Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Two-minute evaluation
At first look, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 would not appear to be that a lot of an improve from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 it’s changing, however that is solely a part of the story with this graphics card.
Its efficiency, to be clear, is unquestioningly stable, positioning it because the third-best graphics card in the marketplace proper now, by my testing, and its new PCIe 5.0 interface and GDDR7 VRAM additional distances it from the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Tremendous from the final technology. It additionally outpaces the most effective AMD graphics card, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, by a wholesome margin, just about locking up the premium, enthusiast-grade GPUs in Nvidia’s nook for at the least one other technology.
Most impressively, it does this all for a similar value because the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Tremendous and RX 7900 XTX: $999 / £939 / AU$2,019. That is additionally a uncommon occasion the place a graphics card launch value truly recedes from the excessive watermark set by its predecessor, because the RTX 5080 climbs down from the inflated value of the RTX 4080 when it launched again in 2022 for $1,199 / £1,189 / AU$2,219.
Then, in fact, there’s the brand new design of the cardboard, which encompasses a slimmer dual-slot profile, making it simpler to suit into your case (even when the cardboard’s size stays unchanged). The twin flow-through fan cooling answer does wonders for managing the additional warmth generated by the additional 40W TDP, and whereas the 12VHPWR cable connector remains to be current, the 3-to-1 8-pin adapter is at the least considerably much less ridiculous the RTX 5090’s 4-to-1 dongle.
The brand new card design additionally repositions the ability connector itself to make it much less cumbersome to plug a cable into the cardboard, although it does just about negate any of the 90-degree angle cables that gained reputation with the high-end RTX 40 sequence playing cards.
Lastly, all the pieces is constructed off of TSMC’s 4nm N4 course of node, making it one of the crucial cutting-edge GPUs in the marketplace when it comes to its structure. Whereas AMD and Intel will observe swimsuit with their very own 4nm GPUs quickly (AMD RDNA 4 additionally makes use of TSMC’s 4nm course of node and is because of launch in March), proper now, Nvidia is the one sport on the town for this newest {hardware}.
None of that may matter although if the cardboard did not carry out, nonetheless, however players and lovers can relaxation assured that even with out DLSS 4, you are getting a decent improve. It may not have the wow issue of the beefier RTX 5090, however for gaming, creating, and even AI workloads, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is a spectacular steadiness of efficiency, value, and innovation that you simply will not discover wherever else at this degree.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Worth & availability
- How a lot is it? MSRP is $999 / £939 / AU$2,019
- When are you able to get it? The RTX 5080 goes on sale January 30, 2025
- The place is it out there? The RTX 5080 might be out there within the US, UK, and Australia at launch
Seeking to choose up the RTX 5080? Try our The place to purchase RTX 5080 stay weblog for updates to seek out inventory within the US and UK
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 goes on sale on January 30, 2025, beginning at $999 / £939 / AU$2,019 for the Founders Version and choose AIB companion playing cards, whereas overclocked (OC) and extra feature-rich third-party playing cards might be priced increased.
This places the Nvidia RTX 5080 about $200 / £200 / AU$200 cheaper than the launch value of the last-gen RTX 4080, whereas additionally matching the worth of the RTX 4080 Tremendous.
Each of these RTX 40 sequence GPUs ought to see some downward value strain because of the RTX 5080 launch, which could complicate the worth proposition of the RTX 5080 over the opposite,
The RTX 5080 can be launching on the identical MSRP because the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is AMD’s high GPU proper now. And with AMD confirming that it doesn’t intend to launch an enthusiast-grade RDNA 4 GPU this technology, the RTX 5080’s solely actual competitors is from different Nvidia graphics playing cards just like the RTX 4080 Tremendous or RTX 5090.
This makes the RTX 5080 a fantastic worth proposition for these trying to purchase a premium 4K graphics card, as its price-to-performance ratio may be very robust.
- Worth: 4 / 5
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Specs & options
- GDDR7 VRAM and PCIe 5.0
- Nonetheless simply 16GB VRAM
- Barely increased 360W TDP
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Nvidia RTX 5080 | Nvidia RTX 4080 Tremendous | Nvidia RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course of Know-how | TSMC 5nm | TSMC 5nm | TSMC 5nm |
| Transistors (Billion) | 45,600 | 45,900 | 45,900 |
| Compute items | 84 | 80 | 76 |
| Shaders | 10,752 | 10,240 | 9,728 |
| AI/Matrix cores | 336 | 320 | 304 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | 84 | 80 | 76 |
| Render Output Models | 128 | 112 | 112 |
| Texture Mapping Models | 336 | 320 | 304 |
| Base Clock (MHz) | 2,295 | 2,295 | 2,205 |
| Increase Clock (MHz) | 2,617 | 2,550 | 2,505 |
| Reminiscence kind | GDDR7 | GDDR6X | GDDR6X |
| VRAM (GB) | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| VRAM Bus Width | 256 | 256 | 256 |
| VRAM Velocity (Gbps) | 30 | 23 | 22.4 |
| Bandwidth (GB/s) | 960 | 736.3 | 716.8 |
| TDP (watts) | 360 | 320 | 320 |
| PCIe Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
Whereas the Nvidia RTX 5080 would not push the spec envelope fairly so far as the RTX 5090 does, its spec sheet remains to be spectacular.
