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After seeing a price drop last year, now’s a good time to pick up the best RTX 4080 graphics card.
If you’re looking for the best RTX 4080 and don’t fancy going for RTX 4080 Founders Edition, you’re going to be choosing from partner board manufacturers including ASUS, MSI, and PNY. We’re going to be differentiating between different clock speeds and overclocking potential in order to find out which is the best RTX 4080. As a precursor, if you’re planning to overclock a GPU you’ll need to ensure your PSU can operate at the increased voltage. If that’s the case, you’d be advised to check out our best PSU for 4080 guide.
Best RTX 4080 graphics cards at a glance
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 OC Edition
Base Clock
2200MHz
Boost Clock
2500MHz
VRAM
16GB
Dimensions
357.6 x 149.3 x 70.1mm
Recommended PSU
750W
MSI RTX 4080 Suprim X
Base Clock
2200MHz
Boost Clock
2500MHz
VRAM
16GB
Dimensions
355.5 x 149.6 x 72.1mm
Recommended PSU
750W
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4080
Base Clock
2200MHz
Boost Clock
2500MHz
VRAM
16GB
Dimensions
355.5 x 149.6 x 72.1mm
Recommended PSU
750W
Gigabyte Gaming OC GeForce RTX 4080
Base Clock
2,205MHz
Boost Clock
2535MHz
VRAM
16GB GDDR6X
Dimensions
13.46 x 5.91 x 2.95in
Recommended PSU
850W
There are often very minor and indiscernible differences between partner graphics RTX 40-series graphics cards, so this buying guide will also look to design and appearance – which is a matter of opinion. The good news is that this means that all RTX 4080 AIB cards will be fit for all purposes, and you only really have to consider how it appears and how much you’d like to pay.
The RTX 4080 is a powerful graphics card, though the RTX 4070 Ti is hot on its heels. If you’re interested in seeing the RTX 4070 Ti vs 4080, our graphics card guru Romilly has already compared the two so you can make the best choice for your PC build.
Best overall Nvidia RTX 4080 – ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 OC Edition
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 OC Edition
Base Clock
2200MHz
Boost Clock
2500MHz
VRAM
16GB
Dimensions
357.6 x 149.3 x 70.1mm
Recommended PSU
750W
- Decent Price
- Good cooling system
- Large
The ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 OC Edition is the best edition of the RTX 4080 thanks to its OC mode, boasting an overclocking potential of up to 3GHz. With a base and boost clock speed range between 2.2 – 2.5GHz, overclocking the card bumps up its processing power to a speed that might match most aging CPUs. However, overclocking is always performed at the risk of your device, and is only recommended if you truly need to squeeze out more performance. The 9,728 CUDA Cores are standard across all RTX 4080s, as is the 16GB of VRAM, so not much can be said for these specifications.
The design and form factor on the ASUS ROG Strix 4080 is clean and efficient with a heat spreader and vapor chamber being neatly tucked away, with a uniform and rectangular shape giving the GPU a tidy look. Heat dissipation is also a key factor with this card, and paired with the right PC case for airflow, it’s primed for overclocking, especially if you get one of the best CPUs for gaming and best CPU coolers too.
It’s a high-quality card with a decent amount of RGB lighting thrown into the mix, but if you are weary of the price and know you’ll mostly be playing in 1440p, you may want to consider our selection of the best 1440p graphics cards.
Best RTX 4080 for ray-tracing – MSI GeForce RTX 4080 gaming X surpim
MSI RTX 4080 Suprim X
Base Clock
2200MHz
Boost Clock
2500MHz
VRAM
16GB
Dimensions
355.5 x 149.6 x 72.1mm
Recommended PSU
750W
- Very Quiet
- Attractive Design
- Premium Wuality
- Expensive
- Very large
Our top pick for the best overall RTX 4080 is followed by the MSI RTX 4080 Suprim X.
Priced similarly to the ASUS ROG Strix 4080, this partner board has a similarly sleek design. Tucked away beneath the fans, the straight metal edges shield the vapour chamber and heat pipes, whilst also giving the GPU an expensive-looking finish. That can really make all the difference when it comes to a great looking gaming rig. The design isn’t just for appearance though, as the angular form helps to disperse unnecessary heat from the graphics card so it can reach peak performance without burning to a crisp.
