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Nvidia will launch its RTX 4080 16 GB graphics card on November 16, 2022. Unlike previous generations, the 4080 is based on a completely different GPU. While the 4090 uses the top-of-the-line AD102 die, the 4080 is based on a physically smaller and slower AD103 GPU.
Initially, the 4080 lineup was supposed to come with two GPUs. This included the 4080 16 GB model and a cheaper and slower 4080 12 GB. However, Nvidia canceled the latter on Friday. Thus, gamers will see the AD103-based GPU on shelves come November 16.
Nvidia was silent about the performance of the RTX 4080 until recently, when slides showing performance differences between all the new GPUs and gains with DLSS 3 were showcased. The information is not something gamers initially expected.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer
The RTX 4080 16 GB is surprisingly fast
According to the data revealed, the RTX 4080 16 GB graphics card is only slightly slower than the much more expensive and power-hungry RTX 4090. The flagship entry is also physically ginormous, and many users have reported case incompatibility issues.
Benchmarks conducted in Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) reveal that the 4090 achieves 74.7 frames on average with Max settings and DLSS turned off when coupled with a high-end Core i9 12900K and 32 GB RAM. The 4080 16 GB gets very close to the 4090 and achieves 66.4 frames on average. The now-canceled RTX 4080 12 GB is far behind, achieving 52.7 FPS on average.
Turning DLSS 3 on closes the gap between the 4080 and the 4090. While the flagship entry achieves 152.7 frames on average, the 4080 16 GB levels it with 147.3 FPS. This makes the RTX 4080 16 GB only 3.5% slower than the much costlier 4090.
The story flips in a graphics-intensive title like A Plague Tale: Requiem. The RTX 4090 achieves 106.3 frames on average at UHD with ray tracing turned off at Max settings. Meanwhile, the RTX 4080 16 GB lags far behind with only 55.2 frames on average. The 4080 12 GB plays a catch-up game with 42.4 FPS. However, it gets beaten by the RTX 3090 Ti.
Turning on DLSS 3 pushes all three RTX 40 series cards past 100 frames, with the 4080 16 GB achieving 4K 120 FPS on average.
This proves that the graphics cards were getting CPU limited in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The flight sim title is known for being extremely CPU-intensive, a problem that will not plague the upcoming game based in medieval France.
A similar trend continues in Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, a game that was launched on PC earlier this year.
However, the RTX 4080 16 GB is not quite far behind the RTX 4090. Turning on DLSS 3 almost doubles the frame rate to a very playable 4K 175 FPS.
In F1 22, a similar trend continues. The RTX 4080 16 GB is about 28% slower than the RTX 4090 with DLSS 3 turned off. However, with temporal upscaling turned on, the framerate climbs to 143 FPS on average.
Overall, the RTX 4080 is a very capable card for 4K gaming without any compromises at a decent framerate. It is also $400 cheaper than the 4090. Additionally, it is more power-efficient and is physically smaller, which means it will fit in most cases.
All of this makes the RTX 4080 a worthy option to choose over the flagship RTX 4090 in case stock issues strike again or gamers are looking to save some bucks.
