NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive and uniform victory for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER across every single benchmark in the comparison. Out of ten head-to-head tests, the RTX 4080 SUPER wins all ten, with no test favoring the RTX 3080 Ti. The largest margin comes in the PassMark DirectX 9 test, where the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 381 against 274, a 39.1% advantage. This is followed closely by a 35% lead in both the Geekbench Vulkan test (260075 vs 192697) and the PassMark DirectX 11 test (301 vs 223). The smallest gap is in the PassMark DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 4080 SUPER leads by just 4.9% (193 vs 184), indicating that legacy DirectX 10 workloads see the least separation between the two architectures.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which represents modern gaming workloads, shows the RTX 4080 SUPER scoring 6600 against 5077 for the RTX 3080 Ti, a 30% delta. This is a substantial generational improvement and aligns with the overall average benchmark score difference: the RTX 4080 SUPER averages 54209 across all tests, while the RTX 3080 Ti averages 41187. That is a roughly 31.6% higher average score for the newer card. The RTX 4080 SUPER also leads in compute-oriented tasks, with a 29.7% advantage in PassMark GPU Compute (19822 vs 15282) and a 28.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL (219065 vs 170037). In the DirectX 12 PassMark test, the RTX 4080 SUPER posts 134 against 110, a 21.8% win, and in PassMark G3D it scores 34245 versus 26896, a 27.3% margin. Even the 2D-focused PassMark G2D test shows a 16.4% lead (1270 vs 1091), demonstrating that the RTX 4080 SUPER is faster across the board, not just in gaming or compute.

The RTX 4080 SUPER sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 3080 Ti sits at the 83rd percentile. The nearest rival to the RTX 4080 SUPER is the RTX 4080, which averages 54247, only 0.1% higher, meaning the SUPER variant is essentially performance-equivalent to its non-SUPER predecessor. In contrast, the RTX 3080 Ti's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which scores 40870, just 0.8% lower, and the RTX 3080 Ti is 2% ahead of the RTX 5070 in the database. These rival comparisons frame the two cards in different tiers: the RTX 4080 SUPER competes at the top of the high-end segment, while the RTX 3080 Ti, despite its strong showing, is positioned lower in the hierarchy.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER scores 6600 versus the RTX 3080 Ti's 5077, a 30% lead for the newer card.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Vulkan compute?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER achieves 260075 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 35% higher than the RTX 3080 Ti's 192697.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the RTX 3080 Ti wins?

A: No. The RTX 4080 SUPER wins all ten head-to-head tests, from DirectX 9 to Vulkan to compute workloads. The narrowest margin is 4.9% in PassMark DirectX 10.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, while the RTX 3080 Ti averages 41187, making the SUPER roughly 31.6% faster on average.

Q: How does each card compare to its closest rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER is nearly identical to the RTX 4080, which averages 54247, a 0.1% difference. The RTX 3080 Ti is 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40870) and 2% ahead of the RTX 5070 (40377).

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER is at the 86th percentile, three points higher than the RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent two distinct generations of NVIDIA architecture. The RTX 4080 SUPER uses the AD103 chip built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. It packs 45,900 million transistors into a 379 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.1 million transistors per mm². The RTX 3080 Ti, by contrast, uses the GA102 chip on the Ampere architecture, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. It contains 28,300 million transistors spread across a much larger 628 mm² die, with a density of only 45.1 million transistors per mm². This means the RTX 4080 SUPER achieves more than 2.6 times the transistor density of the RTX 3080 Ti, despite having fewer physical resources in some areas.

Both cards share identical counts of several key units: 10240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, 112 render output units, 80 ray tracing cores, and 320 tensor cores. However, the clock speeds differ dramatically. The RTX 4080 SUPER runs at a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, while the RTX 3080 Ti runs at 1365 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost. The newer card's boost clock is 885 MHz higher, which explains much of its performance advantage despite identical core counts. The RTX 4080 SUPER also has a higher memory clock at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) versus 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) for the RTX 3080 Ti.

