If you are planning to build your gaming PC, you are thinking of buying a card from the RTX 3000 series, especially RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 (if you are lucky enough to get your hands on one of these right now), but that’s another story These cards are so powerful in their category they can be overkill for your build. Many people have tried to pair these cards with older gen CPUs and faced various drawbacks. There is a huge risk of bottleneck in newer games. Users will notice severe lag and throttling issues at higher resolutions. You must have basic knowledge about compatible components before you buy anything, especially if you are considering investing in a high-end RTX series Graphic card. To make it more simple for you to choose, I am breaking down the head-to-head comparison between these two powerhouses in different categories. Let’s find out what’s the best choice for you to pick up in 2023.
Nvidia RTX 3070 Vs RTX 3080: Tech Specs
According to this specs chart, anyone can assume that RTX 3080 is superior in every category. 3070 performance can be compared to its RTX 2080. It delivers the same performance while maintaining a cheaper price tag. RTX 3080 does have more memory than 3070, but it also makes use of more power. Based on 2nd Gen Ampere architecture, both these cards are released with advanced features, with DLSS 2.0 being the main highlight of these cards. While RTX 3080 is targeted primarily towards 4k gaming, 3070 is more leaned 1440p/1080p card where it excels among other decent GPUs. It can provide decent fps in 4k resolution, but in newer AAA games, I noticed some limitations where I have to tone down some graphical settings to maintain a 60 fps framerate. If you want your PC to be future-proofed against upcoming games, it is worth spending more bucks for RTX 3080. Related comparison:
3060 vs 3060ti 3060 ti vs 3070 for 1440p RTX 3080 vs RX 6900 XT
Testing PC Setup (4K Ultra) Starting with the actual benchmarks test between these GPUs, I will put these cards toe to toe against each other in a few AAA blockbuster games. These games were tested on 1080/1440p/4k resolutions with all settings maxed out. You can see all possible results in different variety of resolutions. Both cards were tested at their base clock speeds, and ray tracing/DLSS 2.0 was disabled during this process to ensure close performance among all other types of RTX 3070 and 3080 variants. This is the specification of the PC I used in these benchmarks:
CPU: Intel core i7-10700k RAM: 32GB DDR4 (3600mhz) CL16 Motherboard: MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk Gaming Graphic Card Used: Zotac Geforce RTX 3070 8GB Gaming EVGA Geforce RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra
#1 – Metro Exodus (4k Ultra)
Metro Exodus is a first-person, epic, story-driven shooter developed by 4A games. Popular among many gamers, this latest installment in the Metro franchise was released in 2019 and was instantly met with widespread critical acclaim. Starting with the little boy, the RTX 3070 seems to be struggling in this resolution range, with often dips in framerate falling below 60 fps. 55-59 fps are not a big deal and are barely noticeable when gaming, but this benchmark proves that 3070 will not hold up in the future, specifically in the gaming niche. RTX 3080 is a strong contender for 4k (as expected); this card had no problem shelling out 60+ fps without experiencing any major drops, even going up to 90 fps in certain areas in-game.
#2 – Horizon Zero Dawn (4K Ultra)
Horizon Zero Dawn is an action RPG video game developed by Guerilla Games studio. Featuring highly immersive gameplay and high-quality scenic visuals. Open world environments allow players to explore and discover new locations. As big as it sounds, this game uses highly rendered objects, and it is a graphic intensive game. Upon doing a few repeated benchmarks at 4k resolution, the RTX 3080 showed a vast difference over its sibling graphic card. Maintaining a constant 20 fps lead, 3080 once again outshined 3070, where 3070 was struggling to cross the 60 fps barrier at Ultra maxed-out settings. Most of the time, the fps were lingering between the 50-60 mark, with an average of 58 fps.
#3 – Resident Evil 3 Remake (4K Ultra)
Developed by Capcom as the remake of 1999 Resident Evil: Nemesis, Resident Evil 3 was released in 2020; this game was well-optimized for PC upon release. It is very evident in the benchmark test how well this game utilizes its graphics. Even in the high demanding areas in-game, 3070 provided 90+ fps, even going cross the 100 fps mark. 3080 as expected delivered an average of 120 fps. No surprise here. This game runs decently on most builds.
