Nvidia‘s RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 graphics cards deliver exceptional performance and cutting-edge features for both gaming and creative professionals. But with a $200+ price gap between the GPUs, you may be wondering whether stepping up to the higher-priced RTX 3080 is really worth it.
In this in-depth guide, we‘ll compare the RTX 3070 and 3080 head-to-head across a range gaming, content creation, and synthetic benchmarks. You‘ll get a clear picture of where each excels to help decide which is the best fit for your needs and budget.
RTX 3070 vs 3080 Overview
First, let‘s briefly recap the specs you need to know around the 3070 and 3080:
Nvidia RTX 3070
- 8GB GDDR6 memory
- 256-bit memory interface
- 5888 CUDA cores
- 1.73GHz boost clock
- 220W power consumption
- $499 MSRP, ~$615 current street pricing
Nvidia RTX 3080
- 10GB GDDR6X memory
- 320-bit memory interface
- 8704 CUDA cores
- 1.71GHz boost clock
- 320W power consumption
- $699 MSRP, ~$850 current street pricing
Both cards were announced and released simultaneously in September 2020. They represent a significant generational leap over their predecessors – the 2070 and 2080 respectively.
Key features found in both GPUs include support for:
- Ray tracing – More realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows
- DLSS – Uses AI to boost frame rates and resolution
- 4K and high refresh rate gaming
- HDMI 2.1 – Enables 4K/120Hz gaming
- AV1 decoding – More efficient streaming
Now let‘s see how they compare directly in games, creative apps, streaming, benchmarks, and more.
Gaming Performance
Gaming is where most consumers will spend the majority of their time with these cards. So it‘s critical to analyze gaming benchmarks across top titles at the most common resolutions.
Here‘s a look at average and 99th percentile frame rates in several modern games at 4K and 1440p resolutions:
4K gaming performance (Image: TechPowerUp)
1440p gaming performance (Image: TechPowerUp)
At 3840 x 2160 (4K), the RTX 3080 holds a clear advantage in average and 99th percentile framerates across the board. We‘re looking at over 30% higher average fps in demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption 2. More well optimized esports-focused games like Fortnite show closer parity – but still a 14% lead for the 3080.
The extra memory bandwidth and VRAM afforded by the 3080‘s 320-bit interface and 10GB configuration pays big dividends for 4K gaming. Even though 8GB is sufficient today, having that additional headroom will help boost longevity for higher resolution gaming.
Stepping down to 2560 x 1440 (1440p), the performance gap narrows. Now the RTX 3070 is no slouch, posting well over 60 fps across the board. The 3080 remains ahead but leads drop to between 14-20% in averages.
For pure gaming, the veredict so far is clear:
If gaming at 4K resolution, the RTX 3080 is easily worth the extra money over the more affordable 3070. You‘ll enjoy significantly higher frame rates today and more headroom going forward.
At 1440p, both can easily handle high refresh rates. The 3080 maintains a lead but starts veering more into the "nice to have" territory rather "mandatory" depending on your budget.
Of course, this analysis applies for running at native rendering resolutions. The performance and quality enhancing Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) algorithm levels the playing field more. It renders at lower internal resolutions then uses AI to upscale while avoiding traditional anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering performance hits.
Both GPUs lean on this capability, so when enabled competitive players can push very high frame rates without any perceptible quality loss.
Outside of frame rates, these cards deliver nearly identical gaming experiences. Ray tracing support enables more realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows when enabled in supported titles like Call of Duty and Cyberpunk 2077.
They also include the same Nvidia software features like NVENC for streaming, Reflex for reducing latency, and more. Which leads us into our next section…
Streaming Performance
Live streaming gameplay to platforms like Twitch is hugely popular. And GPUs play an important role in encoding your stream quickly without bogging down your system.
Here Nvidia‘s NVENC encoder shines bright. It focuses encoding tasks on the GPU itself rather than taxing your CPU and system memory.
Both the RTX 3070 and 3080 take full advantage of NVENC encoding. Since GPU usage remains relatively light during most gaming, encoding rarely has any performance impact during play.
Actual stream quality – frame rate, resolution, bitrate – will remain identical between the cards at common settings like 1080p60. Their encoding and compression power far outweigh what platforms like Twitch allow.
For streaming, the RTX 3070 and 3080 deliver effectively equal experiences. The 3070 gives you all encoding capabilities you‘ll actually need. Unless running an extremely demanding setup with multiple PC streams, ultra high FPS gameplay feeds, etc – then the 3080 provides welcome but likely unnecessary overhead.
Content Creation and Productivity Performance
Gaming garners the most attention, but Nvidia‘s RTX cards provide immense value to creative professionals as well. Applications like video editors, 3D modelers, and more are accelerating workloads leveraging the GPU‘s parallel compute capabilities.
Let‘s analyze performance in a popular benchmark used to measure 3D rendering prowess – Blender.
Blender BMW and Classroom benchmarks (Image: TechPowerUp)
The RTX 3080 extends its lead over the 3070 to 40% faster render completions across the intensive BMW and Classroom scenes. For context, its advantage here significantly outpaces the delta in gaming.
Nvidia‘s OptiX rendering engine takes advantage of ray tracing and AI cores on RTX cards to massively accelerate completion times. And the more resources you provide – CUDA cores, memory, bandwidth – directly translates to snappier workflow.
So for serious 3D rendering work, the 3080 is easily worth the added expense over its more affordable sibling. You‘ll finish projets faster and be able to iterate quicker throughout your day.
