GeForce RTX 3090 vs GTX 1080

Place in the ranking	103	24
Place by popularity	46	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	19.55	14.92
Power efficiency	15.37	13.58
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GP104	GA102
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	27 May 2016 (8 years ago)	1 September 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$599	$1,499

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 1080 has 31% better value for money than RTX 3090.

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	10496
Core clock speed	1607 MHz	1395 MHz
Boost clock speed	1733 MHz	1695 MHz
Number of transistors	7,200 million	28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	180 Watt	350 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	94 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	277.3	556.0
Floating-point processing power	8.873 TFLOPS	35.58 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	112
TMUs	160	328
Tensor Cores	no data	328
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	82

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).

Bus support	PCIe 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	267 mm	336 mm
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	3-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)	500 Watt	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-pin	1x 12-pin
SLI options	+	-

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	GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	24 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	10 GB/s	1219 MHz
Memory bandwidth	320 GB/s	936.2 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	DP 1.42, HDMI 2.0b, DL-DVI	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Multi monitor support	+	no data
HDMI	+	+
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GPU Boost	3.0	no data
VR Ready	+	no data
Ansel	+	no data

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	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.2
CUDA	+	8.5

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 1080 40.35

RTX 3090 69.35
+71.9%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 1080 15548

RTX 3090 26721
+71.9%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 1080 29263

RTX 3090 61518
+110%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 1080 53598

RTX 3090 124350
+132%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 1080 21409

RTX 3090 47241
+121%

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1080 119971

RTX 3090 231612
+93.1%

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GTX 1080 55534

RTX 3090 191323
+245%

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1080 421474

RTX 3090 779348
+84.9%

GeekBench 5 Vulkan

GTX 1080 65367

RTX 3090 178421
+173%

GeekBench 5 CUDA

GTX 1080 51531

RTX 3090 238123
+362%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 maya-04

GTX 1080 141

RTX 3090 300
+114%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 sw-03

GTX 1080 61

RTX 3090 105
+72.2%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 snx-02

GTX 1080 8

RTX 3090 16
+100%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 catia-04

GTX 1080 76

RTX 3090 170
+122%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 creo-01

GTX 1080 54

RTX 3090 93
+71.5%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 mediacal-01

GTX 1080 34

RTX 3090 86
+151%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 showcase-01

GTX 1080 98

RTX 3090 262
+168%

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 energy-01

GTX 1080 9

RTX 3090 26
+198%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD	127 −55.9%	198 +55.9%
1440p	76 −69.7%	129 +69.7%
4K	57 −50.9%	86 +50.9%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	4.72	7.57
1440p	7.88	11.62
4K	10.51	17.43

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

70−75

−192%

207
+192%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	92 −72.8%	159 +72.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	65−70 −65.2%	114 +65.2%
Battlefield 5	145 −53.1%	220−230 +53.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	105 −13.3%	110−120 +13.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 −148%	176 +148%
Far Cry 5	123 +5.1%	110−120 −5.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	135 −25.2%	160−170 +25.2%
Forza Horizon 4	320 +34.5%	230−240 −34.5%
Hitman 3	85−90 −36%	117 +36%
Horizon Zero Dawn	160−170 −51.5%	250−260 +51.5%
Metro Exodus	144 +0%	144 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	114 −14%	130 +14%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	186 −57%	290−300 +57%
Watch Dogs: Legion	130−140 −53.8%	200 +53.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	137 −80.3%	247 +80.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	65−70 −52.2%	105 +52.2%
Battlefield 5	128 −73.4%	220−230 +73.4%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	95 −25.3%	110−120 +25.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 −113%	151 +113%
Far Cry 5	98 −19.4%	110−120 +19.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	105 −61%	160−170 +61%
Forza Horizon 4	291 +22.3%	230−240 −22.3%
Hitman 3	85−90 −36%	117 +36%
Horizon Zero Dawn	160−170 −51.5%	250−260 +51.5%
Metro Exodus	131 −9.9%	144 +9.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	109 −11.9%	120−130 +11.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	140−150 −172%	402 +172%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	152 +2%	140−150 −2%
Watch Dogs: Legion	130−140 −53.1%	199 +53.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	63 −71.4%	108 +71.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	65−70 −31.9%	91 +31.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	71 −67.6%	110−120 +67.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 −88.7%	134 +88.7%
Far Cry 5	75 −56%	110−120 +56%
Forza Horizon 4	112 −93.8%	217 +93.8%
Hitman 3	85−90 −34.9%	116 +34.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn	121 −144%	295 +144%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	140−150 −137%	351 +137%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	81 −123%	181 +123%
Watch Dogs: Legion	130−140 +21.5%	107 −21.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

105

−22.9%

129
+22.9%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	89 −85.4%	160−170 +85.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	74 −48.6%	110−120 +48.6%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	49 −89.8%	93 +89.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	45−50 −75.6%	79 +75.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	51 −58.8%	80−85 +58.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 −191%	93 +191%
Far Cry 5	53 −52.8%	80−85 +52.8%
Forza Horizon 4	282 +4.1%	270−280 −4.1%
Hitman 3	50−55 −121%	115 +121%
Horizon Zero Dawn	92 −153%	233 +153%
Metro Exodus	82 −69.5%	139 +69.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	95−100 −171%	266 +171%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	55−60 −158%	152 +158%
Watch Dogs: Legion	190−200 −4.1%	203 +4.1%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

−56.8%

127
+56.8%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	43 −102%	85−90 +102%
Far Cry New Dawn	39 −76.9%	65−70 +76.9%
Hitman 3	30−35 −152%	83 +152%
Horizon Zero Dawn	180−190 −22.2%	220−230 +22.2%
Metro Exodus	47 −200%	141 +200%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	56 −173%	153 +173%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	33 −112%	70 +112%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27 −128%	57 +128%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	29 −75.9%	50−55 +75.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −229%	46 +229%
Far Cry 5	27 −85.2%	50−55 +85.2%
Forza Horizon 4	65 −135%	153 +135%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	55−60 −189%	159 +189%
Watch Dogs: Legion	21−24 −186%	60 +186%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

−164%

111
+164%

This is how GTX 1080 and RTX 3090 compete in popular games:

RTX 3090 is 56% faster in 1080p
RTX 3090 is 70% faster in 1440p
RTX 3090 is 51% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Forza Horizon 4, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 1080 is 34% faster.
in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 3090 is 229% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 1080 is ahead in 6 tests (8%)
RTX 3090 is ahead in 65 tests (90%)
there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	40.35	69.35
Recency	27 May 2016	1 September 2020
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	24 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	180 Watt	350 Watt

GTX 1080 has 94.4% lower power consumption.

RTX 3090, on the other hand, has a 71.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 200% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 1080 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.