NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents two distinctly different NVIDIA Ada Lovelace products. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the workstation-class part, built on the AD102 chip, while the RTX 4080 Mobile is the laptop-oriented GPU on the AD104 chip. The benchmark results show the RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins 5 of the 8 head-to-head tests, while the RTX 4080 Mobile takes 3. The average benchmark score for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is 45,972, against 38,135 for the RTX 4080 Mobile, a difference of roughly 20.5%. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation sits in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4080 Mobile sits in the 81st percentile.

The verdict from the data is straightforward. For users whose workload depends on raw compute throughput, OpenCL performance, or legacy DirectX 10/9 paths, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the clear choice. For users running DirectX 11, DirectX 12, or 2D desktop tasks, the RTX 4080 Mobile actually posts higher scores in those specific tests despite its lower overall average. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation holds a massive lead in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 326,898 versus 159,575, a 104.9% advantage. The RTX 4080 Mobile counters with a 27.1% lead in DirectX 12 and a 16.4% lead in the 2D test. The choice ultimately depends on which API or workload family matters most to the user.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation claims victory in five tests: Geekbench OpenCL, Passmark DirectX 10, Passmark DirectX 9, Passmark G3D, and Passmark GPU Compute. The OpenCL result is the most decisive, with the RTX 5880 Ada Generation delivering more than double the score of the RTX 4080 Mobile. The GPU Compute test also shows a clear separation, 14,208 versus 11,191, a 27% gap. In DirectX 9, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 335 against 286, a 17.1% lead. The DirectX 10 margin is smaller at 6.4% (167 vs 157). The G3D result is nearly a tie, 25,096 versus 24,926, a 0.7% edge for the workstation card.

The RTX 4080 Mobile wins in three tests: Passmark DirectX 11, Passmark DirectX 12, and Passmark G2D. The DirectX 12 result is its strongest, 96 versus 70, a 27.1% advantage. DirectX 11 shows a 6.6% lead (244 vs 228). The G2D test, which measures 2D graphics performance, goes to the laptop part by 16.4% (929 vs 777). These wins suggest the RTX 4080 Mobile has a more efficient implementation for newer DirectX feature levels and desktop composition tasks, even though its raw compute capability is lower.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs use the Ada Lovelace architecture, but they are built on different chips. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. The RTX 4080 Mobile uses the AD104 chip with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process, with transistor densities of 125.3M per mm² for the AD102 and 121.8M per mm² for the AD104. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a much larger silicon budget, which explains the substantial differences in compute resources.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is equipped with 14,080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores. The RTX 4080 Mobile has 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 58 RT cores, and 232 tensor cores. That means the workstation part has roughly double the shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, and tensor cores of the mobile part. The FP32 compute rating is 69.27 TFLOPS for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation versus 24.72 TFLOPS for the RTX 4080 Mobile, a 2.8x difference. The pixel rate is 433.0 GPixel/s versus 133.2 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 1,082.4 GTexel/s versus 386.3 GTexel/s.

Memory configuration also differs significantly. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4080 Mobile has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s. Both run the same memory clock at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. The workstation card offers four times the capacity and exactly double the bandwidth.

The power envelope is another major divider. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a TDP of 285 W, is dual-slot, and requires a single 16-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX 4080 Mobile has a TDP of 110 W, is an integrated graphics package (IGP), and requires no external power connectors. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation measures 267 mm in length and 112 mm in height, while the mobile part has no listed dimensions because it is designed for portable device integration. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16 and support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The display outputs differ: the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 4080 Mobile uses portable device dependent outputs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 45,972, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38,135.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5880 Ada Generation in OpenCL compute?

A: The Geekbench OpenCL score for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is 326,898 versus 159,575 for the RTX 4080 Mobile, a 104.9% advantage.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 Mobile win any tests?

A: Yes, the RTX 4080 Mobile wins three head-to-head tests: Passmark DirectX 11, Passmark DirectX 12, and Passmark G2D. Its largest margin is a 27.1% lead in DirectX 12.