Video editing and streaming also benefit in premiere programs like Adobe Premiere. Encoding video leverages GPU accelerated effects and codecs for quicker turnaround without taxing your CPU. Once again the 3080‘s additional resources pay dividends – translating to 15-20% faster encode/export times based on Puget systems testing.
If your GPU workload includes content creation, the value-add of the RTX 3080 becomes abundantly clear. You‘ll recoup the incremental cost through productivity gains and time savings.
Synthetic Benchmarks
Let‘s round out the performance head-to-head with a popular synthetic gaming benchmark – 3DMark‘s Time Spy stress test.
3DMark Time Spy gaming benchmark (Image: TechPowerUp)
This intensive benchmark pushes graphics and processor subsystems to measure peak theoretical throughput. It‘s less indicative of real-world experience but useful for quantifying potential and overhead.
The RTX 3080 extends its lead here to 24% faster than the 3070. Yes it costs around 30% more…but it also delivering over 20% additional performance under peak loads during this test. That aligns well to what we saw rendering complex 3D scenes earlier as well.
So in scenarios where you plan to tax the card for extended durations – gaming, rendering, compute workloads – stepping up to the 3080 pays off both now and for some cushion going forward.
Power, Thermals and Cooling
You can benchmark and measure frame rates all day, but ultimately stability and reliability matter greatly too. Especially for systems expected to endure heavy rendering or compute workloads for prolonged periods.
The 3080 requires more juice and heat dissipation thanks its beefier specs – 320W of power and around 10° C hotter average operating temps.
Both GPUs actually remain reasonably cool and quiet with well designed stock cooling solutions. But you‘ll want to take the 3080‘s added thermal load into account either way.
Ensure your PC case has excellent front-to-back airflow to effectively exhaust heat from the 3080. Prioritize mesh front panels and adding additional high CFM fans if needed.
Avoid cramped small form factor builds as they struggle to dissipate 300+ watt heat loads regardless of card size.
You‘ll also want sufficient power overhead from your PSU. Nvidia recommends a 750 watt unit for RTX 3080 configurations. High quality, 80+ Gold certified units can reliably deliver clean persistent power during peaks.
Lastly, utilize GPU software to create intentional power and temperature target caps if concerned about thermals. Undervolting remains incredibly approachable these days as well for additional thermal relief without perceptible performance loss in most titles.
Cost and Value Comparison
We‘ve covered a ton of performance data showing the 3080 commanding leads between 14-40% over the 3070 depending on workload. No surprises – it is the bigger, badder GPU after all!
But bang for buck matters greatly too. Let‘s quantify value by comparing cost per frames-per-second in a popular gaming title like Call of Duty Warzone at native 4K resolution:
- RTX 3070 cost per FPS: $3.15
- RTX 3080 cost per FPS: $3.94
By this simple metric, the 3070 actually leads slightly from a value perspective. But we also determined earlier that the 3080 remains clearly in front if gaming at higher 4K resolutions.
Ultimately neither option appears egregiously over or underpriced compared to the other. The 3080 costs around 30% more but also delivers 20-40% additional performance depending on workload.
At the end of the day, the amount of "value" the RTX 3080 provides over the 3070 comes down to your budget and needs:
- On a strict budget, the 3070 excels at 1440p gaming while still tackling 4K. It remains no slouch in creative applications too thanks to Nvidia‘s software and architecture optimizations carrying down the stack.
- If targeting primarily 4K gaming or production focused workloads, the 3080 easily justifies its higher price through markedly faster creative app performance and smoother high resolution gaming.
Availability and Current Pricing
We‘ve focused exclusively on performance and value comparisons so far. But realistically availability and inflated pricing still plague the GPU market today.
Both GPUs remain difficult to reliably purchase at reputable retailers. Stock sells out nearly instantly when inventory drops.
And sellers on secondary markets continue charging well over list pricing:
- RTX 3070 – Launched at $499 MSRP | Typical eBay cost: $650+
- RTX 3080 – Launched at $699 MSRP | Typical eBay cost: $900+
The best buying strategy is simply tracking stock alerts through tools like Falcodrin and being ready to purchase immediately once available at trusted retailers like Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, etc.
Buying from unauthorized resellers on eBay may fetch you a card quicker but often with little recourse, inflated pricing, and risk of previous cryptomining usage.
If choosing between the two, consider checking used listings for the RTX 3080 at around the RTX 3070 retail price point. Gamers eager to upgrade may offer enticingly discounted used higher tier cards.
Conclusion
Our comprehensive analysis comparing the Nvidia RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 reveals key insights for prospective buyers:
- At 2560 x 1440, both handle gaming and moderate creation work superbly. The RTX 3070 delivers excellent value here striking nearly the ideal price/performance balance.
- For ultra high resolution 4K gaming, the RTX 3080 remains money well spent. It outdistances the 3070 materially while providing additional memory and power overhead.
- Creative professionals focused on video, 3D, compute workloads will recoup their investment choosing the 3080 thanks to markedly snappier app performance and rendering times. You‘ll create even more value speeding up your billable workflows.
- Streamers and competitive multiplayer fans still benefit from superb low latency experiences on either card.
If targeting a high resolution gaming PC build, aspiring creative pro, or just extra budget to maximize longevity, we recommend stretching for the venerable RTX 3080.
But rest assured the RTX 3070 loses nothing from Nvidia‘s flagship technology stack – DLSS, ray tracing, NVENC all included – delivering outsized value to frugal shoppers and 1080p/1440p gamers alike.
You literally can‘t go wrong with either option. Only your individual performance, budget and resolution targets dictate which Turing GPU suits your needs best. Both advance gaming and creation dramatically over previous generation options.
