NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Review | 118 Data compared

The MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio 10G is a premium, triple-slot graphics card featuring a custom PCB design and a highly efficient TriFrozr cooling system. It features a GA102 GPU with 8,704 CUDA cores and 10GB of GDDR6X memory. In terms of performance, the card achieves a factory overclocked boost clock of 1,815 MHz, enabling it to deliver higher frame rates than Nvidia's Founders Edition in both 1440p and 4K gaming benchmarks. Its robust cooling architecture allows the GPU to maintain stable boost clocks between 1,950 MHz and 1,985 MHz while keeping peak temperatures at a modest 69°C under full load. Pros and Cons Pro: Runs cooler, quieter, and faster than the Founders Edition card. Pro: Features a pre-release CAP hardware/firmware update that prevents the system crashing seen in rival models. Pro: Excellent generational value when compared against older flagship GPUs like the 2080 Ti. Con: Very high power consumption, requiring triple 8-pin power connectors to feed its 340W TDP. Con: Offers restrictive power limits that severely hinder meaningful manual overclocking headroom. Con: High premium pricing at $760...

The Asus GeForce RTX 3080 TUF Gaming OC review highlights a massive, 2.7-slot triple-fan graphics card that matches or slightly exceeds the performance of Nvidia's Founders Edition (FE) while offering significantly superior thermal and acoustic performance. Featuring a boost clock of 1785MHz (a 4.4% paper increase over the FE), the card effectively runs only about 0.85% faster in real-world gaming scenarios like Metro Exodus, making gaming frame rates essentially a tie. However, the TUF Gaming design shines via its exceptionally engineered traditional cooling system—boasting a thick metal shroud, dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and an inverted middle fan that cuts turbulence. In testing, it astoundingly ran over 10°C cooler than the FE and was 1 dB quieter, though it did draw roughly 9W to 14.5W more power overall. The card's prominent pros include being incredibly fast for true 4K gaming at 60+ fps, while maintaining exceptionally cool and quiet operations under heavy stress workloads. It also features a robust, traditional metal build with a cutout backplate for extra airflow, dual HDMI 2.1 ports for versatile multi-display setups, and subtle RGB...

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition represents a massive generational leap over the previous Turing architecture, establishing itself as the premier graphics card for high-resolution gaming. Built on Samsung's 8nm process, the GA102 GPU features 28.3 billion transistors and 8,704 CUDA cores, resulting in performance that is 33% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti and 69% faster than the original RTX 2080 at 4K ultra settings. Alongside architectural upgrades to its Tensor and Ray Tracing cores, the card introduces 10GB of ultra-fast GDDR6X memory co-developed with Micron, utilizing PAM4 signaling to achieve an impressive 760 GBps of bandwidth. This powerhouse configuration easily delivers true 4K gaming at over 60 frames per second at an introductory base price of $699, removing the "Founders Edition tax" seen in prior generations. Reviewers highlighted several core strengths and weaknesses during testing. On the positive side, the card stands out for its exceptional cooling efficiency and low acoustic levels, achieved through a radical dual-axial fan redesign that pulls air through a shortened PCB layout. It provides major architectural updates for upcoming games without requiring...

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition is an outstanding flagship graphics card built on the Ampere architecture that completely outclasses the previous Turing generation. Delivering a massive generational performance leap, it crushes the older $1,200 RTX 2080 Ti with 25% to 43% faster frame rates at 1440p and 4K resolutions. It features a redesigned streaming multiprocessor structure packed with 8,704 CUDA cores, 10GB of ultra-fast GDDR6X memory yielding 760GB/s of bandwidth, and updated second-generation RT cores that make ray-traced gaming highly viable without heavily sacrificing performance. Furthermore, its innovative, compact PCB design employs a throughflow dual-fan cooling solution that maintains low average thermal peaks of 68°C while running surprisingly quiet. Pros and Cons Cons: Extremely power-hungry with a high board rating of 320W, spiking up to 368W under demanding workloads; demands a heavy-duty, expensive PSU (at least 750W to 850W minimum); physical stock for this specific Founders Edition is expected to be highly limited and vanish quickly.

