Buying a good graphics card can be a confusing decision, especially for those building their first gaming PC. One of the most expensive purchases one can make while building a PC is definitely the GPU, which is why one needs to do a lot of research before pulling the trigger on anyone.
The Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 2070 Super are both great graphics cards and dominate the GPU hierarchy in being the best-performing graphics cards in their respective sections, with the former being high-end while the latter being an upper-tier mid-range GPU.
Maybe you are a new PC builder that wants to choose their first graphics card, or someone that owns a pascal or older GPU and wants to upgrade, or maybe you already own a 2070 Super and are curious whether buying a 3080 Ti is a justified upgrade path.
Whichever category you fall under, you should relax, get yourself something to drink, and read on, as in this 3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super, we will be comparing these GPUs to find out if they are a worth it purchase for you.
Technical Specifications
| GPU Name | RTX 3080 Ti | RTX 2070 Super |
|---|---|---|
| GPU Cores | 10240 Units | 2560 Units |
| Base Clock | 1365 MHz | 1605 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 1770 MHz |
| Video Memory | 12GB GDDR6X | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 912.4 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |
| Bus Width | 384-bit | 256-bit |
| RT Cores | 80 | 40 |
| Tensor Cores | 320 | 320 |
| Architecture | Ampere | Turing |
| Process Size | 8 nm | 12 nm |
| TMUS | 320 | 160 |
| ROPS | 112 | 64 |
| Power Draw | 350W | 215W |
| Recommended PSU | 750W/850W | 550W |
3080 Ti vs 2070 Super: Gaming Benchmarks (1440p Ultra)
Testing Setup:
- CPU: Ryzen 9 5900X
- CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X570-E
- RAM: Ballistix Elite 16 GB DDR4
- GPU #1: EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra
- GPU #2: MSI RTX 2080 Super
- Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB
#1: Battlefield V
The first game on my list today for comparison between the RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 2070 super is Battlefield V. The 3080 Ti at 1440p with Ultra settings ran at a very high frame rate averaging 171 frames per second. The 1% low here recorded was 168 FPS.
The 2070 Super also did a phenomenal job running this game; however, nowhere near the performance of the 3080 Ti. This card churned out an average FPS of 105 with a 1% low of 98 frames per second.
#2: Red Dead Redemption 2
Next up is the legendary western game Red Dead Redemption 2. The game is quite demanding, yet both cards managed to hold their own at Ultra settings at 1440p resolution. The RTX 3080 Ti ran at an average frame rate of 100 frames per second with a 1% low of 95.
The 2070 Super, on the other hand, was almost 50 percent slower than the 3080 Ti, with an average frame rate of 51 frames per second with a 1% low of 45 frames.
#3: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is probably one of the only games in the world that scale the entire earth’s geography, making it highly demanding to run on most setups.
Its demanding nature is reflected in our tests at 1440p as one of the fastest cards in the world, 3080 Ti, could only produce 52 frames per second on average with a 1% low of 40 frames per second.
The 2070 Super was 17% slower in my tests in this game as it could only manage to average at 41 frames per second with a 1% low of 29 frames. For this game to be playable, you should turn some settings to medium, giving you over 60 frames per second.
#4: Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 is and will always remain my favorite game, as it still holds up visually even seven years after its release. Its visual fidelity still amazes me even now.
That is the reason I still use this game as one of the tests for GPUs. The 3080 Ti average frame rate was well into three figures as it churned out 157 frames per second with a 1% low of 150 frames.
The 2070 Super was 44% slower in this game as it could manage 93 frames per second on average, with a 1% low of 86 frames.
#5: Star Wars: Battlefront II
Now onto the game dubbed the “loot box simulator” when it was released in 2017. However, its demanding nature has made it one of my go-to games for testing new and old GPUs.
Anyways the 3080 Ti pulled no sweat while running this game at 1440p ultra settings pulling in 252 frames per second on average with a 1% low of 244.
The 2070 Super averaged around 162 frames per second with a 1% low of 155 frames making it 35% slower than its counterpart.
#6: Destiny 2
The next game on my list is credited to sullying its developers, Bungie’s good name, Destiny 2. The 3080 Ti ran this game at an average frame rate of 177 frames per second with a 1% low of 164.
On average, the 2070 Super could only do 95 frames per second, with a 1% low of 78 frames, making it 57% slower than the 3080 Ti in destiny 2.
3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super: Video Output And Ports
Now, how many monitors can you run out of your 3080 Ti and the 2070 Super? Which is a question I will answer next. It is important to many people, especially streamers and professionals, to run as many monitors as they can from their GPUs, so this question is definitely worth answering.
