The pascal series of graphics cards were some of the best-performing GPUs that Nvidia released. This series was highly acclaimed with its entry-level offering, the GTX 1050 being able to offer users 1080p gaming at a meager cost.
The pascal series of GPUs attained legendary status when the GTX 1080 Ti was released, making 4K gaming possible on a single graphics card.
The pascal successor, dubbed Turing, introduced a new feature known as Ray Tracing; however, it could not make the same impact as pascal.
However, in 2020, when Nvidia released the Ampere lineup of GPUs with the RTX 3080 Tias the flagship models, 1080 Ti owners, for the first time, were given a solid reason to upgrade.
So, here in this article, I am going to make a 3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti comparison to see whether or not upgrading from pascal to ampere is a good option or if you should skip this generation and go directly onto the 4000 series, which were released recently.
Technical Specifications
| GPU Name | RTX 3080 Ti | GTX 1080 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| GPU Cores | 10240 Units | 3584 Units |
| Base Clock | 1365 MHz | 1481 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 1582 MHz |
| Video Memory | 12GB GDDR6X | 11GB GDDR5X |
| Memory Bandwidth | 912.4 GB/s | 484.4 GB/s |
| Bus Width | 384-bit | 352-bit |
| Architecture | Ampere | Pascal |
| Process Size | 8 nm | 16 nm |
| TMUS | 320 | 224 |
| ROPS | 112 | 88 |
| Power Draw | 350W | 250W |
| Recommended PSU | 750W/850W | 600W |
3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti Gaming Benchmarks (1440p Ultra)
The first thing I will discuss today is the gaming benchmarks for the two cards by pitting both of these cards in the latest and greatest titles at 1440p with the settings cranked up to Ultra.
Testing Setup
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K
- MOBO: MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
- RAM: 32GB (2×16) DDR4 3600MHz
- GPU 1: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Gaming 12GB
- GPU 2: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 11GB
- Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB
- PSU: Corsair RM850x White 80PLUS
#1: Cyberpunk 2077
The first game on my list today is Cyberpunk 2077, which is very demanding, having bought many cards to its knees. The GTX 1080 Ti at 1440p Ultra could only run this game at a measly 45 frames per second with a 1% low of 41 frames.
To get a playable experience on this card, the best thing would be to lower the resolution to 1080p, as console-level frame rates are unacceptable when you are from the PC master race.
The 3080 Ti crushes the 1080 Ti in performance as I get double the frame rates, averaging 84 frames per second with a 1% low of 69. This game is reason enough for many to get the newer card.
#2: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed games have some of the best-looking open worlds that tax your hardware like no other. The GTX 1080 Ti once again only hit 53 frames per second on average, with the 1% low at 47 frames per second.
The RTX 3080 Ti, which is undoubtedly the superior card, once again managed to produce superior frame rates with it averaging at 83 frames per second and a 1% low of 74, giving the GTX 1080 Ti one hundred percent delta.
#3: Resident Evil 3 Remake
The Resident Evil 3 Remake is undoubtedly a great game, and one of the things I like the most about it is that it is effortless to run.
This can be observed during my gameplay as the GTX 1080 Ti at 1440p Ultra managed to crank out 120 frames per second on average with a 1% low of 96 frames.
The 3080 Ti maintains its 100 percent delta with 206 frames per second on average, with the 1% low being 169.
#4: Horizon Zero Dawn
The next game I used for testing is Horizon Zero Dawn which was a buggy stutter fest when it was released but has gotten better with patches and updates.
The GTX 1080 Ti could play this game at a very comfortable 68 frames per second on average, with a 1% low of 52 frames per second.
The competing 3080 Ti, on the other hand, crushes its predecessor by producing 114 frames per second on average with a 1% low of 69.
#5: Red Dead Redemption 2
I next tested Red Dead Redemption 2 to put both of these cards through their paces with Arthur riding on his horse in Saint-Denis, one of the most hardware-intensive areas in this game.
The pascal 1080 Ti gave a respectable 58 frames per second on average, with the 1% low being 49 frames per second. Moving to the wilderness, the card, which is where most of this game takes place, the average frame rate jumped to 67.
The 3080 Ti, on the other hand, gave me an average frame of 89 frames per second in Saint-Denis with a 1% low of 68 frames. On average, the frame rate jumped to 101 frames while riding through the wilderness.
3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti: Video Output And Ports
In this section, I will check the ports on the back of both cards to figure out how many monitors can be connected to both cards. The GTX 1080 Ti has 1 HDMI 2.0 port and 3 DisplayPort 1.4a on its back, making it so that you can connect and run four monitors to it simultaneously.
The Ampere 3080 Ti, a successor to the 1080 Ti, also has the same number of ports. There is a single but upgraded HDMI 2.1 port on its back with 3 DisplayPort 1.4a. This card also allows you to run four monitors simultaneously.
3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti: Memory And Clock Speeds
The GTX 1080 Ti was released with 11 GB of GDDR5X ram, which ran on a 352 but memory bus at a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s. The memory clock here is 1376 MHz.
Moving on to the GPU clock speeds here, this card has a base clock of 1481 MHz, boosting to 1582 during intensive tasks. The GTX 1080 Ti has a TDP of 250 watts, with Nvidia suggesting a 600 watts power supply to run efficiently.
The Ampere flagship 3080 Ti has an increased and faster memory variant of 12 GB GDDR6X ram, which runs on a 384-bit bus with a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s.
The memory clock here is 1188 MHz, and the card has a base clock of 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The 3080 Ti has a TDP of 350 watts, with a suggested PSU by Nvidia being at 750 watts.
3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti: Price Comparison
Now let us compare the pricing of both these cards. The GTX 1080 Ti was released at an MSRP of $699, which remained at that price point for a very long. However, now a few generations old, you can get this card at a price point of $300 on the used marketplace.
The newer RTX 3080 Ti was released at an MSRP of $1199, and you could be hardpressed for a very long time to find this at this rate as crypto miners would swoop in and buy them at higher prices.
However, now that Crypto mining is effectively dead with the Ethereum merger and the release of the 4000 series, you can get this card for somewhere in the neighborhood of $800.
3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti: Features And Overall Rating
The GTX 1080 Ti has all the Nvidia bells and whistles; however, it does not support ray tracing and DLSS, which could be a reason to get the 3080 Ti.
However, you can still play the latest and greatest games with the settings cranked at respectable frame rates, as this card still pulls a punch.
You support this card’s latest APIs, like the Direct X 12, Open GL 4.6, Open CL 3.0, Vulkan 1.3, CUDA 6.1, and Shader Model 6.4. This card was dubbed as one of the most legendary cards and could only take something like the 3080 Ti to dethrone it.
The Newer 3080 Ti supports Ray Tracing and DLSS 2.0, making it a great card. This card supports all the latest APIs making it future-proof for many years. This includes DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3.0, Vulkan 1.3, CUDA 8.6, and Shader Model 6.6.
My Final Thoughts On It!
This sums up my comparison between the 3080 Ti and the 1080 Ti. The 1080 Ti was a legendary card, and many people still use it.
This card can still easily play all the games at very high or ultra settings, making many people reluctant to upgrade from it.
However, as the 3080 Ti was released, gamers were, for the first time, given an excuse to upgrade from their beloved 1080 Ti to the 3080, which is an upgrade that makes sense to me.
The 3080 ti has a 100% performance delta over the 1080 Ti, which now in 2022 is enough reason to upgrade from it.
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