The TechPowerUp review hails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition as a groundbreaking 4K gaming card, delivering roughly 25% better performance than the RTX 2080 Ti for a $699 MSRP. Key advantages include the efficient 8 nm "Ampere" architecture, innovative dual-axial flow-through cooling with idle fan-stop, and modern features like HDMI 2.1. However, the card has a high 320W power draw and uses a controversial, proprietary 12-pin connector, with limited overclocking headroom due to the factory-pushed clocks. Additionally, the 10 GB VRAM may present long-term limitations, and performance gains are less significant at lower resolutions.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a massive generational leap in 4K and ray tracing performance by utilizing an 8nm Samsung manufacturing process and upgraded Ampere architecture. On the positive side, the card features 8,704 CUDA cores, 10GB of power-efficient GDDR6X VRAM, and a 320-bit memory bus that pushes bandwidth to a massive 760GB/s. It introduces HDMI 2.1 support for 4K 120Hz or 8K 60Hz single-cable connections, PCIe 4.0 compatibility, and efficient AV1 video decoding. Furthermore, testing using Nvidia’s PCAT tool confirms superior watt-for-watt power efficiency over older Turing and Pascal architectures in titles like Doom Eternal, Death Stranding, and Gears 5. However, these high-end capabilities come with clear design and physical drawbacks. To maximize raw performance, Nvidia raised the Thermal Design Power (TDP) to a demanding 320W—up from the RTX 2080's 225W—which bumps the recommended system power supply unit (PSU) size up to 750W. To tame these temperatures, the Founders Edition implements a unique "flow-through" push-pull fan configuration that may inadvertently dump excess hot air directly onto air-cooled CPUs. Additionally, the shrunken PCB forces a less convenient, centered placement...

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics card delivers a massive, unprecedented leap in performance, sporting 8704 CUDA cores, 10GB of GDDR6X memory, and a promised 29.7 teraflops of computing power. In synthetic 3DMark benchmarks and real-world gaming tests using an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X setup, the card dramatically outpaced the RTX 2080 Super. For instance, it pushed DOOM Eternal at 4K (2160p) Ultra Nightmare settings from 75 fps up to a smooth 135 fps. It even tamed the notoriously demanding Microsoft Flight Simulator, averaging 42 fps at 4K Ultra settings. Launched at a highly competitive starting price of $699 USD on September 17, 2020, this dual-slot card marks a triumphant new era for NVIDIA's industrial hardware design. The review highlights several key pros, including consistent performance as promised, a premium build quality with a gorgeous industrial design, and matching the original launch price of the older RTX 2080. Additionally, its innovative dual-sided fan layout—featuring one front and one back-side fan—is exceptionally quiet and highly efficient at moving air. On the downside, the cons focus entirely on its physical...

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, reviewed by Trusted Reviews, is recognized as a premier GPU for 4K, 60fps+ gaming, offering a substantial performance leap over previous 20-series cards. Key advantages include excellent ray tracing capabilities, HDMI 2.1 support, and a competitive launch price that provides superior value compared to the RTX 2080 Ti. However, the card is characterized by high power consumption, requiring significant electrical power, and offers limited headroom for overclocking. Despite these drawbacks, it is recommended as a top choice for users upgrading from older hardware.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition represents a massive generational leap, delivering roughly 44% higher FPS at 1080p and a staggering 57% gain at 4K compared to the previous RTX 2080 Super. Built on the Ampere architecture, it features 8,704 CUDA cores and 10GB of ultra-fast GDDR6X VRAM, allowing it to outperform even the much more expensive RTX 2080 Ti by an average of 26% at 4K resolution. Beyond raw power, the review highlights the "better than 4K" fidelity provided by DLSS, which produces sharper images while significantly boosting frame rates, and the introduction of RTX Reflex to reduce system latency for competitive gamers. The card's design features a unique dual-axial cooler that is notably quieter and runs cooler than previous generations, though it did not quite hit Nvidia's marketing claim of being 20°C cooler in real-world testing. A significant pro is the card's value; at an MSRP of $699, it offers flagship-level performance that makes high-end 4K ray-traced gaming a reality. However, several cons are noted: the card is power-hungry with a 320-watt TDP requiring a minimum 750W...

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is an absolute powerhouse of a graphics card that brings fast 4K gaming at 60 frames per second into the mainstream, delivering one of the largest generational performance leaps in GPU history. Based on the Ampere architecture, it nearly triples the CUDA core count to 8,704 and features upgraded second-generation ray tracing cores and third-generation Tensor cores. In real-world testing, it outperforms its predecessor, the RTX 2080, by a massive 50% to 80% at 4K resolution. The card debuts a highly effective multi-layered PCB cooler design that utilizes a rear-mounted fan to pull cool air through the heatsink, successfully keeping temperatures at a remarkably low 60°C in standard closed-case setups. The review highlights several major pros, including its exceptional 4K gaming performance, excellent thermal management, and an introductory MSRP that did not increase compared to the previous generation. It also benefits from practical software additions like the Nvidia Broadcast app for background filtering. On the downside, the card remains a significant financial investment and suffers from noticeable performance bottlenecks if paired with lower-resolution screens like...

