Nvidia RTX 3080 vs 3080 Ti – two letters worth the cost?

Last Updated: March 16th, 2022

In the fight for the fan-favorite, we have the Nvidia RTX 3080 vs 3080 Ti. Since the release of the 30 series, the 3080 has been the fan choice for the best graphics card. With a much lower price but still great performance as compared to the 3090. 

Following the success of the range with inflated prices and lack of stock, the 3080 Ti came out nearly a year later. Bringing with it an improved die performance but also cost. So we take a look at if all that difference brings any improvements to the lineup.

ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition

Pros

The building blocks for the world’s fastest, most efficient GPU

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Gaming X Trio 12G

Pros

Very quiet thermal design

Respectable out-the-box boost clock

3x 8 pin power connectors mean more headroom for overclocking

Classic geometric MSI aesthetic

Cons

The RTX 3080 Ti is a prohibitively expensive GPU

Lies within the higher end of the 3080 Ti price spectrum

Large size vs Founder’s Edition

Architecture

Bearing the same name they’re based on the same die. The die of a graphics card is the heart of it and dictates how well it performs. They’re both based on Nvidia’s GA102 GPU which is the top end of the selection even used in the flagship.

The 628mm² die is made with Samsungs 8nm process that offers a very small and efficient build size. Able to fit 28.3 billion transistors inside of it, consistent across both of the GPUs. The difference between the 3080 vs 3080 Ti will come from which cores are enabled and how well they work. As the no Ti card uses the 200 variant of the die and the Ti utilizes the 225 variant.

Specifications

Looking at the specifications, we can see the core differences between the two GPUs. We take a look at what these key features mean for the performance and the main differences between the two cards.

GPU core count

One of the key differences between the RTX 3080 vs 3080 Ti is the makeup of the die. Being variants of each other you’d expect fairly similar architecture. In the case of the two of these, the Ti card has nearly 18% more of each of the cores over than 3080.

These cores will fundamentally give the Ti an advantage in processing. We in particular look at the shaders, RT cores, and TMUs. Shaders work on the shadows and shading of graphics, with the RT cores working out real-time ray tracing, and TMUs are the texture mappers that create 3d images from bitmaps.

So more cores working on the work likely create an advantage in processing work. 

VRAM

The video memory of a GPU is used a frame buffer and a store for texture maps. It’s a key factor to the ever-growing resolution’s requirements. With more pixels, they require more storage space in the short term which a bigger VRAM can allow.

There is a slight variance in the memory setup between the two of the cards. Mainly the capacity of the VRAM, with the 3080 with 10GB, and the Ti has just 2GB more bringing it half of the 3090.

The Ti also has a higher bandwidth for the memory, even if both memories are clocked at the same rate. The 3080 with a throughput of 760.2 GB/s, as compared to the 912.4 GB/s of the Ti, giving it a lower latency.

Thermal design power (TDP)

The thermal design power of a GPU is the maximum amount of energy it can consume and in turn max heat output. So it’s both a factor of how effective of a radiator it will be in your case and how much energy it will be consuming. For the RTX 3080 vs 3080 Ti, the Ti does use more power than the standard by 30W so in the long run, it is a hungrier and hotter card to use.

Clock rate

The clock speed of a graphics card quantifies how quickly it processes instructions for creating images. It also is determined based on the cycle rate of silicon crystal and can determine how well the card can perform. It isn’t a static state as it varies and can be changed by overclocking as long as you have good cooling.

Between the two cards, there is a different set speed as well. The 3080 ti is in fact clocks lower than the 3080, with a 75MHz lower base clock and 45MHz lower boost clock. Which should give the non-Ti GPU an advantage.

RTX 3080 vs 3080 Ti Performance

3dmark benchmarks provide a comparison for the two graphics cards and give them a graphics score based on the performance. In the benchmarks, the 3080 Ti takes the lead with a score of 19,615 with the 3080 falling behind with a score of 17,650. A score advantage of 11%.

Unsurprisingly, the same kind of behavior is seen in performance benchmarks and scores. The 3080 Ti leads with an average score of 14% higher than the 3080 along with a 12% higher effective speed. We previously found the performance of the 3080 Ti is close to the 3090 with tour 3080 Ti vs 3090 comparisons.

Price Comparison

However, that performance increase comes with a greater cost. The launch price of the 3080 is $699, with the Ti, set to $1,199. That is an increase in MSRP of nearly 72%, without the same kind of performance increase.

Although in our current GPU shortage and a market with expensive GPUs, you’re still unlikely to find them at those prices. But GPUs are getting cheaper constantly at the moment so they might be soon at MSRP.

MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio 10G

Pros

Extremely attractive 3080

Very quiet thermal design

High out-the-box clock boost

Cons

Lies within the higher end of the 3080 price spectrum

ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Trinity 12GB

Pros

One of the cheapest RTX 3080 Ti AIBs you will find

Improved cooling solution compared to the Founder’s Edition

Cons

The RTX 3080 Ti is a prohibitively expensive GPU

Not the quietest on offer

Less powerful than other RTX 3080 Ti AIBs

Large size vs Founder’s Edition

Conclusion

Overall, for the RTX 3080 vs 3080 Ti, the Ti takes the clear lead over the 3080 in performance. It performs as well as the 3090, but it is much more expensive than the 3080 it seems not worth it. The 3080 provides such strong performance on its own across the board that it seems unnecessary to get the bigger card. 

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