Similar to our top pick, this graphics card can also be overclocked to 3 GHz, which is a lightning-quick processing cycle. This increase in clock speed ultimately returns a slightly higher recorded frame rate in games such as Witcher III and Hitman III, however, in the long-term this change isn’t really visible to the human eye.
Best budget RTX 4080 – Zotac’s RTX 4080 Extreme Airo
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4080
Base Clock
2200MHz
Boost Clock
2500MHz
VRAM
16GB
Dimensions
355.5 x 149.6 x 72.1mm
Recommended PSU
750W
- Great cooling capability
- Good value
- Attractive design
- Large in size
The ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 is a great budget option if you’re looking for the RTX 4080. While the MSRP is $1,199, you can pick up this version of the card for only $100 above that. Considering that RTX 4080s were selling for upwards of $1,500 at one point, picking one up so close to the MSRP makes it even more attractive.
If these prices are still looking a little high, we recommend checking out the best budget graphics cards instead. Alternatively, we’ve found some excellent mid-range GPUs in our selection of the best graphics cards under $1000. All RTX 4080 graphics cards can be overclocked as long as you have a CPU that won’t bottleneck the card. Although, the range of clock speeds depends on the heat management system provided by the partner card manufacturer.
It’s the standard size we’ve come to expect for the RTX 4080, meaning it will fit comfortably into the best case for RTX 4080. The Icestorm 2.0 Cooling System helps to keep this card cool, and three 110mm dual ball bearing fans are quiet and consistent through a range of temperatures and fan speeds. This is especially important considering the reports of failures with the 12VHPWR power pin adaptor under high temperatures.
Best value RTX 4080 graphics card – GIGABYTE Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 16GB
Gigabyte Gaming OC GeForce RTX 4080
Base Clock
2,205MHz
Boost Clock
2535MHz
VRAM
16GB GDDR6X
Dimensions
13.46 x 5.91 x 2.95in
Recommended PSU
850W
- Dual-BIOS
- Excellent thermal design
- Still chunky
Neck in neck with our best budget RTX 4080 graphics card is the Gigabyte Gaming OC RTX 4080.
First up, Gigabyte’s OC card features a 2,205MHz and 2,535MHz base and boost clock, giving it a slight edge over the ZOTAC’s RTX 4080 Extreme Airo in terms of speed. Though this doesn’t go much higher than the Founder’s Edition card, it’s still impressive and will work well with AAA games.
While you might be tempted to check out the best RTX 4070 graphics cards for more competitive pricing, you’ll find the Gigabyte OC might be preferable with 16GB RAM compared to the 4070’s fairly low 12GB. This makes the 4080 amongst our top GPUs for 4K gaming. This power gives the AI tensor cores enough to power DLSS 3’s impressive frame generation abilities.
If you’re an RGB fan you may want to reconsider – while the Gigabyte OC does have RGB, it only works when the fans are spinning. However, it is still an attractive card and the fact that the fans stop spinning while you’re not gaming helps keep the card quiet.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re answering some of your most commonly asked questions about the best RTX 4080 graphics card.
What RTX 4080 is best for 4K?
There is no singular RTX 4080 which is the ‘best’ RTX 4080 for 4K as every partner card will perform similarly in terms of 4K performance. When you’re paying upwards of $1,000 for a graphics card – you expect each model to absolutely crush the upper limits of what’s expected – and the RTX 4080 does.
What is a partner card?
A partner card is a card manufactured by a partner of the original manufacturer. In this case, the original manufacturer of the product is Nvidia, and the partners of Nvidia (e.g. Gigabyte, ZOTAC, MSI, etc.) manufacture products that are slightly different from the original. Partner cards are often known as AIB (Add in boards) or aftermarket graphics cards.
Is the RTX 4080 worth it?
Admittedly, the RTX 4080 is an expensive graphics card. In terms of performance, the RTX 4080 offers a phenomenal gaming experience that will satisfy most, if not all, gamers. However, it does drive a high price. With the RTX 4080 you really do pay for what you get.
How much does the RTX 4080 cost?
At the time of writing, we’ve seen RTX 4080 graphics cards selling for as little as $1,201 over on Amazon, and $1,269 on Newegg.
What is the most powerful RTX?
The RTX 4090 is the most powerful graphics card in the RTX series. It supports DLSS 3 and 8k gaming, has over 16,000 CUDA cores, and boasts GDDR6X Memory.