First off, we have the powerful 3080 Ti, and on inspection, I see that it has a solitary HDMI 2.1 port which is important for people who have older TVs and Monitors. I can also find three DisplayPort 1.4a. So, the 3080 Ti allows us to run four monitors in tandem with each other.
The 2070 Super, however, manages to one-up the 3080 Ti only in this section of the article as it has not only an HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPorts 1.4a but also a USB Type-C port which can also be used as a display connector. This allows us to run 5 Monitors in tandem with the 2070 Super.
The USB Type-C exclusion from the newer models of Nvidia GPUs is a testament; however, the displays requiring Type-C connectors are not that much in vogue.
3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super: Technologies And API Support
The 3080 Ti and the 2070 Super, in terms of supporting APIs and technologies, are almost identical. Both of them support Ray tracing and DLSS. Both support the latest Direct X 12 Ultimate. They also support OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3.0, Vulkan 1.3, and Shader Model 6.6.
The only difference between the two was the CUDA support, as the 3080 Ti supports CUDA 8.6 while the 2070 Super supports CUDA 7.5.
3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super: Clock Speeds And Memory
The 3080 Ti has 12 GBs of GDDR6X memory which runs on a 384-bit memory bus with a memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. The base clock of this card is 1365 MHz which boosts to 1665 MHz while gaming. The memory clock here is 1188 MHz.
The 2070 Super has 8 GB of slower GDDR6 memory running on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 448 GB/s. The memory clock here is 1750 MHz. The base clock speed of this card is 1605 Mhz which boosts to 1770 MHz under load.
3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super: The Architecture
The Architecture of a GPU means the family of graphics cards it belongs to. Architectures are changed from generation to generation, and every new architecture has newer features for the user to play around with. The 3080 Ti belongs to the Ampere architecture of GPUs, the 2nd generation of ray-tracing graphics cards.
There are several features of this architectural improvement, such as better ray tracing capability and DLSS 2.0 here, which improves the performance of games without losing significant visual fidelity.
The 2070 Super, on the other hand, belongs to the Turing architecture of GPUs, which were the First generation Ray tracing-enabled cards.
These cards were revolutionary when they hit the market as the RT cores bough ray tracing to the masses. The first-generation DLSS was also present here.
3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super: TDP
The TDP of a GPU means how much power a graphics card draws from the power outlet to run at its full potential. The TDP differences between architectures do not determine better or lower performance as the 780Ti has a higher TDP than 1060, yet 1060 runs circles around it in performance.
The 3080 Ti has a TDP of 350 Watts, making it a power-hungry card. Nvidia recommends a PSU of 750 watts to run this card.
The 2070 Super, on the other hand, has a TDP of 215 Watts, and a 550 Watts PSU is suggested to run this card. To be safe, many PC gamers and enthusiasts regularly run their cards with PSUs over their suggested PSUs.
3080 Ti Vs 2070 Super: Price Comparison
The GPU pricing was somewhat normalized when writing this article; however, it was not uncommon for both the 3080Ti and the 2070 Super to retail well above their MSRPS.
The 3080 Ti was released at an MSRP of $1199, which is still a price it goes for new in many big box hardware stores. However, if you were to look for one in the used hardware marketplace, you should find one for around $900, which is an excellent price.
The 2070 Super is cheaper than the 3080 Ti and launched at a price tag of $499. I scoured through many forums, used marketplaces, and found many selling for $300 to $400, which I believe is fair for the amount of performance you get out of it.
Top 3 Reasons To Consider Nvidia Rtx 3080 Ti
- The 3080 Ti is an extremely powerful card that can easily play games in 1440P and 4K
- The 3080 Ti is miles better in Ray Tracing performance, and the second generation of DLSS makes games easy to run, even at higher resolutions.
- The 3080Ti will last you a lot longer than the 2070 Super.
Top 3 Reasons To Consider Nvidia 2070 Super
- The price tag of the Nvidia 2070 Super is a lot less than the 3080Ti.
- An excellent 1080p card can last at this resolution for over half a decade.
- The 2070 Super is more efficient than the 3080Ti, and a lesser-watt power supply is required to run it.
My Final Thoughts On It!
The 3080Ti and the 2070 Super is an odd comparison yet important and signifies that both of them have a place in their own tiers that cannot be ignored.
If you are a gamer that games at higher resolutions and wants their eye candy cranked to Ultra, then the 3080Ti is a solid graphics card to own.
On the other hand, if you are happy gaming at 1080P and want your setting sliders also at Ultra, then the 2070 Super is a great GPU for you.
More articles:
- RTX 3080 Ti vs 1080 Ti (Ultimate Comparison)
- 1080 Ti vs 3080 (How Huge is The Difference?)
- RTX 3080 Ti vs RTX 3090
- Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti vs RTX 3070 compared
