NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti share the same Blackwell 2.0 architecture and GB203 chip, but they are not equals. The benchmark data is unambiguous: the RTX 5080 wins all 10 head-to-head tests, with its largest margin a dominant 30.8% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its average benchmark score of 56083 sits 12.2% above the RTX 5070 Ti's 49957, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs versus the 86th for its sibling. The RTX 5070 Ti is a capable card, but this comparison is about the size of the gap, not the direction of it.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5080 wins every benchmark category in this data set, making the use-case split a matter of degree rather than kind. In pure rasterization, measured by PassMark G3D, the RTX 5080 scores 36565 against 32974 for the RTX 5070 Ti—a 10.9% advantage that shows up across DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests. The largest single win is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a demanding modern workload, where the RTX 5080's 8637 score eclipses the RTX 5070 Ti's 6604 by 30.8%. This indicates the RTX 5080 scales better under heavy next-generation rendering loads, making it the stronger choice for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming or future titles that stress GPU geometry and ray tracing.

Compute workloads also favor the RTX 5080, though by narrower margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5080 scores 235901 versus 212363 (11.1% ahead), and in Vulkan it leads 255450 to 225122 (13.5% ahead). PassMark GPU Compute shows a smaller 7.9% gap (21789 vs 20203), suggesting the RTX 5080's extra shader and tensor cores translate to consistent, if not spectacular, gains in general-purpose compute. For users who blend gaming with content creation or machine learning tasks, the RTX 5080 offers a measurable uplift across the board.

The RTX 5070 Ti's relative strengths lie in efficiency and physical footprint, not raw performance. It matches the RTX 5080's dual-slot design and 304 mm length but is thicker at 48 mm versus 40 mm, and its 300 W TDP is 60 W lower than the RTX 5080's 360 W. It also requires a 700 W suggested PSU versus 750 W. The data does not include power efficiency benchmarks, so a direct performance-per-watt comparison is not possible, but the lower TDP suggests the RTX 5070 Ti runs cooler and draws less power under load. For systems with stricter thermal or power budgets, that is a practical advantage, even if it never translates into a performance win.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the same GB203 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with identical transistor counts (45,600 million) and die size (378 mm²). The architecture is Blackwell 2.0 for both, and they share the same API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The core difference lies in how each card configures that silicon. The RTX 5080 activates 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores. The RTX 5070 Ti scales down to 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 70 RT cores, and 280 tensor cores—a reduction of roughly 16-17% across every compute unit type.

Clock speeds tell a more nuanced story. Both cards share the same 2295 MHz base clock, but the RTX 5080 boosts to 2617 MHz while the RTX 5070 Ti tops out at 2452 MHz. That 165 MHz boost advantage, combined with the extra cores, explains why the RTX 5080's FP32 peak is 56.28 TFLOPS versus 43.94 TFLOPS—a 28% gap in raw shader throughput. Memory also diverges: both use 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, but the RTX 5080 runs at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective) for 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5070 Ti runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for 896.0 GB/s. That 7.1% bandwidth advantage compounds the compute lead in memory-bound scenes.

Physical and power characteristics differ as well. The RTX 5080 is slimmer at 40 mm width versus 48 mm for the RTX 5070 Ti, but both are dual-slot cards with identical 304 mm length and 137 mm height. The RTX 5080 draws 360 W TDP against 300 W for the RTX 5070 Ti, and requires a 750 W PSU versus 700 W. Both use a single 16-pin power connector and offer the same display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b). The RTX 5080 launched earlier (2025-01-29) and the RTX 5070 Ti followed on 2025-02-19, with the RTX 5080's launch MSRP of 999 USD versus 749 USD for the RTX 5070 Ti.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear verdict: the RTX 5080 is the superior performer, and the RTX 5070 Ti is the efficiency-oriented alternative. If raw performance is the priority, the RTX 5080 wins every benchmark in this comparison, with an average score 12.2% higher and a peak lead of 30.8% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its higher core counts, faster boost clock, and wider memory bandwidth deliver consistent wins across DirectX, Vulkan, OpenCL, and compute workloads. The 87th percentile ranking versus 86th for the RTX 5070 Ti is a small gap in the overall GPU landscape, but within this pair, the RTX 5080 is categorically faster.

