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For those wondering how the RTX 4070 shapes up vs the RTX 3080, don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place.
The RTX 4070 is the newest and shiniest card from Nvidia and the positive reviews are quite frankly flying in. If you’ve got your eye on one, it’s a good idea to see how it shapes up when compared to other graphics cards on the market.
We’ve already had a look at how an RTX 4070 shapes up against the existing more powerful Nvidia GPUs like the 4070 Ti, and the 4080. Now it’s time to have a look at the shape up against something more towards the mid-range like the RTX 3080.
Let’s get into it.
RTX 4070 vs 3080 – specs
| Specs | RTX 4070 | RTX 3080 |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace, | Ampere |
| RT Cores | 3rd Generation | 2nd Generation |
| Tensor Cores | 4th Generation | 3rd Generation |
| Stream Processors/ CUDA Cores | 5888 | 8960 |
| Base Clock | 1,920MHz | 1440MHz |
| GDDR6X Memory | 12GB | 12GB/10GB |
These comparisons between the 4070 and the 3080 specs make it clear where the key differences lie. The 4070 has a significant upgrade in the RT and Tensor Cores department with the improvement between generations. Similarly, the Base Clock is far higher. That being said, the GDDR6X memory count is the same. At the end of the day, the proof will come in the gameplay.
RTX 4070 vs 3080 – architecture
The real difference between these two is the contrast in architecture. Nvidia announced that the 40 series would all have Ada Lovelace architecture, which is a different beast entirely. Ada Lovelace technology includes AI-acceleration, up to double the ray tracing performance of previous architectures, and a reported further double in ‘performance and power efficiency’.
The Ampere architecture is nothing to sniff at, though. With Multi-Instance GPU, Third-Generation NVLink, and 54 billion transistors, Ampere architecture isn’t going to let you down. While it’s certainly true that the Ada Lovelace technology was building on Ampere architecture and thus is always going to outstrip it, that does not mean that the Ampere architecture provides sub-par experience, in fact it’s quite the opposite.
RTX 4070 vs 3080 – performance
On that note, let’s get into performance. It’s easy to compare specs and architecture generations, but what it really comes down to is the user experience. The RTX 4070 is a seriously hardcore GPU, managing to reach 100 fps even at 4k.
The RTX 3080 is a solid GPU. Its enduring popularity since its release two years ago can attest to that. The Ampere architecture provides a good foundation, while the design allows for high performance vis-a-vis thermal performance and cooling. You’ll even be able to successfully enable ray tracing to a high level with the 3080 thanks to the 2nd Generation RT cores.
This is important as more and more AAA games like The Finals are incorporating ray tracing into their games and you’ll want to be able to experience that in the best possible way. In fact, the RTX 3080 was our choice as the best GPU for ray tracing amongst those available at the time of writing.
Overall both cards have very similar performance. though the RTX 3080 is better when DLSS is not enabled.
RTX 4070 vs 3080 – price
What it comes down to for a lot of people when comparing two GPUs from separate series is the price. The RTX 4070 has an MSRP of $599. This undercuts the current (at the time of writing) average prices of the various RTX 3080 graphics cards on offer. The best overall RTX 3080 GPU we went for then was the EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra which, at the time of writing, was available on Amazon at $1,488. As you can see the RTX 4070 significantly undercuts current iterations of the RTX 3080.
Check the price here:
EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra
Base clock
1440MHz
Boost clock
1800MHz
VRAM
10GB
Dimensions
11.8 x 5.38, 2.75 inches
Recommended PSU
750W
RTX 4070 vs 3080 – which one should you go for?
In our opinion, the RTX 4070 offers the best value for money. This opinion is largely based on the performance increase between the Ada Lovelace architecture of the 40 series and the Ampere architecture of the 30 series compared to the relative price brackets.
While the 3080 is a solid choice and has been a solid choice for a while, the fact that you can get similar performance for a lower price is hard to ignore. That said in order for the RTX 4070 to keep up with the RTX 3080, DLSS must be enabled. This technology only works with supported games, so if you want high performance in certain games the RTX 3080 is the card to go for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the RTX 3080 have DLSS 3?
No only cards in Nvidia’s RTX 40-series range have DLSS3. This is because you need the Ada Lovelace architecture to use the feature.
What are RT cores?
RT cores are specific cores designed and enhanced to complete ray tracing operations. Nvidia characterises them as accelerator units.
