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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080: Comparison
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 separate most on boost clock: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB at 1710 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 at 2505 MHz, 32% in favour of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. VRAM splits them by another 25%, again favouring NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. They match on 4 other specifications, including gpu brand, tier and memory type. In Blender Cycles (GPU) the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 scores 8,388 against 4,529 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB, a lead of 46%.
Specs
| Specification |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| GPU Brand | NVIDIA | NVIDIA |
| Series | GeForce RTX 30 | GeForce RTX 40 |
| Board Partner | NVIDIA Founders Edition, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, Zotac, EVGA (legacy) | Reference / Founders Edition |
| VRAM | 12 GB-25% | 16 GB |
| Tier | High-End | High-End |
| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6X |
| Boost Clock | 1710 MHz-32% | 2505 MHz |
| Ray Tracing Support | true | true |
| TDP | 350 W-9% | 320 W |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace (AD103) |
| Card Length | 313 mm-3% | 304 mm |
| Slot Width | 2.7 | 3-11% |
| MSRP | 999 | 1199 |
| CUDA Cores | 8960 | 9728 |
Benchmarks
Measured results, not specifications. Percentages are the gap to the leading product in each test.
Blender Cycles (GPU)
Blender 4.5, Blender Open Data (CC0). Median of monster + junkshop + classroom, combined samples/min.
Blender renders 3D scenes by tracing light through them, which loads every shader unit on the card at once. The score measures sustained render throughput, so it tells you what a card does in Cycles and similar renderers rather than what it does in a game. Figures come from Blender's Open Data project, which places no restriction on reuse, and we publish the median of every submission for that card on the same Blender version.
Verdict
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB
8.2 / 10 Expert Rating
A genuinely better RTX 3080 - the extra VRAM and bandwidth make it the version to look for on the secondhand market over the original 10GB card.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
8 / 10 Expert Rating
A solid high-end pick if its price and 16GB VRAM allocation match your target resolution.
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