RTX 4080 vs 4090: Which is the Better Graphics Card for You? – A Comprehensive Review

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 follows the RTX 4090 launch from last month and is now among the best graphics cards, ranking at the top of our GPU benchmarks hierarchy. However, the 16-pin connectors have caused some issues. The RTX 4080 uses less power, which may prevent melting plastic connectors, but it’s still expensive at $1,199, making it unaffordable for most gamers. This price is a big jump from the previous generation and inherits the RTX 3080 Ti’s launch price, which was also considered too high. If you are confused about the buying RTX 4080 vs 4090, make a more informed decision based on your budget and requirements, read this article.

To read a full review on Nvidia’s 40-series, check our article HERE!

Read a full review on Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti, check our article HERE!

RTX 4080’s hardware specs and limitations: RTX 4080 vs 4090

Specs	RTX 4090 24GB	RTX 4080 16GB	RTX 4070 Ti 12GB
Processor	AD102	AD103	AD104
Transistors	76.3B	45.9B	35.8B
Die Size	608mm²	379mm²	295mm²
CUDA Cores	16384	9728	7680
Boost Clock	2.52GHz	2.51GHz	2.61GHz
Memory Interface	384-bit	256-bit	192-bit
Memory Bandwidth	1018GB/s	742GB/s	557GB/s
TGP	450W	320W	285W
PSU Recommendation	850W	750W	700W
PSU Cables	4x 8-pin	3x 8-pin	2x 8-pin
Base Price	$1499/£1649	$1199/£1199	$799/£799
Release date	October 12th, 2022	November 16th, 2022	January 5th, 2023

We already know what to expect from Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace architecture. The only real question is how performance will scale down to fewer GPU shaders, less memory, less cache, a narrower memory interface, etc.

The RTX 4080 has 76 of the potential 80 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), which is 40% fewer than the RTX 4090. While clock speeds are similar, you get 33% fewer memory channels, VRAM, and bandwidth, and the rated TBP drops by 29%. On paper, the RTX 4090 could be up to 70% faster based on theoretical computing performance, which is a concern.

Price and availability: RTX 4080 vs 4090

Most gamers cannot afford the RTX 4080, priced at $1,199. Instead, it may be preferable to save an additional $400 for the RTX 4090. However, since launch, the RTX 4090 has been sold out below $2,100, resulting in a significant $900 upsell.

With the impending release of AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX/XT cards next month, using AMD’s RDNA 3 GPU architecture, pricing becomes even more concerning. These cards look promising and may outperform the RTX 4080 while costing $200-$300 less. Therefore, it’s advisable to wait until next month to see what AMD has to offer unless one is entirely opposed to purchasing an AMD graphics card.

To read about the AMD 7900-series, check our article HERE!

Prices and Buying Options:

As prices are frequently changing, it is better to keep yourself updated:

Asus Nvidia RTX 4080: Amazon

MSI Nvidia RTX 4080: Amazon

GigaByte Nvidia RTX 4080: Amazon

Zotac Nvidia RTX 4080: Amazon

Power requirements and connector issues

Nvidia now uses a single 12-pin PCIe 5 standard connector on its RTX 40-series cards, providing up to 600 watts in total. To connect three eight-pin PCIe power cables, there’s a 12VHPWR adapter cable in the box.

Using Nvidia’s included power adapter is not recommended due to reports of power adapters melting on the RTX 4090. Nvidia is still investigating the issue. During the transition to power supplies that natively support 12VHPWR, it’s worth investing in a single cable solution from third-party providers like cable mod if you’re spending more than $1,000 on a graphics card alone.

The RTX 4080 has the same minimum power requirements as the RTX 3080, at least a 750-watt power supply. The RTX 4080 uses up to 320 watts of power, the same as the 10GB RTX 3080. If you’re interested in overclocking the RTX 4080, you’ll want a stronger power supply for additional headroom.

Deep learning, AI, DLSS 3, and professional use

Nvidia’s advantages over AMD are unlikely to be matched soon. The RTX 4080 outperforms AMD’s offerings in deep learning and AI power, with the expected FP16 and INT8 throughput of AMD being less than a third of the RTX 4080.

Nvidia’s enhanced Optical Flow Accelerator (OFA) has made DLSS 3 possible, which is another Nvidia feature. Ten games, including Bright Memory: Infinite, Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed, F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch, F1 22, Justice, Loopmancer, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Microsoft Flight Simulator, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and Super People currently support DLSS 3. In less than a month, AMD’s FSR2 technology has about half as many games supporting it, and it works with almost all GPUs, whereas DLSS 3 requires an RTX 40-series GPU.

