RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super – should you upgrade?

RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super – should you upgrade?
Aleksha McLoughlin Updated on by

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If you’re debating getting an RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super then we’re here to help. The recently announced refresh graphics card is sure to be welcome for anyone wanting more options high-end 4K gaming and performance worthy of the best graphics cards. There isn’t long to wait until the RTX 4080 Super hits the shelves, so let’s get into what’s worth your time and money and why.

We’ll be weighing up the RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super based on their price, release date, specs, and performance potential so you can make an informed purchasing decision. This is just the start of our coverage, too. We’re also showing you where to buy RTX 4080 Super graphics cards and the RTX 4080 Super release date and everything else we know as well.

RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super price comparison

Arguably the biggest factor in the debate between these two high-end Ada flagships comes down to their price points and that’s where things get interesting. The RTX 4080 launched with a starting MSRP of $1,199 which was a considerable jump from the previous Ampere 80-class model, the RTX 3080 at $699. This is where it heats up, because the RTX 4080 Super will retail starting from $999 which is a full $200 cheaper than the original model.

While it’s not quite closing the gap as tightly as some would hope for, the fact that Team Green is selling an upgraded card around 15% cheaper is something that should be commended. It’s not ideal for all consumers, true, but it does position the RTX 4080 in league with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX which is debatably where it should the 80-class should have been from the start.

RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super release date comparison

The RTX 4080 was the second graphics card in the Ada line-up to be released and hit shelves in November 2022. In contrast, we’re still waiting on the RTX 4080 Super which is scheduled to arrive later this month, debuting on January 31 in territories such as the US and the UK. It’s a strategic move from Nvidia considering that the end of this year could see the launch of its next big GPU generation as each successive entry launches two years apart.

RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super specs comparison

Even well over a year after its initial launch period the RTX 4080 remains an absolute beast. It’s built on the AD103 graphics processor with a total of 9728 CUDA cores and 16GB GDDR6X VRAM on a 256-bit memory bus. Given how powerful this video card is, it’s not too surprising to hear that the RTX 4080 Super doesn’t innovate much in terms of pushing the power potential.

The RTX 4080 Super is slated to feature the “world’s fastest memory” according to Nvidia with a total of 52 Shader TFLOPS, 121 RT TFLOPS, and 836 AI TOPS. It’s still built on the same AD103 die with 16GB GDDR6X memory, so little changes there apart from the clock speed. With a bandwidth of 736 GB/sec and 10,240 CUDA cores (a bump up of around 5%), it’s ever so slightly faster by around 2-3% over the base model according to TechPowerUp’s specs listing.

Should you buy the RTX 4080 or the RTX 4080 Super?

We think you should buy the RTX 4080 Super over the base RTX 4080 and this is because the former is a full $200 cheaper and also happens to be a slightly faster graphics card overall. However, we should stress that this announcement and incoming hardware refresh could see the base RTX 4080 go on sale dipping below its $1,200 MSRP, with sales potential to undercut the price of the Super variant. Only in these instances do we recommend getting the standard card over the new one.

Is Nvidia releasing new cards in 2024?

Yes, Nvidia has just announced a range of RTX 40 series Super graphics cards with the RTX 4080 Super leading the charge on the high-end of the spectrum. It’s slightly cheaper but a touch faster than the predecessor.

Image Credit: Nvidia