The RTX 4080 SUPER delivers 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and the same 52.22 TFLOPS of FP16, while the RTX 3080 Ti delivers 34.10 TFLOPS for both. This represents a 53% advantage in raw compute throughput for the newer card. The pixel rate is 285.6 GPixel/s for the RTX 4080 SUPER versus 186.5 GPixel/s for the RTX 3080 Ti, and the texture rate is 816.0 GTexel/s versus 532.8 GTexel/s. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so there is no difference in API support. The RTX 4080 SUPER is a triple-slot card, while the RTX 3080 Ti is a dual-slot design. The RTX 4080 SUPER uses a single 16-pin power connector, whereas the RTX 3080 Ti uses a single 12-pin connector.

Specification Differences

The RTX 4080 SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a wider 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite having 4 GB less memory, the RTX 3080 Ti actually has higher memory bandwidth due to its wider bus. The RTX 4080 SUPER compensates with a much higher effective memory clock of 23 Gbps versus 19 Gbps.

The power profiles also differ. The RTX 4080 SUPER has a TDP of 320 W and a suggested PSU of 700 W, while the RTX 3080 Ti has a higher TDP of 350 W and a suggested PSU of 750 W. The RTX 4080 SUPER is physically larger, measuring 310 mm in length, 140 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, compared to the RTX 3080 Ti's 285 mm length, 112 mm height, and 40 mm width. Both cards use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface and offer identical display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RTX 4080 SUPER was released on 2024-01-30, while the RTX 3080 Ti was released on 2021-05-30. Both are end-of-life products, with the RTX 4080 SUPER's predecessor being GeForce 30 and successor being GeForce 50, while the RTX 3080 Ti's predecessor is GeForce 20 and successor is GeForce 40. The launch MSRP for the RTX 4080 SUPER is 999 USD, and for the RTX 3080 Ti it is 1,199 USD.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti in every recorded benchmark. With ten wins out of ten head-to-head tests and an average benchmark score of 54209 versus 41187, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the clear choice for anyone prioritizing raw performance. The largest margins appear in DirectX 9 (39.1%), Vulkan (35%), and DirectX 11 (35%), while the smallest margin is in DirectX 10 (4.9%). The RTX 4080 SUPER also offers more memory (16 GB vs 12 GB), a smaller die (379 mm² vs 628 mm²), lower TDP (320 W vs 350 W), and a lower suggested PSU (700 W vs 750 W), all while delivering higher clock speeds and TFLOPS figures. The RTX 3080 Ti does retain one advantage: memory bandwidth, at 912.4 GB/s versus 736.3 GB/s, but this does not translate into a single benchmark victory. The RTX 4080 SUPER's launch MSRP is 999 USD, compared to the RTX 3080 Ti's 1,199 USD.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER:

• Wins all ten head-to-head benchmarks, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (6600 vs 5077, 30% lead).
• Leads in every PassMark test: DirectX 10, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, DirectX 9, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute.
• Higher average benchmark score (54209 vs 41187) and higher percentile ranking (86th vs 83rd).
• More memory (16 GB vs 12 GB) and a more efficient process node (5 nm vs 8 nm).
• Higher clock speeds (2550 MHz boost vs 1665 MHz boost) and higher FP32/FP16 throughput (52.22 TFLOPS vs 34.10 TFLOPS).
• Lower TDP (320 W vs 350 W) and lower suggested PSU (700 W vs 750 W).

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti:

• Higher memory bandwidth at 912.4 GB/s, which is 23.9% more than the RTX 4080 SUPER's 736.3 GB/s, though this does not yield any benchmark wins.
• Smaller physical footprint: dual-slot design, 285 mm length, 112 mm height, and 40 mm width.
• In the database, it sits 2% ahead of the RTX 5070, showing it remains competitive against newer lower-tier cards even if it loses to the RTX 4080 SUPER.

For users weighing these two options strictly on measured performance, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the superior product in every test. The RTX 3080 Ti may appeal to those with space constraints or those who value its wider memory bus, but the benchmark data provides no scenario where the older card comes out ahead.