#4 – Battlefield V (4k Ultra)
Battlefield V was developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts, and released in 2020. It uses the latest frostbite 3 game engine and makes fully optimized use of 6 core CPUs. Benchmarking this on the RTX series cards showed some delightful results. 3070 was maintaining 70 fps during action gameplay with avg 1% lows dipping to the 60s. Keep in mind this test was performed on 4k ultra, which is not the intended resolution for 3070, but here it shines. 3080 was outperforming as always, delivering 100 fps during action-heavy gameplay.
#5 – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (4k Ultra)
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was released in 2018 as a successor to 2017 Assassin Creed Origins, featuring an open-world map with elements of RPG and combat-based gameplay. Ubisoft is infamous for its unoptimized initial launches, and this game is no exception to this problem. Players have reported frame drops and occasional lags. High-end pc setups struggled to squeeze out decent frame rates. It is an unoptimized game without any doubt RTX 3080 had no trouble holding its own against this game. Benchmarks results showed me 85-90 fps, and it is pretty decent, to be very honest. VRAM usage was optimal. 3070 managed to stay above the 60 fps mark, and I couldn’t be happier about this. 60 fps is the sweet spot Testing PC Setup (1440p Ultra) 1440p is the intended native resolution for RTX 3070. This card can pretty much handle all AAA titles at 60 fps without breaking a sweat. Even the most demanding titles like RDR2 average 60+ fps making this a strong contender in this specific resolution range. Of course, RTX 3080 is still maintaining a lead over its little brother, but in most games, there is little to 7-8 fps difference which is not a big deal if you consider the price gap. The PC specs I used were as follows :
CPU: Ryzen 7 5800x RAM: 32GB DDR4 (3600mhz) CL14 Motherboard: MSI MEG X570 UNIFY Graphic Card Used: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition
#1 – Call of Duty: Warzone (1440p Ultra)
Call of duty warzone can be a demanding game to play if you don’t own a powerful setup. Running this game during the benchmark run, I noticed desirable results between these beefy monsters. 3080 is well ahead with an impressive 20% lead. It is also consuming a lot more Vram as compared to 3070, making full use of its 10GB video memory. Power consumption is also reaching a high 300w, reminding us that this is a power-hungry card. It delivers more as it consumes more. Fair enough.
#2 – Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1440p Ultra)
Another installment in the Call of Duty franchise, this game features highly detailed models, shadows, and realistic explosions, which can take a toll on your PC unless you are using a beefy setup. This game was no issue for my bad boys here. As expected, they delivered us great results. The difference between these cards was close this time, a mere 8% gap with 3080 in lead. If you ask me, it’s not too big of a difference as both GPUs were holding above 150+ fps; it’s barely noticeable even at higher refresh rate screens.
#3 – Red Dead Redemption 2 (1440p Ultra)
The highly anticipated game was ported on PC a year after its initial release on consoles. The PC version was released with improved graphics than its console counterparts. With highly detailed open-world settings, improved fur textures, each object casting higher resolution shadows, it’s apparent that this game will push your PC to its max potential. Benchmarks were run repeated times, and 3080 came out on top with an impressive 120+ fps even though this game is intensively demanding. 3070 is faring well in the 1440p department. It will surprise and satisfy 1440p users.
#4 – Borderlands 3 (1440p Ultra)
Sequel to 2012’s Borderlands 2, this game was released 7 years later on the Windows platform. Borderlands 3 is more reliant on GPU power, especially if you are thinking of running it on max settings. It’s no surprise, this is expected from AAA titles nowadays. It took full advantage of these beefy cards’ full potential, both cards were running at max power, and it was clear that this open-world game requires high intensive graphic build to run.
