NVIDIA

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

Expert rating8.5 / 10

Architecture:: Ampere (GA102)
CUDA Cores:: 8704
Memory:: 10GB GDDR6X
TDP:: 320W
Launch Price:: $699

Consumercarts is reader-supported. Learn more

Disclaimer: The price and specification of the given product may differ from the actual product. Please confirm on the retailer's website before buying.

Manufacturer: NVIDIA Last updated: September 11, 2026

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Review

The RTX 3080 was the breakout card of the Ampere generation, delivering a dramatic generational leap over the RTX 2080 Ti at launch and becoming one of the most sought-after (and hardest to actually buy) GPUs of its era due to severe pandemic-era shortages.

8704 CUDA cores gave the RTX 3080 a substantial performance jump over the previous generation's flagship, setting a new bar for 4K gaming at a price that, at launch, undercut the outgoing RTX 2080 Ti significantly.

The Generational Leap That Defined Ampere

A Card Remembered for Its Launch Chaos

Beyond its specs, the RTX 3080 is remembered almost as much for the extreme scalping and stock shortages that plagued its 2020 launch during a broader chip shortage, a story that still comes up in buyer research today.

Comparison to Alternatives

Against AMD's RX 6800 XT covered in this batch, the RTX 3080 generally offers stronger ray tracing and DLSS support at a similar rasterization performance level. Against the RTX 3090 covered in this batch, the 3080 gives up VRAM capacity (10GB vs 24GB) and some CUDA cores for a significantly lower price.

Our verdict

Reviewed by Burooj Alam. Rated by us, not by users.

Expert rating8.5 / 10

The generational leap that defined Ampere, still strong outside its 10GB memory limit.

Best for

Buyers who want flagship-tier Ampere performance without RTX 3090 pricing.

Not for

Anyone who specifically needs more than 10GB of VRAM.

Specifications

What these specs mean

Identity and type

Product Type	Desktop Add-In Card
Series	GeForce RTX 30

Performance

VRAM	10 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6X
Boost Clock	1710 MHz
Ray Tracing Support	Yes

Physical & Power

TDP	320 W

Silicon

Architecture	Ampere (GA102)
Process Node	Samsung 8N
Shader Units	8704

Ray tracing and AI

RT Cores	68
Upscaling Tech	DLSS 4

Clocks

Base Clock	1440 MHz

Memory

Memory Bus Width	320 bit
Memory Bandwidth	760 GB/s

Power

Power Connector	2x 8-pin

Host interface

PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0

Market and workstation

MSRP	699 USD
Launch Date	September 2020

Published peak figures

Machine learning hardware data

Manufacturer peak figures as compiled by Epoch AI, not measured benchmarks.

FP32 peak	29.77 TFLOPS
FP16 peak	29.77 TFLOPS
Memory	10 GB
Memory bandwidth	760 GB/s
TDP	320 W
Release date	2020-09-01

Epoch AI, 'Data on Machine Learning Hardware'. Published online at epoch.ai. Retrieved from 'https://epoch.ai/data/machine-learning-hardware'. Licensed CC BY 4.0.

FAQs

What are the key specifications of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (Graphics Card/Ampere GA102/8704 CUDA Cores/10GB GDDR6X/Ampere Breakout Card)?

Key specs for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080: VRAM 10 GB, Memory Bandwidth 760 GB/s, Boost Clock 1710 MHz, TDP 320 W, Architecture Ampere (GA102), Product Type Desktop Add-In Card.

Who is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (Graphics Card/Ampere GA102/8704 CUDA Cores/10GB GDDR6X/Ampere Breakout Card) best suited to?

Best suited to: Buyers who want flagship-tier Ampere performance without RTX 3090 pricing.

What are the drawbacks of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (Graphics Card/Ampere GA102/8704 CUDA Cores/10GB GDDR6X/Ampere Breakout Card)?

Not the best fit for: Anyone who specifically needs more than 10GB of VRAM.