NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER Comparison

The Verdict

The data in this comparison is unusual and requires careful interpretation. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER are both Blackwell 2.0 architecture cards from the GeForce 50-series, but the recorded benchmark data tells a surprising story.

The RTX 5070 holds the clear performance lead in the single shared benchmark, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. It scores 5077 points against 3075 points for the RTX 5080 SUPER, a 65.1% advantage. The RTX 5080 SUPER has zero benchmark wins in this comparison. The RTX 5070 also carries a much higher percentile ranking across all GPUs, sitting at the 82nd percentile, while the RTX 5080 SUPER sits at only the 19th percentile.

The RTX 5070 is the card for anyone prioritizing confirmed, measured performance in the database. It shows a decisive lead in the available DirectX 12 workload, and its average benchmark score of 40377 places it among stronger performers relative to all recorded GPUs. The RTX 5080 SUPER, despite its larger physical configuration, does not have the benchmark backing to justify a performance pick based on this data.

The RTX 5080 SUPER makes sense only for buyers who need its specific physical attributes: 24 GB of memory, a 256-bit bus, and a larger die. Those specifications are on paper, but the recorded performance does not match them. The RTX 5080 SUPER's nearest rivals in the database, such as the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 with a 2.8% higher average score and the Intel Arc Pro B60 with a 3.4% higher average score, indicate that its measured performance is far below what its specifications would suggest.

For a builder choosing between these two based strictly on database results, the RTX 5070 is the clear choice. The RTX 5080 SUPER should be selected only when the memory capacity and bus width are absolute requirements, and even then the performance data raises serious questions about its real-world behavior.

Architecture Differences

Both cards use the same Blackwell 2.0 architecture and are fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The fundamental difference lies in the silicon and its configuration.

The RTX 5070 uses the GB205 chip with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 118.3M per mm². The RTX 5080 SUPER uses the larger GB203 chip with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, resulting in a density of 120.6M per mm². The GB203 carries 46.6% more transistors and a 43.7% larger die area.

The RTX 5080 SUPER has substantially more execution resources. It packs 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, 112 raster output units, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores. The RTX 5070 has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. The 5080 SUPER provides 75% more shading units, 75% more TMUs, 40% more ROPs, 75% more RT cores, and 75% more tensor cores.

Clock speeds differ in an interesting way. The RTX 5070 has a higher base clock at 2325 MHz versus 2295 MHz for the 5080 SUPER, but the 5080 SUPER has a higher boost clock at 2617 MHz versus 2512 MHz. Memory clocks also differ, with the 5070 running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and the 5080 SUPER at 2000 MHz (32 Gbps effective).

The memory subsystem is where the 5080 SUPER should theoretically pull ahead. It has 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s. The 5080 SUPER has double the memory capacity and 51.8% more bandwidth.

Power draw is another major divider. The RTX 5070 has a TDP of 250 W, while the RTX 5080 SUPER is rated at 415 W, a 66% increase. Both use a single 16-pin power connector and occupy a dual-slot form factor. The 5070 suggests a 600 W power supply, while the 5080 SUPER has no suggested PSU recorded in the database.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The RTX 5080 SUPER has 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Why does the RTX 5080 SUPER have a lower benchmark score despite more hardware?

A: The database records a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result for the 5080 SUPER at 3075 points, while the 5070 scores 5077. The 5080 SUPER's measured performance does not reflect its larger transistor count or shading unit count.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 5070 has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX 5080 SUPER has a TDP of 415 W and no suggested PSU recorded.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5080 SUPER boosts to 2617 MHz, which is 105 MHz higher than the RTX 5070's 2512 MHz boost clock.

Q: How do the cards compare in transistor density?

A: The RTX 5070 has 118.3M transistors per mm², and the RTX 5080 SUPER has 120.6M per mm², a difference of roughly 2%.

Specification Differences

Clock speeds: The RTX 5070 has a 2325 MHz base clock versus 2295 MHz for the 5080 SUPER. The 5080 SUPER has a 2617 MHz boost clock versus 2512 MHz for the 5070. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for the 5070 and 2000 MHz (32 Gbps effective) for the 5080 SUPER.

