How does Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti compare to the RTX 3080? DLSS, specs, and more explained

The Nvidia Geforce RTX 4070 Ti is the latest iteration from the multinational technology company. The 70-class graphics mid-range card brings a massive performance uplift over the last-gen equivalent and is currently available at leading retailers for $799.

For around the same price or a few dollars less, gamers can purchase the RTX 3080. This GPU was launched in 2020 as Team Green's 4K gaming option. The card packs serious rendering prowess and can easily handle every title at this resolution.

Thus, gamers could face confusion between the latest offering in the market and a bargain on the last-gen 80-class graphics card. Let's analyze the choices available in the market and find out which card makes more sense to purchase.

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RTX 4070 Ti is a solid competitor, but how much does it pull ahead of RTX 3080?

The Colorful BattleAX RTX 4070 TI video card (Image via Colorful)

It is well known that the 4070 Ti graphics card was supposed to launch as the RTX 4080 12 GB. However, Nvidia "unlaunched" the 80-class GPU, rebranded the card as the 4070 Ti and introduced it back into the market.

The RTX 4070 Ti is a massive step down from the higher-end RTX 4080, which wipes the last-gen RTX 4080 out of the question. Regarding the on-paper specs, the 4070 Ti might look similar or slightly weaker than the last-gen 80-class GPU.

Buy RTX 4070 Ti from Amazon

	Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti	Nvidia RTX 3080
Graphics processor	AD104	GA102
CUDA core count	7,680	8,704
Tensor cores	240	272
RT cores	80	68
Base clock	2,310 MHz	1,440 MHz
Boost clock	2,610 MHz	1,710 MHz
VRAM	12 GB GDDR6X	10 GB GDDR6X
VRAM bus width	192 bit	320 bit
Total board power (TBP)	285 W	290 W
Price	$799+	$675+

It is worth noting that the RTX 40 series GPU comes with next-gen components that deliver more performance despite having a similar or lesser core count compared to the last-gen offerings.

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Performance differences

In terms of overall performance, the RTX 3080 was a solid option from the last generation. The card could easily beat competitors looking to take the performance crown from Nvidia. The GPU is a solid step up from the RX 6800 XT and almost levels the RX 6900 XT.

However, with the launch of the next-gen RTX 40 series and RX 7000 series cards, the older GPUs are falling apart because of their value propositions. The current-gen cards, meanwhile, have unlocked a new dimension of performance.

High refresh rate gaming at high resolutions like 4K has been normalized, and technologies like frame generation are squeezing more out of the underlying silicon.

Thus, the RTX 3080 comes off as a bad value-for-money product. The newer RTX 4070 Ti is almost as powerful as the RTX 3090 Ti at a much more affordable price tag. TechPowerUp's performance aggregates show that the RTX 40 series' 70-class offering is about 14% faster across a wide range of video games and benchmarks than the last-gen RTX 3080.

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Competition is pulling ahead of Nvidia

The Radeon RX 7900 XT reference card (Image via AMD)

One look at the competition could change the verdict. The RTX 4070 Ti is matched by the Radeon RX 7900 XT, a GPU that costs almost the same or slightly lesser, depending on the add-in card model one opts for.

Although Nvidia wins in some aspects, such as ray tracing and temporal upscaling, AMD cards have significantly improved with the RDNA 3 refresh and feature superior rasterization performance than what Nvidia offers.

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Conclusion

With value proposition, the current-gen cards are wiping the RTX 30 series and RX 6000 series cards out of consideration. However, like the last generation of video cards, AMD wins in this aspect, while Nvidia takes the performance crown with an over-the-top flagship 90-class GPU.