NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER and NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation serve different segments, yet their recorded data places them in distinct performance tiers. The RTX 5080 SUPER carries a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3075, while the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation posts Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 124812 and 109364, respectively. These benchmarks use different workloads, so direct cross-test comparison is limited, but the percentile rankings and rival deltas clarify where each card stands.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 5080 SUPER achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3075. That result places it in the 19th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 scores 3163, which is 2.8% higher, and the Intel Arc Pro B60 scores 3182, which is 3.4% higher. On the other side, the NVIDIA GeForce 820A scores 2983, which is 3.1% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M scores 2967, which is 3.6% lower. The RTX 5080 SUPER sits nearly in the middle of that group, slightly behind two older or professional cards and slightly ahead of two mobile-class parts. The 19th percentile ranking signals that most GPUs in the database score higher on this particular DX12 test, which suggests the Steel Nomad workload does not favor this card’s architecture as much as other tests might.

The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation delivers a Geekbench OpenCL score of 124812 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 109364. Its average benchmark score is 117088, which places it in the 95th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GB10 at 117393, which is 0.3% higher, the AMD Radeon PRO W7700 at 118976, which is 1.6% higher, the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB at 114395, which is 2.4% lower, and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile at 113944, which is 2.8% lower. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is essentially tied with the GB10 and within a couple of percent of the other three. The 95th percentile ranking indicates that this card outperforms the vast majority of GPUs in the database across these compute-oriented Geekbench workloads.

Because the two cards share no common benchmark test, a direct numeric comparison is impossible. However, the percentile gap is informative. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation ranks in the 95th percentile, while the RTX 5080 SUPER ranks in the 19th percentile. That difference, 76 percentile points, reflects how each card performs relative to the full GPU population in the database. The RTX 5080 SUPER’s Steel Nomad score of 3075 is surrounded by cards with average scores in the 2900 to 3200 range, all within a few percentage points. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s Geekbench scores are far larger in absolute terms, but those tests measure different capabilities, so the raw numbers should not be treated as a head-to-head result.

The data shows no head-to-head benchmark entries for these two products. The wins counter for each card is zero. Therefore, the only reliable cross-comparison comes from their percentile positions and rival deltas. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation holds a significantly higher percentile, but that does not automatically mean it is faster in every scenario. The RTX 5080 SUPER’s low percentile on Steel Nomad could reflect a test that stresses geometry or ray tracing in ways that this card handles poorly, or it could simply be a different workload class.

The Verdict

From the recorded data, the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the stronger performer in compute-heavy Geekbench tests, holding the 95th percentile versus the RTX 5080 SUPER’s 19th percentile on a DX12 test. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s average benchmark score of 117088 places it near the NVIDIA GB10, which scores 117393, and ahead of the Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB by 2.4%. That positioning makes it a top-tier option for OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, which are common in scientific computing, rendering, and professional visualization.

The RTX 5080 SUPER, with its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3075, competes in a much lower percentile band. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro B60 at 3182 and the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 at 3163, both of which beat it by 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. The RTX 5080 SUPER only surpasses the GeForce 820A and GeForce GTX 860M, which are older or lower-tier parts. For a card with 10752 shading units and a 1.02 TB/s memory bandwidth, this result is surprising, but the database records what it records. The 19th percentile indicates that most GPUs in the database outperform it on this specific DX12 test.

Who should pick which? The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation suits users whose workloads rely on OpenCL or Vulkan, given its 95th percentile ranking and its proximity to the GB10 and Radeon PRO W7700. The RTX 5080 SUPER, despite its low Steel Nomad percentile, has a much larger memory pool of 24 GB versus 20 GB, which matters for capacity-bound tasks, but the benchmark data does not show that advantage in the recorded test. Strictly from the numbers, the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation delivers better relative performance in the database’s measurements. The RTX 5080 SUPER’s single benchmark places it in a weak position, and no other recorded scores support a stronger claim.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 5080 SUPER uses the GB203 chip built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 120.6 million per mm². The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip based on Ada Lovelace, also on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die and a density of 121.8 million per mm². The transistor density is nearly identical, but the RTX 5080 SUPER packs about 27% more transistors into a larger die.