#5 – Rainbow Six Siege (1440p Ultra)
Rainbow Six siege might look like an average fps game, but it is very dependent on the CPU. Graphically the game looks great, but it’s the CPU that’s doing most of the work behind the scenes. I would say these Graphic cards were overkill for this game. 3070 was producing enormous 250+ fps on maxed-out settings. Do I even need to talk about 3080? Well, our Big boy was unstoppable. It crossed the 300 fps mark like it was no big deal and was holding that count range during the whole run. I didn’t see any decline under the 300 and 250 mark for 3080 and 3070, respectively. These cards are the perfect choice for competitive gamers who own high refresh rate screens. Testing PC Setup (1080p Ultra) This resolution was never intended for the RTX 3000 series. It is quite evident that these cards are the powerhouse and one of the best markets have to offer right now. With 1440p being standard resolution right now, these cards were targeted for 1440p and above consumers. I have seen above how well these GPUs performed in the max resolution tests. So unsurprisingly, Benchmarking at 1080p with all graphical settings dialed up to max will be child’s play for these fine gentlemen just like a walk in the park. These are the specs for my PC:
CPU: Ryzen 7 5800x RAM: 32GB DDR4 (3600mhz) CL14 Motherboard: MSI MEG X570 UNIFY Graphic Card Used: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition
#1 – Call of Duty : Warzone (1080p Ultra)
3080 and 3070 are not going to struggle against demanding games at this resolution. They were performing exceptionally well in higher resolutions. Playing this game for a few minutes at 1080p showed a 25% difference from the 1440p resolution for both cards. The performance required for playing this game is easily overwhelmed by these cards, and if you are planning on playing this game at 1080p, you might want to invest in a 144hz or higher refresh rate display.
#2 – Red Dead Redemption 2 (1080p Ultra)
The high-quality textures, detailed landscapes, high res shadows can’t stop these cards from showing their full prowess. Upgraded with superior visual quality over its console counterpart, the game squeeze out every bit of performance from your PC and especially your Graphical unit. However, 1080p is nothing to worry about if you got these cards in your arsenal.
#3 – Battlefield V (1080p Ultra)
Already tested with a decent outcome on 4k, I decided to try this game again but in 1080p resolution. I mean, why not? The game was doing fine numbers on my 4k benchmarks, so it would be nice to see if this game can squeeze out more performance from these lovely cards. Maybe 3070 can hit triple-digits Upon running the tests, I was pleasantly surprised by both cards’ performances. 3070 was doing well over 100 fps even during explosive action-filled gameplay. 3080 was nearing the 200 fps mark in less crowded areas, however as gameplay got intense, it dipped down to the 170-ish range, which is nowhere near underwhelming.
Fortnite (1080p Ultra)
It’s impossible to leave this game out of the gaming discussion, especially when I am running benchmarks on top-of-the-line GPUs. Widely played for its multiplayer battle royale mode, it is a fairly easy game to run on PC. Before starting this game on my PC, I was already anticipating high-performance results, and I got what I expected. Both cards were crossing the 200 fps mark, with 3070 occasionally dipping down to the 180-190 range.
#5 – Borderlands 3 (1080p Ultra)
And at last, I wanted to give this game a run again, but this time on 1080p resolution. A fairly graphic intensive game, I tested this on 1440p, and even though the results were decent, both of these cards failed to hit triple digits. This was a strong contender for both of these cards and surprised me. after lowering the resolution to 1080p, I did see a 15% performance boost, and both cards managed to cross the triple-digit milestone.
Nvidia RTX 3070 Vs. 3080: Features & Ports
Both The RTX 3070 and The RTX 3080, when manufactured, are incorporated with functional units which are necessary for any basic function in the midst of comparison, it is only fair to start by comparing the most important of these functional units, the GPU. Starting with RTX 3080, it comes with a GPU codenamed The GA102 and is fabricated upon Samsung’s 8nm 8N NVIDIA custom process. It is based on Ampere Architecture and incorporated with 28.3 billion transistors, all the while having a die size of 628.4 mm 2. The process of GA102 includes three different types of computing resources which namely are: Programmable Shading Cores (including CUDA cores). A full GA102 Has 10752 CUDA Cores, 84 second-generation RT Cores, and 336 Third-generation Tensor Cores, and is the most powerful consumer GPU NVIDIA has ever built For graphics processing. Now moving on to The RTX 3070 and its GPU code name, the GA104. The GA104 GPU uses the Ampere architecture and is made using an 8 nm production process at Samsung. With a die size of 392 mm² and a transistor count of 17. 4 billion, it is a large chip. It has 192 Tensor Cores, 48 Ray tracing Cores with 6144 CUDA Cores. As far as numbers go, The RTX 3080 has triumphed over RTX 3070. Both The RTX 3070 and 3080 have three 1.4a Display ports along with one HDMI 2.1 port and a total of 4 displays. They both don’t have a USB-C port.