For starters, just like the RTX 5090, the RTX 5080 makes use of the sooner, next-gen PCIe 5.0 interface that enables for sooner information processing and coordination with the CPU, which interprets straight into increased efficiency.
You even have new GDDR7 VRAM within the RTX 5080, solely the second card to have it after the RTX 5090, and it dramatically will increase the reminiscence bandwidth and pace of the RTX 5080 in comparison with the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Tremendous. These latter two playing cards each use slower GDDR6X reminiscence, so despite the fact that all three playing cards have the identical quantity of reminiscence (16GB) and reminiscence bus-width (256-bit), the RTX 5080 has a >25% sooner efficient reminiscence pace of 30Gbps, in comparison with the 23Gbps of the RTX 4080 Tremendous and the 22.4Gbps on the bottom RTX 4080.
That is all on high of the Blackwell GPU inside the cardboard, which is constructed on TSMC’s 4nm course of, in comparison with the Lovelace GPUs within the RTX 4080 and 4080 Tremendous, which use TSMC’s 5nm course of. So despite the fact that the transistor depend on the RTX 5080 is barely decrease than its predecessor’s, the smaller transistors are sooner and extra environment friendly.
The RTX 5080 additionally has a better SM depend, 84, in comparison with the RTX 4080’s 76 and the RTX 4080 Tremendous’s 80, which means the RTX 5080 has the commensurate enhance in shader cores, ray tracing cores, and Tensor cores. It additionally has a barely sooner enhance clock (2,617MHz) than its predecessor and the 4080 Tremendous variant.
Lastly, there’s a slight enhance within the card’s TDP, 360W in comparison with the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Tremendous’s 320W.
- Specs & options: 4.5 / 5
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Design
- Slimmer dual-slot type issue
- Twin flow-through cooling system
The redesign of the Nvidia RTX 5080 is equivalent to that of the RTX 5090, that includes the identical slimmed-down twin slot profile as Nvidia’s flagship card.
If I have been to guess, the redesign of the RTX 5080 is not as important as it’s for the RTX 5090, which wanted a option to deliver higher cooling for the a lot hotter 575W TDP, and the RTX 5080 (and finally the RTX 5070) simply slotted into this new design by default.
That stated, it is nonetheless a improbable change, particularly because it makes the RTX 5080 thinner and lighter than its predecessor.
The core of the redesign is the brand new twin flow-through cooling answer, which makes use of an revolutionary three-part PCB inside to open up a niche on the entrance of the cardboard, permitting a second fan to blow cooler air over the warmth sink fins drawing warmth away from the GPU.
Because of this you do not want as thick of a warmth sink to drag away warmth, which permits the cardboard itself to get the identical thermal efficiency from a thinner type issue, transferring from the triple-slot RTX 4080 design right down to a dual-slot RTX 5080. In apply, this additionally permits for a slight enhance within the card’s TDP, giving the cardboard a little bit of a efficiency enhance as effectively, simply from implementing a twin flow-through design.
On condition that truth, I might not be shocked if different card makers observe swimsuit, and we begin getting a lot slimmer graphics playing cards in consequence.
The one different design selection of word is the 90-degree flip of the 16-pin energy port, which ought to make it simpler to plug the 12VHPWR connector into the cardboard. The RTX 4080 did not endure almost the identical sorts of points with its energy connectors because the RTX 4090 did, so this design selection actually flows down from engineers making an attempt to repair potential issues with the far more energy hungry 5090. However, if you are going to implement it in your flagship card, you would possibly as effectively put it on all the Founders Version playing cards.
Sadly, this redesign signifies that should you invested in a 90-degree-angled 12VHPWR cable, it will not work on the RTX 5080 Founders Version, although third-party companion playing cards could have a number of totally different designs, so it is best to be capable of discover one that matches your cable state of affairs..
- Design: 4.5 / 5
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Efficiency
- Wonderful all-around efficiency
- Reasonably extra highly effective than the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Tremendous, however almost as quick because the RTX 4090 in gaming
- You will want DLSS 4 to get the most effective outcomes
The charts proven beneath are the latest check information I’ve for the playing cards examined for this evaluation and should change over time as extra card outcomes are added and playing cards are retested. The ‘common of all playing cards examined’ contains playing cards not proven in these charts for readability functions.