Q: What are the memory capacities of these two GPUs?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, while the RTX 4080 Mobile has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a transistor density of 125.3M per mm², slightly higher than the RTX 4080 Mobile at 121.8M per mm². Both use a 5 nm TSMC process.

Q: How does the power consumption compare?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a TDP of 285 W, while the RTX 4080 Mobile has a TDP of 110 W. The workstation card requires a 16-pin connector and a 600 W suggested PSU, while the mobile part uses no external power connectors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic difference in the entire comparison appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898, while the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 159,575. This is a 104.9% delta, meaning the workstation card more than doubles the mobile card's OpenCL throughput. This result aligns with the raw FP32 compute ratings, where the RTX 5880 Ada Generation produces 69.27 TFLOPS versus 24.72 TFLOPS for the RTX 4080 Mobile. The OpenCL benchmark appears to scale almost linearly with the shading unit count, which is 14,080 versus 7,424.

The Passmark GPU Compute test also favors the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, with a score of 14,208 versus 11,191, a 27% delta. This is a smaller margin than the OpenCL test, suggesting the compute benchmark exercises different aspects of the GPU, possibly memory bandwidth or scheduling. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation's memory bandwidth of 864.0 GB/s is exactly double the RTX 4080 Mobile's 432.0 GB/s, which may explain a portion of that lead.

In the legacy DirectX tests, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation maintains its advantage. DirectX 9 shows a 17.1% lead (335 vs 286), and DirectX 10 shows a 6.4% lead (167 vs 157). These are moderate margins compared to the compute results, indicating that older API workloads are less sensitive to the massive compute resource difference. The G3D test, which is a general 3D graphics score, is nearly a dead heat: 25,096 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation and 24,926 for the RTX 4080 Mobile, a 0.7% delta. This near-tie suggests that for typical 3D rendering tasks, the mobile GPU's higher boost clock and efficient design compensate for its smaller resource pool.

The RTX 4080 Mobile's wins are concentrated in the newer DirectX paths and 2D operations. The DirectX 12 test shows the largest gap in its favor: 96 versus 70, a 27.1% delta. This is significant because DirectX 12 is the modern gaming and application API. The DirectX 11 result is 244 versus 228, a 6.6% advantage. The G2D test, which measures 2D performance, goes to the RTX 4080 Mobile at 929 versus 777, a 16.4% lead. These results indicate that the RTX 4080 Mobile has better optimization for driver-level 2D composition and newer API features, despite its lower raw compute.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification field. The chip is the most fundamental difference: AD102 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation versus AD104 for the RTX 4080 Mobile. The transistor count is 76,300 million versus 35,800 million, and the die size is 609 mm² versus 294 mm². The transistor density is slightly higher on the AD102 at 125.3M per mm² versus 121.8M per mm².

Clock speeds differ substantially. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a base clock of 975 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The RTX 4080 Mobile has a base clock of 1290 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The mobile part starts at a higher base frequency, but the workstation part boosts much higher. Memory clock is identical at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed.

Memory configuration diverges sharply. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4080 Mobile has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The compute unit counts are roughly doubled on the workstation part: shading units 14,080 versus 7,424, TMUs 440 versus 232, ROPs 176 versus 80, RT cores 110 versus 58, and tensor cores 440 versus 232.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation achieves 433.0 GPixel/s and 1,082.4 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4080 Mobile achieves 133.2 GPixel/s and 386.3 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are both 69.27 TFLOPS for the workstation card and 24.72 TFLOPS for the mobile card, with a 1:1 ratio in both cases.

The power and physical specifications are also distinct. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a TDP of 285 W, is dual-slot, uses a 1x 16-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 600 W. It measures 267 mm in length and 112 mm in height. The RTX 4080 Mobile has a TDP of 110 W, is classified as IGP, uses no power connectors, and has no listed dimensions. The display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.4a for the workstation card, while the mobile card uses portable device dependent outputs. Both share the same bus interface, PCIe 4.0 x16, and the same API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The release dates differ by roughly one year, with the RTX 4080 Mobile launching in January 2023 and the RTX 5880 Ada Generation in January 2024.