Nvidia RTX 3070 Vs. 3080: Ray-Tracing Performance
All of the RTX 3000 series cards come with new features, with Ray tracing being the highlight of these cards. Ray-tracing was introduced in the previous-gen RTX 2000 series, and it blew up the whole gaming community with its first impression. The difference between RTX on vs RTX off was huge. Enabling RTX in-game transforms the whole landscape, textures, shaders making the game look more realistic. Given that only fewer games were supported at the time of release, the reception was warm, and people welcomed this new addition to Nvidia GPUs, although some were skeptical of the massive performance loss in fps ray-tracing causes. RTX 3000 massively improves performance with the second-gen RT cores, these cards deliver massive 2.7x times performance over RTX 2000 series cards. RTX 3070 ray-tracing output easily outperforms the previous generation flagship RTX 2080 ti despite having lower RT cores count. RTX 3080 is already performing ahead of everyone, with almost 50% more RT cores. It shines exceptionally at 4k resolution, where it is already showing promising performance. DLSS also plays a huge factor in delivering a smooth gameplay experience with Ray-tracing as it covers up for the loss of FPS caused by Raytracing. If a game supports both of these features, you can really have fun with a smoother and more enjoyable experience, but you don’t need to worry about low performance if you are using high-end graphic cards.
Nvidia RTX 3070 Vs. 3080: Cooling Performance
When it comes to performance, these cards don’t pull any punches. During the testing of games, we can see how great they performed even though RTX 3080/RTX 3070 were pulling 320w/220w from PSU. the cards were running way cooler and more optimized than one could expect. If you are investing in a high-performance PC setup with every top-of-the-line component, you are probably planning to buy AIO liquid cooler for your system, which can also benefit these GPUs, giving them 5% overclock headroom for the future. Both of these cards have a maximum thermal capacity of 93c degrees temperature which means these cards are totally acceptable to use under conditions where your GPU temp can go up to 93 degrees. That is a lot of headroom for GPU and both 3070/3080 never crossed 75 degrees marks even at the higher and maximum graphical limit. Thanks to the massive cooler, the cards can maintain lower temperatures below their thermal capacity despite using more power than any other Nvidia or AMD card. Fan speed was never touched, and with further tuning, you can increase fan speed for more cooling. It is completely safe and gives you a lot of headroom to overclock GPUs. Pairing these cards with a high spec liquid cooling system will provide a lot of benefits for overclocking and longevity.
Nvidia RTX 3070 Vs. 3080: Architecture
Moving on from the Turing architecture, which was introduced in the 2000 series, Nvidia shifted to the Ampere architecture with the introduction of 3000 series cards. This architecture was widely improved and allowed Nvidia to incorporate 7nm chips into their GPUs. Despite having a smaller nano-sized chip, it accommodates an excessive amount of transistors. GA100 GPU consists of 54 billion transistors which is a massive 156% increase from GV100. Nvidia’s fully reworked model showed immense improvement from its previous counterpart in terms of sheer power, cooling, build, and performance. As I have mentioned above, this new model allowed Nvidia to increase the amount of CUDA cores by 50% and gave us 2nd gen RT cores capable of overwhelming previous flagship GPUs.
Which GPU Should You Choose? Nvidia RTX 3070 Or RTX 3080?
