 USD. Their API support is identical: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16 and offer the same display outputs: one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a.

Where Each One Wins

The 3080 12 GB wins the only recorded benchmark outright, and its strengths align with that result. Its memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s is a decisive advantage over the 4070 GDDR6's 480.0 GB/s. In DX12 workloads that stress memory throughput, the 3080's 384-bit bus and GDDR6X memory provide a substantial edge. Its higher pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 478.8 GTexel/s also support raw fill-rate-heavy tasks. The 3080 also carries more shading units, more RT cores, and more tensor cores, which can benefit compute-heavy scenarios where parallelism matters more than clock speed.

The 4070 GDDR6 has no benchmark wins in the database, but its architectural traits point to different strengths. Its 5 nm process and 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter make it far more power-efficient, with a 200 W TDP versus 350 W. The higher boost clock of 2475 MHz suggests better performance in latency-bound or lightly threaded workloads that respond to clock speed. Its smaller 294 mm² die also means less physical footprint, and its 240 mm length makes it easier to fit in compact cases. The 4070's FP32 throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS is only 5 percent below the 3080's 30.64 TFLOPS, so raw compute is close despite the core count gap. However, in the recorded test, none of these traits translated into a victory.

For use-case splits, the 3080 12 GB is the choice for scenarios demanding maximum memory bandwidth and higher fill rates, such as 4K texture streaming or heavy post-processing effects. The 4070 GDDR6 is better suited for situations where power draw and physical size are constraints, or where newer architectural features in Ada Lovelace, though not quantified in the benchmark, might offer efficiency benefits. The data does not include ray tracing or DLSS-specific tests, so any advantage there is speculative from the recorded numbers.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB is the faster card. It leads the RTX 4070 GDDR6 by 10.5 percent in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, a clear margin in a single benchmark. Its higher memory bandwidth, greater core counts, and higher fill rates all support this result. The 3080 12 GB also holds a higher percentile ranking, 28th versus 25th, and its average benchmark score of 4791 exceeds the 4070's 4335. The 3080 wins the head-to-head with a 1-0 record.

The RTX 4070 GDDR6, however, offers advantages that the benchmark does not capture. Its 200 W TDP versus 350 W means significantly lower power consumption, and its 5 nm process gives it far greater transistor density. Its 599 USD launch MSRP is lower than the 3080's 799 USD, though price is not a factor in performance analysis. For a user prioritizing the measured DX12 performance, the 3080 12 GB is the pick. For a user prioritizing efficiency or newer architecture traits, the 4070 GDDR6 has qualitative appeal, but the data does not show it winning any recorded test.

The verdict from the database is unambiguous: the 3080 12 GB outperforms the 4070 GDDR6 in the sole available benchmark. The 4070's advantages are real in terms of power and density, but they do not manifest as a performance win in this comparison. The 3080 12 GB is the stronger performer, and the 4070 GDDR6 is the more efficient design that nonetheless trails in measured results.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher score in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB scores 4791 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 scores 4334.5 points. The 3080 12 GB leads by 10.5 percent.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB has a memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s using GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has 480.0 GB/s using GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: How do the transistor counts and die sizes compare?

A: The 3080 12 GB has 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die with a density of 45.1 million per square millimeter. The 4070 GDDR6 has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die with a density of 121.8 million per square millimeter.

Q: What are the power consumption figures for each GPU?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB has a TDP of 350 W and a suggested power supply of 750 W. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a TDP of 200 W and a suggested power supply of 550 W.

Q: Which card has more shading units and RT cores?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB has 8960 shading units and 70 RT cores. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has 5888 shading units and 46 RT cores.

Q: What is the FP32 compute throughput for each card?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB delivers 30.64 TFLOPS, and the RTX 4070 GDDR6 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS. Both support FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32.