The RTX 5070 Ti is not a loser—it is a compromise. It offers the same 16 GB GDDR7 memory capacity and same architecture, but with a 165 MHz lower boost clock and 16-17% fewer compute units. Its 300 W TDP and 700 W PSU requirement make it easier to integrate into existing systems, and its 48 mm width is the only dimension where it exceeds the RTX 5080. For users who prioritize lower power draw or have PSU headroom constraints, the RTX 5070 Ti is the rational pick. For everyone else, the RTX 5080's 10.9% lead in PassMark G3D and 13.5% lead in Geekbench Vulkan justify its higher price tier.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 5080 scores 8637, which is 30.8% higher than the RTX 5070 Ti's 6604. This is the largest single-benchmark gap between the two cards.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both have 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus. However, the RTX 5080 achieves 960.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 896.0 GB/s for the RTX 5070 Ti due to a faster 1875 MHz memory clock.

Q: What is the core count difference?

A: The RTX 5080 has 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, while the RTX 5070 Ti has 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 5080 also has 84 RT cores versus 70, and 336 tensor cores versus 280.

Q: How does power consumption compare?

A: The RTX 5080 has a 360 W TDP and requires a 750 W suggested PSU. The RTX 5070 Ti has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested PSU. Both use a single 16-pin power connector.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5080 boosts to 2617 MHz, while the RTX 5070 Ti boosts to 2452 MHz. Both have the same 2295 MHz base clock.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the RTX 5070 Ti wins?

A: No. Across all 10 head-to-head tests, the RTX 5080 wins every single one. The RTX 5070 Ti's closest result is an 8% deficit in PassMark DirectX 11 (324 vs 300).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is the headline result, with the RTX 5080 scoring 8637 against 6604 for a 30.8% lead. This is the strongest indicator of next-gen rendering performance, and the gap suggests the RTX 5080 handles heavy geometry and ray tracing workloads far better. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5080 scores 255450 versus 225122 (13.5% ahead), confirming that API-level performance scales with the extra cores. Geekbench OpenCL shows a similar pattern: 235901 for the RTX 5080 against 212363 for the RTX 5070 Ti (11.1% ahead).

PassMark results are uniformly in favor of the RTX 5080, with the largest margin in DirectX 12 (151 vs 127, an 18.9% lead) and the smallest in DirectX 11 (324 vs 300, an 8% lead). DirectX 9 shows a 10.8% gap (389 vs 351), and DirectX 10 shows 8.3% (208 vs 192). The overall PassMark G3D score is 36565 for the RTX 5080 versus 32974 for the RTX 5070 Ti (10.9% ahead), while PassMark G2D shows a modest 6.2% lead (1415 vs 1332). Compute performance in PassMark GPU Compute is 21789 versus 20203, a 7.9% advantage for the RTX 5080.

These results paint a consistent picture: the RTX 5080 is faster in every category, but the margin varies by workload. The 30.8% Steel Nomad lead dwarfs the single-digit gains in older DirectX tests, indicating the RTX 5080's advantage grows with newer, more demanding APIs. The 12.2% average score difference (56083 vs 49957) is a summary of that dominance, placing the RTX 5080 at the 87th percentile and the RTX 5070 Ti at the 86th. Rival comparisons reinforce the positioning: the RTX 5080's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE at 2.2% higher average score, while the RTX 5070 Ti sits near the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (0.1% lower) and Intel Arc A550M (0.4% higher).

Specification Differences

| Specification | RTX 5080 | RTX 5070 Ti |

|---|---|---|

| Shading Units | 10752 | 8960 |

| TMUs | 336 | 280 |

| ROPs | 112 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 84 | 70 |

| Tensor Cores | 336 | 280 |

| Boost Clock | 2617 MHz | 2452 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1875 MHz (30 Gbps) | 1750 MHz (28 Gbps) |

| Bandwidth | 960.0 GB/s | 896.0 GB/s |

| FP32 | 56.28 TFLOPS | 43.94 TFLOPS |

| Pixel Rate | 293.1 GPixel/s | 235.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 879.3 GTexel/s | 686.6 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 360 W | 300 W |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 700 W |

| Width | 40 mm | 48 mm |

| Launch MSRP | 999 USD | 749 USD |

The two cards share identical base clocks (2295 MHz), memory size (16 GB GDDR7), bus width (256 bit), process node (5 nm), transistor count (45,600 million), die size (378 mm²), and all API support. They are also the same length (304 mm) and height (137 mm), with identical display outputs and power connector requirements. The RTX 5080's advantages in core counts, clocks, and bandwidth all stem from a more fully enabled GB203 chip, while the RTX 5070 Ti's thicker 48 mm profile and lower 300 W TDP are its primary physical distinctions.