PC {hardware} releases have been slightly uninteresting this previous yr. Certain, there have been a number of thrilling ones, however the majority of launches (very similar to what we’ve got as we speak) have been a bit underwhelming. However do not get us incorrect, we’re massive followers of worth cuts, in order that a part of as we speak’s launch is one thing we’re completely on board with.
However that is all we’ve got as we speak: a worth reduce. And we concern it could be too little, too late.
So, what brings us right here as we speak? It is a clumsy query to ask ourselves, contemplating we have been doing this job for nicely over 20 years.
One would assume that Nvidia’s “new” GeForce RTX 4080 Tremendous is a particular model of the unique RTX 4080. However in actuality, it is primarily the RTX 4080 with a much-needed worth reduce.
The RTX 4080 has been reworked to create the RTX 4080 Tremendous, now that includes the total AB103 silicon. This leads to a slight enhance in core depend together with sooner GDDR6X reminiscence. Technically, the 4080 Tremendous is a brand new product, however as you may see in a second, it isn’t a lot of a change.
The RTX 4080 Tremendous will get a 5% enhance in cores, a 2% frequency enhance, and reminiscence that is clocked 3% larger. General, you possibly can anticipate as much as a 5% enchancment in efficiency, with every part else, reminiscent of VRAM capability, remaining the identical. Earlier this month, we noticed how the RTX 4070 Ti Tremendous’s efficiency uplift was unremarkable, however in comparison with what we’re getting right here, the 4070 Ti Tremendous was sort of an enormous deal.
The extra important change introduced by the RTX 4080 Tremendous is pricing, with Nvidia lowering the MSRP from $1,200 to $1,000. However it’s clear that Nvidia was compelled to make this transfer because the RTX 4080 wasn’t extremely popular on the earlier worth level and mid-way via the product cycle, gross sales have been lackluster.
Is the 17% worth reduce and a minor efficiency bump sufficient to revive the RTX 4080? To seek out out, we’re skipping all the person recreation benchmarks, as the information is tremendous unexciting. As a substitute, we’ll dive into the 12-game common information and study price per body information. So let’s go try this…
Benchmarks
We’ll begin with the 1080p information, as a result of why not, we’ve got it. Although lots of the video games examined have been CPU-limited, it is nonetheless value inspecting. On common, the RTX 4080 Tremendous is 2% sooner than the unique 4080, making it simply 2% slower than the 7900 XTX. Now, let’s transfer on to the 1440p outcomes.
Right here, the 4080 Tremendous is simply 3% sooner than the unique 4080. Nvidia knowledgeable us nicely forward of time to anticipate round a 3% uplift, they usually have been appropriate. In addition they emphasised that this launch is admittedly all in regards to the new $1,000 MSRP.
Lastly, on the 4K decision, the 4080 Tremendous is 4% sooner than the unique 4080. Nevertheless, this implies it was 9% slower than the 7900 XTX and 24% slower than the RTX 4090. For strictly rasterization efficiency, AMD nonetheless has a slight efficiency lead with the 7900 XTX. Now, let’s study ray tracing.
Ray Tracing Benchmarks
Ray tracing efficiency stays a problem for AMD. With a mixture of titles, the 7900 XTX averaged 77 fps at 1440p. This makes the 4080 Tremendous 31% sooner, a considerable efficiency distinction.
Price per Body (1440p Gaming)
Let’s take a look at the MSRP price per body information, primarily based on rasterization efficiency. In comparison with the unique 4080, this new Tremendous model affords 19% higher worth, because of barely improved efficiency and a $200 low cost. As with the opposite Tremendous-refresh fashions, the RTX 4080 Tremendous is admittedly what the 4080 ought to have been when first launched again in late 2022.
Highlighting simply how poor worth the unique 4080 was, and nonetheless is, is the retail pricing information. The 19% enchancment in worth the 4080 Tremendous affords nonetheless locations it in direction of the underside of our graph, nevertheless it no less than matches what the 4070 Ti delivers. This is not splendid, however for a high-end GeForce 40 sequence GPU, it is pretty much as good because it will get.
We weren’t impressed with the 4070 Ti Tremendous, however having now seen the 4080 Tremendous, it does not appear that dangerous. No less than with the 4070 Ti Tremendous, you bought an improve to 16GB of VRAM. For the 4080 Tremendous to match the worth of the 4070 Ti Tremendous, it could must price not more than $940, however there appears to be some premium related to the 4080 sequence branding.