Memory: The 5070 has 12 GB GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 5080 SUPER has 24 GB GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources: The 5070 has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. The 5080 SUPER has 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores.

Pixel and texture rates: The 5070 delivers 201.0 GPixel/s and 482.3 GTexel/s. The 5080 SUPER delivers 293.1 GPixel/s and 879.3 GTexel/s.

FP32 and FP16 performance: The 5070 delivers 30.87 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16 (1:1). The 5080 SUPER delivers 56.28 TFLOPS in both.

Power and physical: The 5070 has a 250 W TDP, the 5080 SUPER has 415 W. The 5070 is 245 mm long, 115 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The 5080 SUPER is 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. Both are dual-slot with a single 16-pin connector.

Silicon: The 5070 uses GB205 with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. The 5080 SUPER uses GB203 with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains exactly one head-to-head benchmark result between these two cards: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test.

In that test, the RTX 5070 scores 5077 points, and the RTX 5080 SUPER scores 3075 points. The RTX 5070 wins by 65.1%, a massive margin. This is the only recorded comparison, so it carries the full weight of the head-to-head analysis.

The RTX 5070's score of 5077 puts it at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score across all tests is 40377. The nearest rivals to that average are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 at 40318 (0.1% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 at 40063 (0.8% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40870 (1.2% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile at 39568 (2% lower). The 5070 sits in a tight cluster at this performance level.

The RTX 5080 SUPER's single score of 3075 places it at the 19th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 at 3163 (2.8% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce 820A at 2983 (3.1% lower), the Intel Arc Pro B60 at 3182 (3.4% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M at 2967 (3.6% lower). The 5080 SUPER's measured performance is roughly equivalent to entry-level laptop and workstation GPUs from several generations ago.

The contrast is stark. The 5070's average benchmark score of 40377 is more than 13 times higher than the 5080 SUPER's average of 3075. The 5070's percentile rank of 82 versus the 5080 SUPER's 19 reflects a fundamentally different performance class in the recorded data.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5070 wins in the only benchmarked workload. It also wins in percentile ranking, average benchmark score, power efficiency indicators, and physical footprint. It has a lower TDP at 250 W versus 415 W, a shorter length at 245 mm versus 304 mm, and a lower height at 115 mm versus 137 mm. It requires a 600 W PSU, which is recorded, while the 5080 SUPER has no suggested PSU data.

The RTX 5080 SUPER wins on paper specifications that are not backed by benchmark results. It has more memory (24 GB versus 12 GB), more bandwidth (1.02 TB/s versus 672.0 GB/s), more shading units (10,752 versus 6,144), more RT cores (84 versus 48), more tensor cores (336 versus 192), higher boost clock (2617 MHz versus 2512 MHz), and higher theoretical FP32 performance (56.28 TFLOPS versus 30.87 TFLOPS).

For use cases involving large datasets or high-resolution textures that demand more than 12 GB of VRAM, the 5080 SUPER's memory capacity is the only recorded advantage. The 256-bit bus and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth also suggest it should handle memory-intensive workloads better, but the benchmark data does not confirm this.

For everything else, the RTX 5070 is the card the database supports. Its 65.1% lead in the Steel Nomad test is unambiguous. Its 82nd percentile ranking versus the 5080 SUPER's 19th percentile is a clear separation. The 5070's nearest rivals are all within 2% of its average score, indicating a stable, well-measured performance level. The 5080 SUPER's nearest rivals are all within 3.6% of its score, but that score is so low that it places the card in a completely different performance tier.

A builder choosing between these two should follow the data. The RTX 5070 delivers the measured performance. The RTX 5080 SUPER offers specifications that appear superior on paper but fail to translate into benchmark results in the database. The 5080 SUPER's launch MSRP is 999 USD, while the 5070's is 549 USD, but the performance gap in the recorded data is far larger than the price gap would suggest. The 5070 is the only card with recorded wins, and it wins decisively.