Professional users and their employers also prefer Nvidia GPUs. Although true workstations may opt for the RTX 6000 48GB card over the GeForce RTX 40-series, using one or more RTX 4080 cards for AI and deep learning has potential. Content creators may also benefit, although they may only need to pay a small price increase to get the 4090 instead of the 4080.

Gaming Benchmarks at 1440p: RTX 4080 vs 4090

Rigorous testing was conducted on all GPUs, maxing out all games at ultra settings. Only Microsoft Flight Simulator failed to hit the coveted 100fps mark. Shadow of the Tomb Raider blasted a whopping 259fps without the help of DLSS. And here’s the kicker: Cyberpunk 2077 achieved 127fps at 1440p without ray tracing or DLSS on the RTX 4080!

The RTX 4080 outperformed the previous RTX 3080 by around 50% in most games, making it a force to be reckoned with. It was about 30-40% faster than the RTX 3080 Ti, which is quite impressive. However, the RTX 4090 was still the top-performing GPU, boasting a 10-20% speed advantage at 1440p.

Benchmark	RTX 4080	RTX 4090	RTX 3080	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 3090
Microsoft Flight Simulator	63	64	61	62	61
Microsoft Flight Simulator + DLSS 2	59	60	58	58	58
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	259	291	164	179	187
Shadow of the Tomb Raider + DLSS 2	277	301	187	202	211
Forza Horizon 5	167	189	107	121	125
CS: GO	590	684	578	612	625
Gears 5	179	222	121	140	138
Control	187	225	131	149	153
Control + DLSS 2 + RT	194	209	140	155	165
Control + RT	125	171	82	94	99
Metro Exodus Enhanced	110	137	69	78	80
Metro Exodus Enhanced + DLSS 2 + RT	118	141	75	83	86
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla	149	172	103	113	117
Watch Dogs: Legion	136	150	91	100	101
Watch Dogs: Legion + DLSS 2 + RT	105	106	75	86	86
Cyberpunk 2077	127	144	85	95	97
Cyberpunk 2077 + DLSS 2 + RT	99	122	65	73	75
Cyberpunk 2077 + DLSS 2 + Psycho RT	93	116	61	68	70

Gaming Benchmarks at 4k

Modern graphics cards are put to the test with Cyberpunk 2077 to assess their 4K performance, and it is undoubtedly a demanding game that provides insight into the level of performance modern games require. Although the RTX 4080 falls short of the impressive 74fps achieved by the RTX 4090 at 4K, the use of DLSS 3 allows it to achieve over 60fps without any problems even with max settings and ray tracing turned on.

Benchmark	RTX 4080	RTX 4090	RTX 3080	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 3090
Microsoft Flight Simulator	62	62	42	48	50
Microsoft Flight Simulator + DLSS 2	58	58	56	57	59
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	143	195	92	103	108
Shadow of the Tomb Raider + DLSS 2	187	227	118	131	136
Forza Horizon 5	122	153	78	89	91
CS: GO	315	435	374	419	430
Gears 5	97	140	69	80	80
Control	94	134	68	76	78
Control + DLSS 2 + RT	114	160	77	85	91
Control + RT	60	89	43	47	50
Metro Exodus Enhanced	70	98	45	51	53
Metro Exodus Enhanced + DLSS 2 + RT	79	109	50	56	58
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla	97	119	66	72	76
Watch Dogs: Legion	84	112	56	63	64
Watch Dogs: Legion + DLSS 2 + RT	75	97	46	55	57
Cyberpunk 2077	58	74	40	45	48
Cyberpunk 2077 + DLSS 2 + RT	54	72	35	39	41
Cyberpunk 2077 + DLSS 2 + Psycho RT	50	67	32	36	37

Conclusion: Which one to choose RTX 4080 vs 4090

The RTX 4080 outperforms the previous RTX 30-series cards it replaces, making it a more than capable card at 4K. However, the RTX 4090 outshines it at 4K for an additional $400. At 1440p, the RTX 4080 is ideal for high refresh rate gaming with a smaller gap between the two cards.

DLSS 3 significantly boosts frame rates for both 1440p and 4K. Still, it’s disappointing that only 35 games and apps have been confirmed so far. Despite the Ada Lovelace architecture advancements, it’s hard to justify the RTX 4080’s $1,199 price tag. The rumored $899 12GB RTX 4070 Ti would have been more reasonable, but AMD’s RX 7900 series might challenge Nvidia’s pricing.

Although Nvidia’s brand preference and DLSS make the RTX 4080 an appealing upgrade for many, it’s difficult to ignore the potential performance from AMD. It remains to be seen if AMD can deliver a performance blow that would shake up Nvidia’s pricing.