The Verge review highlights the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 as a massive generational leap, delivering double the performance of the RTX 2080 at a competitive $699, effectively making 4K gaming a reality. It features an innovative dual-fan, flow-through cooling design that maintains quiet operation despite the intense power demands. However, the card requires a substantial 320-watt TGP, often forcing users to purchase new power supplies. Additionally, the dense, redesigned Founders Edition card utilizes a bulky 12-pin connector that hinders clean cable management and provides limited performance benefits at lower resolutions like 1080p.

The TechSpot review of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 highlights the card as a significant generational leap, offering a 43% performance uplift over the RTX 2080 Ti and exceptional 4K gaming performance powered by 10 GB of GDDR6X memory. Built on the 8nm Ampere architecture, the card is praised for its massive bandwidth and, at the time of review, a market-disrupting $699 launch price. Key drawbacks include a high 320-watt TBP that causes scaling bottlenecks at lower resolutions, limited manual overclocking headroom, and only moderate gains in specific 1440p scenarios. Despite these, the card provides immense value for high-resolution gaming and workstation applications.

The Colorful RTX 3080 iGame Advanced OC is a robust graphics card that features the highly capable Nvidia Ampere GA102 silicon, 10GB of GDDR6X memory, and a massive triple-slot, triple-fan cooler. A major highlight of the card is its physical "One-key OC" button, which elevates the reference boost clock from 1,710MHz to a retail-stable 1,785MHz, pushing real-world average clock speeds up to 1,843MHz via GPU Boost. While an early, over-aggressive iteration suffered from driver instability and layout issues, the finalized retail model fixes these flaws by employing a revised capacitor layout that integrates MLCC caps. This hardware revision delivers excellent thermal management, keeping the GPU chilly with a peak temperature of just 67°C and an average of 64°C during testing. Despite the excellent chip-chilling design, the card suffers from notable drawbacks regarding efficiency and overall performance value. When the manual overclock is disabled, its standard performance underperforms compared to rival graphics cards like the AMD RX 6800 XT and the Nvidia Founders Edition. Activating the One-key OC profile corrects this performance deficit but comes at the cost of massive power...

The TechPowerUp review of the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim X identifies it as a premium, factory-overclocked card featuring a robust triple-slot cooler, exceptional 4K performance, and a dual BIOS for superior acoustic management. Key advantages include a 16-phase VRM, high-quality build with a structural anti-sag plate, and very low temperatures in "Gaming" mode. Conversely, the card is physically large, requiring significant case space, and carries a high $900 MSRP, providing low cost-to-performance value compared to the Founders Edition. Additionally, the high performance comes at the expense of increased power consumption, requiring three 8-pin connectors and drawing over 400W under load.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 review by The Verge highlights the GPU as a major generational leap, delivering true 4K gaming at a $699 price point with up to 60% higher performance than the RTX 2080. Key pros include exceptional ray tracing, DLSS performance, and an innovative, quiet, and efficient dual-fan flow-through cooling design. However, the card features a substantial 320-watt power draw and a bulky, awkward 12-pin power adapter. Other cons include limited performance gains at 1080p, lack of NVLink support, and significant retail availability challenges.

The HotHardware review crowns the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 as a major performance leap, offering over 50% better 4K gaming results than the RTX 2080 Super via its 8,704 CUDA cores and GDDR6X memory. Pros highlight the exceptional $699 price-to-performance ratio and an efficient, quiet dual-fan cooling design. Cons identified include a high 320W power draw and a central, angled 12-pin connector that complicates cable management. Additionally, performance gains are less substantial at lower resolutions like 1080p and 1440p compared to 4K, with limited overclocking headroom.

The Asus GeForce RTX 3080 TUF Gaming OC is a highly capable aftermarket graphics card that delivers identical performance to Nvidia's Founders Edition, occasionally beating it by a few frames per second at the exact same $699.99 launch price. Tested across eight games and three benchmarks, its standout feature is its best-in-class triple-fan cooling system, which peaked at just 61°C—a massive 11°C cooler than Nvidia's default design. Visually, the card features a gunmetal gray aesthetic accented by a subtle, tasteful RGB logo near the back. It relies on standard dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors, making it an easy drop-in upgrade for modern systems, provided you have a case large enough to fit its 11.81-inch length and 2.5-slot (2.04-inch) thickness. The primary pros of this graphics card include its exceptional thermal management, identical pricing to the Founders Edition, and reliable out-of-the-box gaming performance. However, it does come with a few cons: its large physical footprint may cause compatibility issues in smaller PC cases, and it lacks the beefy power delivery systems found on more premium lines like the ROG Strix or...