In my testing for this evaluation, the RTX 4080 Tremendous scored constantly decrease than it has previously, which I consider is a matter with my card particularly that is not reflective of its precise efficiency. I am together with the information from the RTX 4080 Tremendous for transparency’s sake, however I would not take these numbers as-is. I will be retesting the RTX 4080 Tremendous quickly, and can replace my information with new scores as soon as I’ve troubleshot the problem.
Efficiency is king, although, and so naturally all of the redesign and spec bumps will not quantity to a lot if the RTX 5080 would not ship higher efficiency in consequence, and thankfully it does—although possibly not as a lot as some lovers would really like.
Total, the RTX 5080 manages to attain about 13% higher than the RTX 4080 and about 19% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, a end result that can disappoint some (particularly after seeing the 20-25% uplift on the RTX 5090) who have been hoping for one thing nearer to twenty% or higher.
If we have been simply to go off these numbers, some would possibly name them disappointing, no matter all the opposite enhancements to the RTX 5080 when it comes to design and specs. All this must be put in a broader context although, as a result of my perspective modified as soon as I in contrast the RTX 5080 to the RTX 4090.
Total, the RTX 5080 is inside 12% of the general efficiency of the RTX 4090, and inside 9% of the RTX 4090’s gaming efficiency, which is a hell of a factor and easily cannot be ignored, even by lovers.
Beginning with the cardboard’s artificial benchmarks, the cardboard scores about 13% higher than the RTX 4080 and RX 7900 XTX, with the RTX 5080 constantly beating out the RTX 4080 and considerably beating the RX 7900 XTX in ray-traced workloads (although the RX 7900 XTX does pull down a barely higher common 1080p rasterization rating, to its credit score.
In comparison with the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 is available in at about 15% slower on common, with its worst efficiency coming at decrease resolutions. At 4K, although, the RTX 5080 is available in simply 7% slower than the last-gen flagship.
By way of compute efficiency, the RTX 5080 trounces the RX 7900 XTX, as anticipated, by about 38%, with a extra modest 9% enchancment over the RTX 4080. In opposition to the RTX 4090, nonetheless, the RTX 5080 comes inside simply 5% of the RTX 4090’s Geekbench compute scores. For those who’re searching for an affordable AI card, the RTX 5080 is unquestionably going to be your jam.
On the inventive facet, PugetBench for Creators Adobe Photoshop benchmark nonetheless is not working for the RTX 5080 Tremendous, so I am unable to inform you a lot about its inventive raster efficiency but (although I’ll replace these charts as soon as that difficulty is fastened), however going off the 3D modeling and video modifying scores, the RTX 5080 is a formidable GPU, as anticipated.
The complete 3D modeling business is successfully constructed on Nvidia’s CUDA, so towards the RTX 5080, the RX 7900 XTX would not stand an opportunity because the 5080 greater than doubles the RX 7900 XTX’s Blender Benchmark efficiency. Gen-on-gen although, the RTX 5080 is available in with about 8% higher efficiency.
In opposition to the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 comes inside 15% on its efficiency, and for good measure, should you’re rocking an RTX 3090 and also you’re curious in regards to the RTX 5080, the RTX 5080 outperforms the RTX 3090 by about 75% in Blender Benchmark. For those who’re on an RTX 3090 and need to improve, you may most likely nonetheless be higher off with an RTX 4090, however if you cannot discover one, the RTX 5080 is a good different.
By way of video modifying efficiency, the RTX 5080 would not do in addition to its predecessor in PugetBench for Creators Adobe Premiere and successfully ties in my Handbrake 4K to 1080p encoding check. I anticipate that when the RTX 5080 launches, Puget Methods will be capable of replace its instruments for the brand new RTX 50 sequence, so these scores will doubtless change, however for now, it’s what it’s, and you are not going to see a lot distinction in your video modifying workflows with this card over its predecessor.
The RTX 5080 is Nvidia’s premium “gaming” card, although, so its gaming efficiency is what is going on to matter to the overwhelming majority of patrons on the market. For that, you will not be upset. Working simply off DLSS 3 with no body technology, the RTX 5080 will get you noticeably improved framerates gen-on-gen at 1440p and 4K, with considerably higher minimal/1% framerates as effectively for smoother gameplay. Activate DLSS 4 with Multi-Body Era and the RTX 5080 does even higher, blowing effectively previous the RTX 4090 in some titles.
