GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs GTX 280
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
RTX 3080 12 GB outperforms GTX 280 by a whopping 1951% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
Place in performance ranking | 734 | 25 |
Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.11 | 46.92 |
Architecture | Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013) | Ampere (2020−2024) |
GPU code name | GT200 | Ampere GA102 |
Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
Release date | 16 June 2008 (16 years ago) | 11 January 2022 (2 years ago) |
Launch price (MSRP) | $649 | $799 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
RTX 3080 12 GB has 42555% better value for money than GTX 280.
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
Pipelines / CUDA cores | 240 | 8960 |
CUDA cores | 240 | no data |
Core clock speed | 602 MHz | no data |
Boost clock speed | no data | 1260 MHz |
Number of transistors | 1,400 million | 28,300 million |
Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 8 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 236 Watt | 350 Watt |
Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
Texture fill rate | 48.16 | 478.8 |
Floating-point performance | 0.6221 gflops | 30.64 gflops |
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).
Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
Length | 267 mm | 285 mm |
Height | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) | no data |
Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin + 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 | GDDR3 | GDDR6X |
Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 12 GB |
Memory bus width | 512 Bit | 384 Bit |
Memory clock speed | 1107 MHz | 1710 MHz |
Memory bandwidth | 141.7 GB/s | 912.4 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 | HDTVDual Link DVI | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |
Multi monitor support | + | no data |
HDMI | - | + |
Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
Shader Model | 4.0 | 6.6 |
OpenGL | 2.1 | 4.6 |
OpenCL | 1.1 | 3.0 |
Vulkan | N/A | 1.3 |
CUDA | + | 8.6 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance 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.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
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 | 8−9
−2200%
| 184
+2200%
|
1440p | 6−7
−1983%
| 125
+1983%
|
4K | 4−5
−1975%
| 83
+1975%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
Cyberpunk 2077 | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 140−150
+0%
|
140−150
+0%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Battlefield 5 | 220−230
+0%
|
220−230
+0%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 160−170
+0%
|
160−170
+0%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 230−240
+0%
|
230−240
+0%
|
Hitman 3 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 250−260
+0%
|
250−260
+0%
|
Metro Exodus | 150−160
+0%
|
150−160
+0%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 290−300
+0%
|
290−300
+0%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 150−160
+0%
|
150−160
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 140−150
+0%
|
140−150
+0%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Battlefield 5 | 220−230
+0%
|
220−230
+0%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 160−170
+0%
|
160−170
+0%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 230−240
+0%
|
230−240
+0%
|
Hitman 3 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 250−260
+0%
|
250−260
+0%
|
Metro Exodus | 150−160
+0%
|
150−160
+0%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 356
+0%
|
356
+0%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 140−150
+0%
|
140−150
+0%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 150−160
+0%
|
150−160
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 140−150
+0%
|
140−150
+0%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 230−240
+0%
|
230−240
+0%
|
Hitman 3 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 263
+0%
|
263
+0%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 314
+0%
|
314
+0%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 165
+0%
|
165
+0%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 95
+0%
|
95
+0%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
Battlefield 5 | 160−170
+0%
|
160−170
+0%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 80−85
+0%
|
80−85
+0%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 85−90
+0%
|
85−90
+0%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 80−85
+0%
|
80−85
+0%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 80−85
+0%
|
80−85
+0%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 270−280
+0%
|
270−280
+0%
|
Hitman 3 | 100−110
+0%
|
100−110
+0%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 206
+0%
|
206
+0%
|
Metro Exodus | 116
+0%
|
116
+0%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 236
+0%
|
236
+0%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 230−240
+0%
|
230−240
+0%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
Battlefield 5 | 85−90
+0%
|
85−90
+0%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
Hitman 3 | 78
+0%
|
78
+0%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 220−230
+0%
|
220−230
+0%
|
Metro Exodus | 100−110
+0%
|
100−110
+0%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 132
+0%
|
132
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 142
+0%
|
142
+0%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 55
+0%
|
55
+0%
|
4K
Epic Preset
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
This is how GTX 280 and RTX 3080 12 GB compete in popular games:
- RTX 3080 12 GB is 2200% faster in 1080p
- RTX 3080 12 GB is 1983% faster in 1440p
- RTX 3080 12 GB is 1975% faster in 4K
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
Performance score | 3.37 | 69.11 |
Recency | 16 June 2008 | 11 January 2022 |
Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 12 GB |
Chip lithography | 65 nm | 8 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 236 Watt | 350 Watt |
GTX 280 has 48.3% lower power consumption.
RTX 3080 12 GB, on the other hand, has a 1950.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 13 years, a 1100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 712.5% more advanced lithography process.
The GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 280 in performance tests.
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.