RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 are two video cards from Nvidia. The models are among the most powerful in Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30 line, which is now being replaced by the RTX 40 line. Still, the two GPUs look good and serve demanding gamers with the promise of high performance for 4K gameplay, including offering Ray Tracing and upscaling with artificial intelligence via DLSS.
Easy to find in the market, the two cards are listed today in values that start at around $824 – for the 3070 Ti – and hits $1,399 for the RTX 3080. See, in the following comparison, the main specifications of the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080.
RTX 3080 vs RTX 3070 Ti
| GeForce RTX 3080 | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | September 2020 | May 2021 |
| Price | $1,399 | $824 |
| Cores | 8,704 CUDA cores | 6.144 CUDA cores |
| Speed | 1,440 to 1,710 MHz | 1,575 to 1,770 MHz |
| RAM | 10 GB GDDR6X | 8 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory speed | 19 Gb/s | 19 Gb/s |
| Interface | 320 bits | 256 bits |
| Bandwidth | 760 GB/s | 608 GB/s |
| TDP | 320 W | 290 W |
Specifications
Of the two, it is the GeForce RTX 3080 that offers the best technical specifications. For starters, the card has a processor with 8,704 CUDA processing cores versus the 3070 Ti’s 6,144-core GPU.
In complementary hardware, the 3080 also excels: there are 68 RT cores for Ray Tracing and 272 Tensor AI cores, used in DLSS. The RTX 3070 Ti, on the other hand, comes with 48 RT and 192 Tensor AI units.
In terms of speed, the RTX 3080 goes at 1,440 on the standard clock, but can reach 1,710 MHz speed with the turbo, at least in Nvidia’s standard design – cards from partner manufacturers can go even further. On the 3070 Ti side, speeds are between 1,575 and 1,770 MHz.
For RAM, there are 10 GB of GDDR6X connected to the processor via a 320-bit interface and exchanging up to 760 GB/sec (gigabytes per second) with the GPU in the RTX 3080. The RTX 3070 Ti, features 8 GB of GDDR6X with a 256-bit interface and a bandwidth of 608 GB/s.
Performance
In summary, the GeForce RTX 3080 should outperform the 3070 Ti by a 25% performance margin. In practice, this should mean higher resolutions, greater comfort in raising the graphics settings for games, and also more stable FPS levels.
Testing Games compared the two GPUs in a battery of tests and found results in line with this general prediction. In Cyberpunk 2077, for example, the RTX 3080 guarantees an average of, at most, 38 FPS, compared to 32 FPS for the 3070 Ti.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator, another very demanding game, the RTX 3080 even scales better, guaranteeing a 42 FPS average, compared to 34 FPS for the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti.
Extra Features
The two GeForce are part of the same RTX 30 family, and by this, it is natural that the two cards are the same when it comes to features. For starters, both cards deliver Ray Tracing effects acceleration using specific hardware – those aforementioned RT cores.
Another similarity between the two cards is the support for the second generation DLSS, Nvidia’s artificial intelligence upscaling that presents games in high resolution on the screen, even if they are rendered in lower internal resolutions. The technique offers image quality and performance gains in compatible games.
In addition to these features, both GPUs come with a host of tools built into GeForce Experience. There are filters to apply to old games, image and video capture features, and artificial intelligence applied for streaming.
Consumption
Delivering higher performance, the RTX 3080 ends up needing more power. According to Nvidia, the 3080 needs 320W of power to achieve 100% of its performance. If you could keep the card at 100% for an hour, it would consume 0.32 kWh, a measure used by the energy company to bill you at the end of the month.
The RTX 3070 Ti, on the other hand, needs 290 W to reach 100%. It is important to remember, however, that it is very difficult to keep a graphics card operating at 100% for long periods, which ends up representing lower consumption levels in practice.
In addition to this data, Nvidia also recommends the minimum power supply required to handle the card and the rest of the PC components. Those opting for the RTX 3080 need a 700 W unit, while a 600 W supply should be enough to handle the 3070 Ti.
Price and Competitors
In our searches, we found the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti to be the cheapest of the two, with prices currently starting at $824.99. The version in question is from Galax, which can be overclocked with just one click.
The RTX 3080, on the other hand, appears in ads starting at $1,399 in the version from MSI. The value is competitive, but it is worth being aware: there are RTX 3080 Ti options in the same price range nowadays, an investment that adds cost-benefit, given the higher performance of the Ti version.
For other options, the consumer can consider both the RTX 3070 – without the Ti – and models from AMD’s Radeon line: the RX 6700 XT cards and RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT models would be the most viable alternatives from the rival brand.
- Buy RTX 3070 Ti
- Buy RTX 3080
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