NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
Expert rating5.3 / 10
- GPU Brand:
- NVIDIA
- VRAM:
- 8GB GDDR6
- Memory Type:
- GDDR6
- TDP:
- 215W
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Manufacturer: NVIDIA Last updated: 2026-09-12
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Review
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 launched in 2018 as the card that introduced mainstream real-time ray tracing, and if you're looking it up now it's almost certainly as a used purchase to weigh against its Super refresh or a modern budget card.
First-generation RT cores mean ray tracing here is a novelty more than a usable feature at playable framerates in most titles, and early DLSS was blurrier than what NVIDIA ships now. As a straight rasterizer it's a competent 1440p card even today, just don't buy it expecting the ray tracing headline feature to actually deliver a good experience.
Performance & Real-World Use
2944 CUDA cores at a 1710MHz boost put the plain RTX 2080 a step below the 2080 Super and roughly in line with a factory-overclocked GTX 1080 Ti in pure rasterization, with the added (if weak by modern standards) benefit of hardware ray tracing.
Comparison to Alternatives
The RTX 2080 Super, also being added to the catalog, is a straightforward 5-8% faster version of this exact card and is the better used pickup whenever price parity allows. Against the catalog's GTX 1080 Ti, rasterization performance is close, but the RTX 2080 adds (weak) ray tracing and DLSS support that the 1080 Ti lacks entirely.
Specifications
Platform
| GPU Brand | NVIDIA |
|---|---|
| Board Partner | NVIDIA Founders Edition |
Identity and type
| Series | GeForce RTX 20 |
|---|---|
| Tier | High-End |
Performance
| VRAM | 8 GB |
|---|---|
| Memory Type | GDDR6 |
| Boost Clock | 1710 MHz |
| Ray Tracing Support | Yes |
Physical & Power
| TDP | 215 W |
|---|---|
| Card Length | 267 mm |
| Slot Width | 2 |
Silicon
| Architecture | Turing |
|---|---|
| Shader Units | 2944 |
Ray tracing and AI
| RT Cores | 46 |
|---|
Memory
| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit |
|---|
Power
| Power Connector | 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin |
|---|
Host interface
| PCIe Generation | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
|---|
| Tensor Cores | 368 |
|---|---|
| Display Outputs | 3x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x USB-C (VirtualLink) |
Expert Review
Reviewed by Burooj Alam. Rated by us, not by users.
Expert rating5.3 / 10
A historically important card for introducing RT and DLSS, but the weakest implementation of both; buy the Super refresh instead if pricing is close.
Best for
- Budget 1440p used builds
- Buyers wanting to try early ray tracing/DLSS cheaply
- Upgraders from GTX 10-series or older
Not for
- Anyone chasing usable ray-traced framerates
- 4K gaming
- New purchases when the 2080 Super is available for similar money
FAQs
What are the key specifications of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080?
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is a graphics card from NVIDIA. Key specs: GPU Brand NVIDIA, Tier High-End, Board Partner NVIDIA Founders Edition, VRAM 8GB GDDR6, Memory Type GDDR6.
Who is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 best suited to?
It suits budget 1440p used builds, buyers wanting to try early ray tracing/dlss cheaply, upgraders from gtx 10-series or older.
What are the drawbacks of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080?
It is a poor fit for anyone chasing usable ray-traced framerates, 4k gaming, new purchases when the 2080 super is available for similar money.