Is the RTX 4080 worth buying in this Holiday Sale?

The RTX 4080 is Nvidia's latest entry in the consumer graphics card space. It is a significant generational leap over the RTX 3080 Ti, which has since been discounted to a much lower price than its launch MSRP.

The 4080 is readily available on store shelves. Nvidia has worked its way around the stock issues and anyone can order a card either online or by walking into their local Microcenter.

However, for an average gamer, the $1,199 price tag might feel too much. Thus, in this story, we will cover whether paying such a ridiculous amount of money for the RTX 4080 16 GB (the only RTX 4080) for now is worth it or if gamers should buy a last-gen GPU and call it a day.

The RTX 4080 is exceptional, but it too high-end for many

Undoubtedly, the 4080 is a high-end graphics card. It is based on a 379 mm² AD103 die, that is based on the 4 nm TSMC process node. The graphics card packs 9,728 CUDA cores, 304 Texture Mapping Units (TMUs), 112 Render Output Units (ROPS), and 76 RT cores.

However, when pitched against the last-gen RTX 3080 Ti, the specs might seem like a step-down.

	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 4080
GPU Name	GA102	AD103
CUDA Core Count	10,240	9,728
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs)	320	304
Render Output Units (ROPs)	112	112
Ray Tracing (RT) Core Count	80	76
Tensor Core Count	320	304
Video Memory Size	12 GB	16 GB
Video Memory Type	GDDR6X	GDDR6X
Video Memory Bus Width	384 bit	256 bit
Base Clock Speed	1365 MHz	2205 MHz
Boost Clock Speed	1665 MHz	2505 MHz
Memory Clock Speed	1188 MHz	1400 MHz
MSRP	US$ 1,119	US$ 1,199

However, gamers should note that the 4080 packs next-generation equivalents of each component. Everything from CUDA cores to RT cores and Tensor cores has improved with the latest iteration of consumer graphics products.

Thus, despite packing slightly fewer cores, the 4080 comes out as a much more powerful GPU in practice.

According to TechPowerUp's GPU computing power aggregates, the RTX 4080 is almost 21% faster than the RTX 3080 Ti, which is about 30% faster than the baseline RTX 3080 from 2020, and about 20% faster than the RTX 3090.

Thus, buyers can be ensured that they will not be disappointed with the performance of this card. However, a big question arises when we compare the value proposition of this GPU to other last-gen alternatives and the 4090, its older sibling.

The RTX 4080 is a shockingly low value-for-money product

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For a $400 knockdown, the 4080 turns out to be around 25% slower than the RTX 4090. That's enough to consider a generational leap. According to TechPowerUp's aggregates, the RTX 3080 was only around 9% slower than the then flagship, the RTX 3090.

Thus, gamers who are hesitant of spending over a thousand dollars on their next gaming GPU can easily opt for either the Radeon RX 6950 XT or the RTX 3080 Ti and call it a day. Both of these GPUs are exceptionally powerful and can handle every modern AAA title at 4K resolution without any hiccups.

It can be safely assumed that the 6950 XT and the 3080 Ti will remain relevant for years to come. If gamers are willing to turn the resolution to 1440p, they can extract more longevity from these GPUs.

AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 7900 XT and the RX 7900 XTX are expected to beat the RTX 4080 by a solid margin at a lower price point. Thus, gamers can choose to wait for those graphics cards.

Creative professionals should consider the RTX 4090 over this card. It offers significantly higher performance for $400 more.

However, this does not alter the fact that the 4080 is a very capable GPU. Gamers who want to experience the latest technologies and breakthroughs in the industry, like frame generation and more, can opt for this GPU.

The 4080 is a generational leap in terms of rasterization and ray tracing performance. Judging from the sheer amount of components and technologies required to power such a behemoth, the price tags might be justified in a good way.