
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 debuts alongside the RTX 5090 as part of the latest 50-series lineup. While it initially impresses, its real-world performance gains over the previous generation are less substantial than anticipated.
In some titles, it outperforms the RTX 4080 Super, but in others, it struggles to decisively beat the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The overall performance remains inconsistent, often aligning closely with the RTX 4080 Super rather than surpassing it meaningfully.
The Founder's Edition launches at an MSRP of $999 USD, with partner manufacturers also offering their own versions.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE GOOD
- Price
Despite being a significant investment, the RTX 5080 launches at an MSRP of $999—lower than the RTX 4080’s original launch price. However, securing a card at MSRP may prove challenging depending on availability.
THE BAD
- Performance
While still a powerful GPU, the RTX 5080 fails to deliver a substantial leap over its predecessor or its AMD competition. The inclusion of only 16GB of VRAM is underwhelming for what is positioned as the second-best card in the lineup.
THE REST
- Overall
It offers a modest 10–20% performance increase over the previous gen but does so while consuming roughly 15% more power. The real appeal may lie in the new AI-driven technologies introduced with the 50-series which could justify the upgrade for some users.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on Blackwell architecture. With an intended maximum power of 360W, the card uses a dual-slot, dual flow-through design, ensuring compatibility with most computer cases. Connectivity includes 3 x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs, and 1 x HDMI 2.1b port, supporting up to 4K at 480Hz, or 8K at 165Hz with DSC.
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Front of the box.
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Front of the card.
The GeForce RTX 5080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and NVIDIA G-SYNC, enabling smooth and responsive gaming experiences. It also integrates NVIDIA's DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation. DLSS 4 features like Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction improve image quality and scaling, however older GPUs may see performance drops. Multi Frame Gen is exclusive to the RTX 50 series, generating up to 3 frames every rendered frame with low latency impact, as long as your base frame rate is enough.
Encoding and decoding capabilities are robust, with the 9th Generation Encode and 6th Generation Decoder supporting H.264, H.265/HEVC, and AV1 formats. Additionally, the Blackwell architecture introduces support for 4:2:2 chroma-sampled video encoding and decoding in H.264 and H.265 formats, a feature highly beneficial for professional workflows.
In 1440p gaming, the RTX 5080 delivers an initial strong showing, averaging a 20% lead over the RTX 4080 Super in Cyberpunk 2077. However, when further analyzing other individual game performance, the margins narrow considerably, with the card barely pulling ahead of both the RTX 4080 Super and the RX 7900 XTX in many scenarios. At 4K resolution, the overall performance uplift remains moderate, with an 18% advantage over its predecessor but only a 10% lead over AMD’s RX 7900 XTX.
Ray tracing at high settings could see an impact due to the card’s limited VRAM. In some titles like Alan Wake 2 at 4K, the RTX 5080 runs into VRAM constraints, potentially requiring over 15GB for optimal performance. While the card remains a solid performer in ray-traced games, its gains over the previous generation are a bit less impressive than expected, reinforcing the notion that its real-world advantage is situational rather than universal.
We will periodically retest graphics cards with updated drivers. We continuously monitor and update our results for accuracy. Stay tuned for the latest test results and insights on this product and others as we aim to provide up-to-date information on a consistent basis.
We actively address test bench variance in our evaluation process. Our methodology involves validation and calibration procedures to ensure consistency and reliability across all tests. The verified testbed variance for benchmarks in this product page is +/- 0.25%.
By monitoring and controlling variables such as hardware configurations, ambient temperatures, and system settings, we minimize potential sources of variance that could affect our results. This detailed approach enables us to deliver the most objective and accurate assessments.