After wrapping up our review of the RTX 5090 and witnessing its power-hungry performance, it’s time to dive into the GeForce RTX 5080. Positioned right below the flagship, the RTX 5080 aims to deliver high-performance gaming at a more approachable $999 price point. Let’s see how it stacks up.
A Quick Look at the Card
Let’s now talk about the design first. The RTX 5080 Founders Edition that we have here is usually identical to the RTX 5090 Founders Edition. Same design philosophy, and also the same subtle white LED around the middle section of the cooler with the efficient dual-fan blow-through thermal solution. Just like what we mentioned in the RTX 5090, this cooler has excellent thermal performance and a low noise level.
We also have the new longer and flexible 12VHPWR cable included – but instead of a 4 x 8-pin PCIe like the RTX 5090, we now only have a 3×8-pin PCIe connector for the RTX 5080. We’ll talk about the power consumption later.
Base Gaming Performance
Now, it’s time for the performance. We’ll split the performance into two parts – one raster and another ray-tracing without frame generation. We’ve also gathered the data with the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 SUPER for a quick performance comparison.
We also had to redo the RTX 5090 test with the new press driver and noticed better performance in titles that were underperforming previously – so this is going to be kind of like an update to that RTX 5090 review too.
Raster Benchmark
In raster performance, we can see that the new RTX 5080 outperforms both the RTX 4080 and 4080 SUPER in most scenarios, though not by much. In 1080p – I think we should skip this resolution in the future because it’s going to be CPU-bound. I mean, you wouldn’t be gaming on 1080p if you have an RTX 5080.
In 1440p resolution, we can see that the RTX 5080 comes close to the 4090 in certain games, but the difference in GPU capability is still obvious in heavier titles like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. Against the RTX 4080 and 4080 SUPER, the RTX 5080 may be performing better at times but it is still not having a big lead over its predecessors.
In 4K resolution, we can see that the RTX 5080 outperforms both the 4080 and 4080 SUPER by an even larger margin. Seems like the RTX 5080 shines in 4K gaming this time. Once more as a quick mention, the RTX 5090 got an even bigger boost in performance thanks to the new driver.
Ray Tracing Benchmark
Now for the ray tracing performance, I’m just going to show you the charts for 1080p as we’re going to encounter the same CPU-bound bottleneck. While it seems like the RTX 5080 is outperforming both the 4080 and 4080 SUPER by a slight margin and is very close to the RTX 4090, it doesn’t matter much.
Scaling up to 1440P, we can see similar patterns here but the performance gain on the RTX 5080 is more significant now, and we can see it performing closer to the RTX 4090 this time – minus Hogwarts Legacy and Alan Wake 2. It’s looking good for the RTX 5080 so far.
Moving on to 4K resolution. We are hoping for the RTX 5080 to outperform the 4090 – but that’s not going to happen anytime soon according to our data. That aside, looking at the RTX 5080 in isolation, the performance is impressive for this resolution.
Frame Generation and DLSS 4?
While the RTX 5080 is a 4K gaming capable GPU, tackling graphically demanding games like Hogwarts Legacy, Alan Wake 2, or Cyberpunk 2077 with ultra-detailed textures and heavy ray tracing, the RTX 5080 does struggle a bit. This is where NVIDIA’s frame generation technology becomes a game-changer.
The RTX 40 series introduced frame generation with DLSS 3 and 3.5, but the 50 series takes it further with DLSS 4. We now have DLSS 4 which includes the new frame generation multipliers, providing a noticeable advantage in maintaining higher frame rates and smoother gameplay in demanding scenarios.
A standout feature of DLSS 4 is its ability to offer frame generation multipliers like x3 or x4, significantly enhancing performance over what DLSS 3 and DLSS 3.5 could offer. This time, we managed to look into a few more titles that support the new feature, so it’s good to know that game developers are actively working on adopting the features right now.
While not all games have in-game options for these settings, you can adjust them through the NVIDIA App if the game is supported. The app also lets you check compatibility for your titles, ensuring you’re getting the most out of your RTX 5080.
Despite some skepticism around AI-generated frames, we still find the trade-off worth it. The feature is not perfect and will still have artifacts – but way fewer than before. It’s also quite difficult to pinpoint the artifacts unless we’re scrutinizing every frame.
The result is smoother performance and better playability, especially at higher resolutions and demanding settings i.e. ray tracing on ultra preset and path tracing enabled in demanding titles like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077.
Power Draw and Thermals
Regarding power draw, the RTX 5080 is close to the RTX 4080 and 4080 SUPER. Under heavy loads in synthetic benchmarks and games like Cyberpunk 2077, power consumption ranged between 330W to 390W.
As for thermals, I’d say that the RTX 5080 performs admirably. During synthetic benchmarks, the GPU temperature peaked at 75.6°C, with the memory junction reaching 82°C. Gaming sessions yielded slightly lower temperatures, around 72°C for the GPU and 80°C for the memory junction. These results are well within acceptable limits, showcasing the efficiency of NVIDIA’s cooler.
Conclusion
The RTX 5080 is a solid entry in NVIDIA’s RTX 50-series lineup, offering impressive performance and new features. That said, the performance is more nuanced. If we only consider raster performance, the RTX 5080 is more like a beefed-up version of the RTX 4080 SUPER – which might not excite most people.
When we enable DLSS 4 though – which is exclusive for the new Blackwell GPU architecture – then the RTX 5080 will get a much bigger performance boost. The enhanced frame generation features provide a smoother experience, especially in demanding titles. While generated frames aren’t perfect and may introduce minor artifacts, these are barely noticeable during gameplay.
So, should you buy the RTX 5080? At $999, it’s a worthwhile upgrade to this powerful GPU if you come from anything older than the RTX 40 series. If you’re already using the RTX 4080 or 4080 SUPER, then we’d recommend not to upgrade.