It all comes down to this conclusion. Which is better and why? Both of these cards are based on the same Ampere architecture, which is a huge improvement from the previous RTX 2000 series card. It represents a major performance leap in graphics. According to own Nvidia’s claim, RTX 3080 outperforms RTX 2080 by almost 50%. If you are still using a 1080p monitor like the majority of users still do, RTX 3070 is the clear winner. In 1080p, the difference between 3070 and 3080 is minimal, and you will be spending extra money for no real value if you go for 3080. Running RTX 3080 at low resolutions will only use a fraction of its power. It’s a better investment for the future but as of right now, if you don’t own 2k or higher resolution, make use of RTX 3070. DLSS 2.0 is another feature that you can benefit from in the longer run. RTX 3070 is just as fast and capable of delivering smooth fps at 1080p and 1440p resolutions. There is no need to shell out more money for 3080 if you don’t intend to upgrade to 4K anytime soon in the future. Spending extra bucks for 4K is worth it for sure, but it is better to stick around with 3070 in low-resolution gaming. Ideally, you can benefit from playing on 1080p @ 60 fps as RTX 3080 will be useful for many years. There will be a lot of headroom for upcoming games, no matter how demanding they get. In conclusion, if you are not satisfied playing 1080p games anymore, then you should save up some and invest in RTX 3080 for a high-end 4K gaming experience. Otherwise, get yourself an RTX 3070, strap on your seatbelt, and enjoy a smooth 1440p/1080p gaming experience
#1 – Is 3080 worth it over 3070?
If you are in possession of a 4K monitor, you can definitely spend extra bucks and take advantage of RTX 3080 immense power. This card shines in 4K as it was intended to do when released. RTX 3070 is not a bad choice either, but in some newer AAA titles, it might struggle. You will feel cozy running this GPU in 1440p
#2 – How much better is 3080 than 3070?
At 1080p resolution, there is little to no difference between these two cards. These cards don’t even use a decent fraction of their power in this lower range. But as you upgrade to higher resolutions, you will start seeing differences. 4K resolution is the perfect playground for RTX 3080, where it is showing expected performance edging of RTX 3070 by 20%.
#3 – Is 3080 worth it over 3070 for 1440p?
If you are thinking of future-proofing your build and you want to enjoy AAA releases in the future for a long time, then yes, 3080 will hold its own for years to come. At 1440p, this card is shelling out decent fps now, and especially if you are a competitive gamer with high refresh rate screens, you will enjoy several years without having to worry about upgrading.
#4 – Is RTX 3070 future-proof?
RTX 3070 right now is the 1440p king. It is not recommended to shell out extra bucks for 3080 if you are managing this resolution right now because of the very low performance to price ratio. But if you are a PC gamer who enjoys competitive titles where higher fps gives you an advantage over other players, you can use RTX 3070 for years to come (given that you own a 144hz or higher refresh rate screen)
#5 – Do you need 3080 for 1440p?
You might not need 3080 for 1440p resolution when 3070 does the job well at a cheaper price tag, but if you are looking to future proof your system without having trouble upgrading in the near future, then RTX 3080 is a good investment.
#6 – Can 3070 run 4k?
RTX 3070 can run 4K, but in fewer AAA titles, it struggled to give a decent performance at higher graphical settings. However, you can benefit from DLSS 2.0 feature introduced in RTX 3000 series. It helps you maintain higher image quality while at the same time utilizing graphics to show more frame rates. 4k isn’t out of the question for 3070 if you consider tuning down graphics a little and turning on DLSS 2.0, you will enjoy a decent and smoother experience
#7 – Is 3080 ti overkill?
RTX 3080 ti is a successor variant to RTX 3080. If you are using 4K screens, then this card is perfect for your use. It’s not even overkill for 1440p, also it delivers 60+ fps in AAA games at 1440p Max out settings without any huge drops, so for future uses, this is a good investment. However, it is overkill for a 1080p resolution.
#8 – Is RTX 3080 overkill for 1080p?
If you have the budget to afford RTX 3080, then you should consider investing in a new screen first. 1080p is not the intended resolution for RTX 3080 as it will in 1080p games. However, if you are using high refresh rate screens, you will benefit from high fps for years.
#9 – Is i7 good with 3080?
Lower gen i7 CPUs should be avoided at all costs as they will struggle to keep up with RTX 3080 performance, it is a power-hungry card and will cause severe bottlenecks in newer games. However, i7 9th gen and above is fine and highly compatible with RTX 3000 series cards. Use it at resolutions higher than 1080p, and you will low to no bottleneck issues or fps lags.