DLSS 4 with Multi-Body Era is sport developer-dependent, nonetheless, so despite the fact that that is the flagship gaming function for this technology of Nvidia GPUs, not each sport will function it. For testing functions, then, I follow DLSS 3 with out Body Era (and the AMD and Intel equivalents, the place acceptable), since this enables for a extra apples-to-apples comparability between playing cards.
At 1440p, the RTX 5080 will get about 13% higher common fps and minimal/1% fps general, with as much as 18% higher ray tracing efficiency. Activate DLSS 3 to balanced and ray tracing to its highest settings and the RTX 5080 will get you about 9% higher common fps than its predecessor, however a large 58% increased minimal/1% fps, on common.
In comparison with the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080’s common 1440p fps comes inside 7% of the RTX 4090’s, and inside 2% of its minimal/1% fps, on common. In native ray-tracing efficiency, the RTX 5080 slips to inside 14% of the RTX 4090’s common fps and inside 11% of its minimal/1% efficiency. Activate balanced upscaling, nonetheless, and all the pieces modifications, with the RTX 5080 comes inside simply 6% of the RTX 4090’s ray-traced upscaled common fps, and beats the RTX 4090’s minimal/1% fps common by nearly 40%.
Cranking issues as much as 4K, and the RTX 5080’s lead over the RTX 4080 grows a great bit. With no ray tracing or upscaling, the RTX 5080 will get about 20% sooner common fps and minimal/1% fps than the RTX 4080, general. Its native ray tracing efficiency is about the identical, nonetheless, and it is minimal/1% fps common truly falls behind the RTX 4080’s, each with and with out DLSS 3.
In opposition to the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 comes inside 12% of its common fps and inside 8% of its minimal/1% efficiency with out ray tracing or upscaling. It falls behind significantly in native 4K ray tracing efficiency (which is to be anticipated, given the considerably increased RT core depend for the RTX 4090), however when utilizing DLSS 3, that ray tracing benefit is lower considerably and the RTX 5080 manages to come back inside 14% of the RTX 4090’s common fps, and inside 12% of its minimal/1% fps general.
Taken collectively, the RTX 5080 makes some main strides in reaching RTX 4090 efficiency throughout the board, getting a bit of greater than midway throughout their respective efficiency hole between the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090.
The RTX 5080 beats its predecessor by simply over 13% general, and comes inside 12% of the RTX 4090’s overal efficiency, all whereas costing lower than each RTX 40 sequence card’s launch MSRP, making it an unimaginable worth for a premium card besides.
- Efficiency: 4 / 5
Must you purchase the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080?
| Class | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Worth | Strolling again the worth of the RTX 4080 and matching the worth of the RTX 4080 Tremendous, this card affords higher efficiency with none extra value. | 4 / 5 |
| Specs & options | New GDDR7 VRAM and PCIe 5.0 interface goes an extended option to future-proofing this GPU. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Design | The slimmer design and higher thermals make this card a winner on the design entrance, although the angled energy energy will frustrate anybody with a 90-degree 12VHPWR cable from the earlier gen. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Efficiency | Whereas the efficiency good points on its predecessor are modest on paper, this card manages to come back inside putting distance of RTX 4090 efficiency at a considerably decrease value. | 4 / 5 |
| Remaining rating | Given its efficiency enhancements, new options like DLSS 4 with Multi-Body Era, slimmer profile, and approachable premium pricing, that is the most effective graphics card for most individuals, particularly players. | 4.13 / 5 |
Purchase the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 if…
Do not buy it if…
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How I examined the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080
- I spent a couple of week and a half with the RTX 5080
- I used my full GPU testing suite to investigate the cardboard’s efficiency
- I examined the cardboard in on a regular basis, gaming, inventive, and AI workload utilization
Listed here are the specs on the system I used for testing:
Motherboard: ASRock Z790i Lightning WiFi
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
CPU Cooler: Gigabyte Auros Waterforce II 360 ICE
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR5-6600 (2 x 16GB)
SSD: Essential T705
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum
Case: Praxis Wetbench
I spent a couple of week testing the RTX 5080, utilizing my up to date suite of benchmarks like Black Fantasy Wukong, 3DMark Metal Nomad, and extra.
I additionally used this card as my main work GPU the place I relied on it for photograph modifying and design work, whereas additionally testing out various video games on it like Cyberpunk 2077, Black Fantasy Wukong, and others.
I have been testing graphics playing cards for TechRadar for a few years now, with greater than two dozen GPU opinions below my belt. I’ve extensively examined and retested all the graphics playing cards mentioned on this evaluation, so I am intimately conversant in their efficiency. This provides me the absolute best place to guage the deserves of the RTX 5080, and whether or not it is the most effective graphics card in your wants and funds.
- Initially reviewed January 2024
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