GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q vs GTX 1080 11Gbps
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Pascal (2016−2021) | Ampere (2020−2024) |
| GPU code name | GP104 | GA106 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 20 April 2017 (7 years ago) | 12 January 2021 (3 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $499 | no data |
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 2560 | 3840 |
| Core clock speed | 1607 MHz | 817 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1733 MHz | 1282 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 7,200 million | 13,250 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 16 nm | 8 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 180 Watt | 60 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 277.3 | 153.8 |
| Floating-point processing power | 8.873 TFLOPS | 9.846 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 64 | 48 |
| TMUs | 160 | 120 |
| Tensor Cores | no data | 120 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 30 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Laptop size | no data | large |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Length | 267 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 8-pin | None |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR5X | GDDR6 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 192 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1376 MHz | 1500 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 352.3 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort | No outputs |
| HDMI | + | - |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 6.5 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 2.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 1.2 |
| CUDA | 6.1 | 8.6 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 20 April 2017 | 12 January 2021 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Chip lithography | 16 nm | 8 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 180 Watt | 60 Watt |
GTX 1080 11Gbps has a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount.
RTX 3060 Max-Q, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 200% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 1080 11Gbps and GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that GeForce GTX 1080 11Gbps is a desktop card while GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
