In this comparison, we pit the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs. GeForce RTX 3080 10GB, a previous-gen GPU. Despite belonging to different GPU classes, let’s see how they perform. The RTX 4070 Ti boasts impressive improvements, but does its higher price justify the upgrade from the RTX 3080? We’ll find out in the benchmarks at 1440p and 4K resolutions. Let’s dive into the numbers and find out.
The Price Difference: From $749 to $789
The RTX 3080, with its launch price of $700 (now $749), became a hot commodity right before the crypto boom. Later, Nvidia took advantage of the market situation by releasing the RTX 3080 Ti at $1,200 (now at $1300) and the RTX 3070 Ti at a more reasonable $600 (now at $529). The question on everyone’s mind now is whether the upgrade to the RTX 40 series is worth it.
[amazon box =”B0BRKR14S1,B09XBG1YGX”]
Let’s check out the specifications of both RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 3080 before we begin the comparison.
| Spec | GeForce RTX 4070 Ti | GeForce RTX 3080 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | Ada Lovelace GA104-400 | Ampere GA102-300 |
| CUDA Cores | 8704 | 7680 |
| Base Clock | 1830 MHz | 1440 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 2310 MHz | 1710 MHz |
| Memory | 12 GB GDDR6X | 10 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Clock | 1313 MHz | 1188 MHz |
| Memory Bandwidth | 504.2 GB/s | 760 GB/s |
| Memory Bus Width | 192 bits | 320 bits |
| L2 Cache | 48 MB | 24 MB |
| TDP | 285 W | 320 W |
| RRP | $800 | $700 |
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs. GeForce RTX 3080: Benchmarks at 1440p
Let’s start with benchmarks for the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs GeForce RTX 3080 at the popular 1440p resolution. Fortnite, when using DirectX 11, showcases a remarkable 62% performance improvement for the RTX 4070 Ti compared to the RTX 3080 at 1440p. However, the situation changes with DirectX 12, where the RTX 4070 Ti drops 32% of its original performance, while the RTX 3080 experiences a 34% drop. The lower overhead of DX12 helps improve minimum frame rates but limits overall performance in this example.
After Enabling hardware ray tracing, we saw an interesting trend. At 1440p, the RTX 4070 Ti performs 27% faster than the RTX 3080. However at 4K, the margin shrinks to only 3%. This likely results from the difference in memory bandwidth, which plays a crucial role as the resolution increases.
SEE ALSO: NVIDIA RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti Release Date and Specifications
Summing up the benchmark results across all games tested, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is, on average, 21% faster than the RTX 3080 at 1440p.
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs. GeForce RTX 3080: Benchmarks at 4K
In the benchmark comparison of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and the GeForce RTX 3080 at 4K resolution, we find some notable performance differences in various gaming titles.
Fortnite using DX11 with Epic quality settings and no upscaling, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti shows a significant improvement, being 62% faster than the RTX 3080 at 4K. This jump in performance makes the RTX 4070 Ti a much more capable 4K gaming option.
SEE ALSO: NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 Will Consume 186W While Gaming
Switching to DX12 in Fortnite, we observe some interesting data. The RTX 4070 Ti drops 26% of its original performance at 4K. At the same time the RTX 3080 actually becomes 2% faster, delivering a massive 59% improvement in 1% lows. The lower overhead of DX12 helps to improve minimum frame rates but caps overall performance in this specific scenario.
The performance trend continues with hardware ray tracing and FSR 2 enabled. The RTX 4070 Ti is 3% faster than the RTX 3080 at 4K, despite being 27% faster at 1440p with these features enabled. This discrepancy is likely due to the difference in memory bandwidth, which plays a crucial role as the resolution increases.
Summing up the benchmark results across all games tested, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is, on average, 18% faster than the RTX 3080 at 4K resolution.
Comprehensive Performance Comparison
After examining individual game benchmarks, let’s look at the big picture. Across all games tested, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti exhibits an average of 19% higher performance than the RTX 3080 10GB, with peak margins hitting around 30 to 40%.
These results also reflect TechSpot’s review for the RTX 4070 Ti, where it demonstrated a 21% average speed increase over the RTX 3080 at 4K.
Value In Terms of Cost Per Frame
When considering the value perspective, the results are somewhat underwhelming. At MSRP, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offers only a 10% improvement in cost per frame compared to the RTX 3080.
Should You Upgrade to RTX 4070 Ti?
The RTX 4070 Ti is an impressive GPU that offers enhanced performance compared to its predecessor, particularly in various games. While the $40 price increase and incremental performance gains may make the upgrade appealing for RTX 3080 owners, it’s worth considering whether it’s truly necessary.
The upgrade may become more justifiable once games start heavily utilizing the 10GB VRAM buffer. However, if you’re not particularly impressed with these improvements, it might be wiser to wait for the next generation of GPUs.