As underwhelming because the $1,000 4080 Tremendous appears to be like right here, it nonetheless manages to outcompete the $980 7900 XTX, regardless of costing 6% extra per body. We are saying this as a result of the extra options of the GeForce GPU, which we’ll focus on later within the video, make the 4080 Tremendous a greater deal in our opinion, with benefits like superior ray tracing efficiency and better high quality upscaling.
Talking of ray tracing, here is a have a look at the fee per body, primarily based on our 10-game common information at 1440p. Beforehand, the 7900 XTX provided comparable worth to the RTX 4080, regardless of being a bit over 20% slower on common. However with the up to date pricing, the 4080 Tremendous is over 20% higher worth than the 7900 XTX. Even the less expensive earlier era Radeon components cannot compete with the 4080 Tremendous right here.
Price per Body (4K Gaming)
Now let us take a look at price per body utilizing the 4K outcomes. Once more, we’ll begin with the MSRP, to see the place issues needs to be and the way these present era fashions evaluate to earlier generations.
At 1440p, we discovered that the 4080 Tremendous was simply 3% extra expensive per body than the 7900 XTX. Now at 4K, the outcomes additional favor the Radeon GPU, because it’s now 9% higher worth. So, no less than relative to the 7900 XTX, the 4080 Tremendous affords higher worth at 1440p.
Then, taking a look at present retail pricing, we see that the 4080 Tremendous is 12% extra expensive per body than the 7900 XTX. For these purely in rasterization efficiency, that is the purpose the place we really feel the Radeon GPU begins to change into a viable possibility, particularly when it is providing greater than a ten% low cost when it comes to price per body.
Tremendous Underwhelming
So there you’ve it, the RTX 4080 Tremendous is 3 to 4% sooner and prices $200 much less. It is a optimistic change, however is it sufficient after 14 months? Even when this had been the RTX 4080 that launched initially, it could have solely been a gentle enchancment over the RTX 3080.
For it to be a real generational uplift, it could have wanted to be priced not more than $800. This explains why the RTX 4080 was poorly obtained upon its launch and finally did not promote nicely. After all, Nvidia’s not too phased, because of the staggering demand for AI GPUs. The corporate actually lucked out when crypto went bust.
Nevertheless, the query stays: Is a $1,000 RTX 4080 a sexy possibility in early 2024? We assume most who wished this degree of efficiency already opted for a 4080 at $1,200 or selected the Radeon 7900 XTX for $1,000. We’re unsure those that have been holding out for one thing higher will likely be swayed by the 4080 Tremendous.
If you’re available in the market for a high-end GPU and your finances can accommodate an RTX 4080 Tremendous or 7900 XTX, which one must you get? For us, the RTX 4080 Tremendous is a simple choose…
However in case you are available in the market for a high-end GPU and your finances can accommodate an RTX 4080 Tremendous or 7900 XTX, which one must you get? For us, the RTX 4080 Tremendous is a simple choose between these two if each are priced at round $1,000.
It is easy sufficient to downplay ray tracing and upscaling as key promoting factors on GeForce GPUs priced at or beneath $500, and we do not imply we exit of our means to take action. Somewhat, they’ve confirmed to be questionable options when checked out in-depth.
Decrease-end GeForce GPUs, reminiscent of these within the RTX 4060 sequence, supply a closely compromised ray tracing expertise, each when it comes to visible high quality and body price efficiency. Furthermore, upscaling does not work very nicely at 1080p; the standard is sort of poor as there merely is not sufficient pixel information to work with.
However for high-end GPUs that may present body charges north of 60 fps whereas making heavy use of ray-traced results in video games reminiscent of Cyberpunk, it turns into a key promoting level, or no less than it may be, relying in your preferences. Likewise, since you’re capable of recreation at 1440p or 4K, upscaling turns into a great tool as it really works significantly higher at larger resolutions and is improbable at 4K.
So, you possibly can lean far more closely on Nvidia’s superior ray tracing efficiency and upscaling high quality when evaluating the RTX 4080 Tremendous to AMD’s Radeon 7900 XTX. Because it stands, the Radeon GPU is simply 10% higher worth primarily based on our 4K rasterized information, which suggests it must drop all the way down to ~$900 at most to change into aggressive (it is already all the way down to $949 as of writing). Even then, many avid gamers will simply justify the $100 distinction to make the most of ray tracing and DLSS.
Will probably be very attention-grabbing to see if AMD is keen to make the much-needed pricing correction there. And that is going to do it for this one. The RTX 4080 now formally prices $1,000, so tell us within the feedback part beneath: Is {that a} whole lot, and has it bought you ?
Procuring Shortcuts:
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Tremendous on Amazon
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX on Amazon
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Tremendous on Amazon
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Tremendous on Amazon
- AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT on Amazon
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti on Amazon
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT on Amazon