The RTX 5080 SUPER has 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It also includes 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The RTX 5080 SUPER offers roughly 75% more shading units, 75% more TMUs, 75% more ROPs, 75% more RT cores, and 75% more tensor cores than the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation. Those ratios are consistent across the compute pipeline.

The RTX 5080 SUPER reaches a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation runs at a base clock of 720 MHz and a boost clock of 1560 MHz. The RTX 5080 SUPER’s boost clock is about 68% higher than the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s boost clock. That clock advantage, combined with the larger core count, explains why the RTX 5080 SUPER has much higher theoretical rates: a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s versus 99.84 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s versus 299.5 GTexel/s, and an FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS versus 19.17 TFLOPS. FP16 rates match FP32 at a 1:1 ratio for both cards.

The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation belongs to the workstation generation, with its predecessor listed as Workstation Ampere and its successor as Blackwell PRO W. The RTX 5080 SUPER has no listed predecessor or successor. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation was released in March 2023, while the RTX 5080 SUPER has a release date at the end of 2025. Both cards remain active in production.

Specification Differences

Memory configuration differs sharply. The RTX 5080 SUPER uses 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 2000 MHz and 32 Gbps effective, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz and 14 Gbps effective, delivering 280.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5080 SUPER offers 20% more capacity and 3.6 times the bandwidth.

Power and physical design diverge even more. The RTX 5080 SUPER has a TDP of 415 W and requires a single 16-pin power connector. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has a TDP of 70 W, uses no external power connector, and lists a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RTX 5080 SUPER is a dual-slot card measuring 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is also dual-slot, but measures 168 mm in length and 69 mm in height, with no width listed. The RTX 5080 SUPER is nearly twice as long and twice as tall.

Bus interface and display outputs also differ. The RTX 5080 SUPER uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and outputs 1x HDMI 2.1b plus 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and outputs 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RTX 5080 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 999 USD. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has no launch MSRP listed.

FAQ

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

A: The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation ranks in the 95th percentile, while the RTX 5080 SUPER ranks in the 19th percentile.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The RTX 5080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 3075 from its single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 117088 from its Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro P1000?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P1000 scores 3163, which is 2.8% higher than the RTX 5080 SUPER’s 3075.

Q: How does the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation compare to the AMD Radeon PRO W7700?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 scores 118976, which is 1.6% higher than the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s average of 117088.

Q: What are the memory capacities and bandwidths?

A: The RTX 5080 SUPER has 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 280.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The RTX 5080 SUPER has a TDP of 415 W and uses a 16-pin connector. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has a TDP of 70 W, uses no external power connector, and suggests a 250 W PSU.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation wins in compute-heavy OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 124812 and Vulkan score of 109364 place it in the 95th percentile, meaning it outpaces nearly all other GPUs in the database on those tests. It also trails the NVIDIA GB10 by only 0.3% and beats the Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB by 2.4%, so it competes directly with high-end data center and workstation parts. The low 70 W TDP and lack of a power connector make it suitable for small-form-factor systems where power delivery and cooling are constrained. The 168 mm length and 69 mm height fit compact chassis.

The RTX 5080 SUPER wins in raw hardware specifications. It has nearly double the shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, and tensor cores compared to the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation. Its FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS is roughly three times that of the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s 19.17 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are similarly much higher. The 24 GB memory capacity and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth far exceed the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s 20 GB and 280.0 GB/s. The RTX 5080 SUPER also supports PCIe 5.0 and the latest display outputs, including HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b.

The benchmark data does not show the RTX 5080 SUPER winning any recorded test, as its only score of 3075 places it below the Quadro P1000 and Intel Arc Pro B60. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation demonstrates clear wins in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, with both scores exceeding 100000 and a 95th percentile rank. For users prioritizing compute performance as measured by Geekbench, the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the clear choice. For users who need maximum theoretical throughput, larger memory capacity, and newer display interfaces, the RTX 5080 SUPER holds the specification advantage, but the database contains no benchmark evidence to confirm that advantage in practice. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation’s 95th percentile versus the RTX 5080 SUPER’s 19th percentile remains the single most decisive data point in this comparison.