Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 assessment: massive expectations, small features

Nvidia’s new RTX 5080 graphics card isn’t as thrilling as I hoped it will be. While the modern new Founders Edition redesign dramatically shrinks the dimensions of the cardboard in comparison with the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super, you’re getting the identical 16GB of VRAM and solely small efficiency enhancements over the earlier era of playing cards.

The RTX 5080, which arrives January thirtieth for $999, is about 15 % sooner than the RTX 4080 at 4K with out the usage of any AI-powered upscaling tips. While the RTX 4080 managed to beat the RTX 3090, and the RTX 3080 dethroned the RTX 2080 Ti, the RTX 5080 isn’t sufficient to topple the RTX 4090. Nvidia has constructed up an expectation that the 80-series card will surpass the earlier era’s flagship, and that’s merely not the case this time round.

The RTX 5080 does comfortably beat its solely competitors at this worth level: the $999 AMD RX Radeon 9700 XTX. That makes the RTX 5080 an excellent card for 4K if you happen to’re keen to drop settings in some video games and extra GPU than you most likely want for 1440p. For meaningfully higher 4K efficiency, you’ll should spend $2,000 on the RTX 5090.

If you’re upgrading to the RTX 5080 from the RTX 3080 or RTX 3080 Ti, count on to see common efficiency features of greater than 50 % at 1440p and 4K. If you need greater than that, you’ll should depend on Nvidia’s new DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen to create extra frames with AI fashions. As we work our manner down the RTX 50-series lineup, it more and more seems like Multi Frame Gen goes to be the principle speaking level.

The RTX 5080 Founders Edition mannequin seems to be an identical to the RTX 5090. It’s dramatically thinner than the RTX 4080 it succeeds, shrinking from a three-slot design down to 2 slots. I actually like this redesign, which incorporates double flowthrough followers that exhaust air above the RTX 5080 into the case as a substitute of out of the highest and again of the cardboard.

Just just like the RTX 5090, Nvidia has barely angled the ability connector on the RTX 5080 so it’s simpler to suit into a wide range of instances. The included dongle, which converts three eight-pin PCIe energy cables to suit the cardboard’s 12VHPWR connector, has barely extra versatile cables than the one which shipped with the 40-series playing cards. You also can ditch the dongle and get a 12V-2×6 or 12VHPWR cable that connects on to your energy provide.

It’s disappointing to see Nvidia has caught with 16GB of VRAM on the RTX 5080. AMD’s RX 7900 XTX provides 24GB, and whereas the RTX 5080 delivers higher efficiency for now, it could properly hit video reminiscence limits in 4K gaming sooner or later.

For each my 4K and 1440p testing, I’ve paired Nvidia’s RTX 5080 with AMD’s newest Ryzen 9 9800X3D processor and Asus’ 32-inch 4K OLED PG32UCDP monitor. I’ve put the RTX 5080 up in opposition to the RTX 5090 — Nvidia’s present flagship — in addition to the RTX 4090, RTX 4080 and 4080 Super, AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and the RTX 3080 Ti from 2021.

Without DLSS or ray tracing enabled, the outcomes are largely constant throughout each 4K and 1440p: the RTX 5080 is about 15 % sooner on common than the 4080 at 4K and 12 % sooner at 1440p. It’s 12 % sooner than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX at 4K and 11 % at 1440p, and it beats the RTX 4080 Super by 11 and 10 %, respectively.

That’s sufficient to make this the perfect $999 graphics card, however by historic requirements, it’s disappointing. I actually needed to see the RTX 5080 beat the RTX 4090, but it surely lags the older card by about 18 %. Maybe it was a giant ask for a $999 GPU to beat a $1,599 last-gen flagship. The $1,199 RTX 4080 was sooner than the $1,499 RTX 3090, however there was solely a $300 hole there, not $600. Still, it’s the primary time in a very long time we’ve had such a paltry enhance in an 80-series card.

Nvidia’s high GPU, the RTX 5090, is 50 % sooner than the RTX 5080 at 4K decision, but it surely’s additionally double the value. That definitely leaves the door open for an RTX 5080 Ti, priced between the 5080 and 5090, that may beat the RTX 4090.

The RTX 5080 makes probably the most sense if you happen to’re upgrading from the RTX 30 sequence or earlier. At 4K, with out DLSS or ray tracing, it’s practically 54 % sooner than the RTX 3080 Ti (56 % at 1440p), and also you’ll additionally have the ability to make full use of DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen if you happen to improve.

DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen

Nvidia claimed the RTX 5080 could be twice as quick because the RTX 4080. For these sorts of numbers, you’ll want to show to DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen.

Nvidia’s new Multi Frame Generation tech makes use of the newest AI graphics fashions, powered by an up to date transformer structure, to generate as much as three extra frames per historically rendered body, pushing the RTX 5080’s body charges past what it’s usually able to at 4K.

Cyberpunk 2077 is the one recreation with official assist for DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen earlier than the RTX 5080’s official launch on January thirtieth. In my testing, I’ve discovered massive body charge will increase at 4K with full ray tracing enabled, with fewer graphical glitches than Nvidia’s earlier frame-generation tech because of the brand new transformer mannequin. Without DLSS 4, Cyberpunk runs at an unplayable 19fps common with extremely settings and full ray tracing. DLSS 4 Multi Frame Gen x4 brings that as much as a much more playable 128fps, but it surely isn’t the identical as a real 128fps.

DLSS Super Resolution — which renders the sport at a decrease decision after which makes use of AI to upscale it — bumps the body charge as much as 38fps. Multi Frame Gen creates the three further frames to get to that 128fps mark. While movement does look smoother, by way of enter latency, it nonetheless seems like a 38fps recreation. Multi Frame Gen is way much less noticeable when the bottom body charge with DLSS Super Resolution is increased than 60fps, so at 4K, you may have to decrease the standard settings to actually see the advantages.

It’s this Multi Frame Gen that lets Nvidia say the RTX 5080 is twice as quick because the RTX 4080, with the previous-gen card managing 62fps on common in Cyberpunk 2077 with full ray tracing and Frame Gen x2. The RTX 5080 greater than doubles this with x4 enabled.

It’s a greater story at 1440p because of increased base body charges. Without DLSS 4, Cyberpunk 2077 averages 39fps at 1440p with full ray tracing and extremely settings. DLSS 4 Multi Frame Gen x4 brings that each one the way in which as much as 225fps. While it’s nonetheless not a real 225fps, it feels so much higher than the 4K equal as a result of DLSS Super Resolution will get the bottom body charge as much as 73fps earlier than Multi Frame Gen kicks in.

This is the best scenario for Multi Frame Gen since you’re getting the movement readability advantages and the sport nonetheless feels extra responsive. It’s clearly not as responsive as 225fps could be with out Multi Frame Gen if you happen to actually dropped the settings, however in a recreation like Cyberpunk 2077, I feel individuals are going to note the movement readability enhancements greater than the enter latency.

When the RTX 5080 launches on January thirtieth, there’ll be a brand new DLSS override function contained in the Nvidia app that permits you to pressure video games to make use of its new Multi Frame Gen and transformer fashions. I haven’t been in a position to check this but, because it’s not out there, but when it really works, it may very well be a good way to enhance DLSS picture high quality and Frame Gen in video games earlier than builders can formally patch them.

I focus most of my GPU testing on gaming — as a result of that’s what GeForce playing cards are designed for — however the RTX 5080 can also be very able to video enhancing or AI workloads. I discovered that the RTX 5080 was practically 10 % sooner than the RTX 4080 in PugetBench’s DaVinci Resolve check, and in Procyon’s AI XL (FP16) check, it was practically 28 % sooner.

Nvidia recommends an 850-watt energy provide for the RTX 5080, which is 100 watts greater than for the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super. The RTX 5080’s whole graphics energy is 40 watts greater than the RTX 4080; it maxes out at 360 watts as a substitute of the large 575-watt energy draw of the RTX 5090.

I’m glad to see that the RTX 5080 doesn’t considerably enhance the ability draw over the earlier era. I solely noticed it hit 360W as soon as, within the Metro Exodus excessive benchmark. Even in Cyberpunk 2077 operating full path tracing and no DLSS, it solely obtained as much as 348 watts.

More impressively, on common, the RTX 5080 drew 278 watts of energy throughout the 9 video games examined with out DLSS or ray tracing. That’s barely lower than the 281-watt common I discovered on the RTX 4080 however 12 watts greater than the RTX 4080 Super.

The RTX 5080 didn’t warmth up excessively in my open bench testing. The highest temperature I recorded was in Metro Exodus, the place it reached 71 levels Celsius (160 levels Fahrenheit). The RTX 4080 reached 68C on this identical check, and the RTX 4080 Super hit a most of 63C.

DLSS 4 is de facto the star of the present to this point with the RTX 50 sequence, however there nonetheless aren’t sufficient video games to check it with. Multi Frame Gen has proven early promise, and it makes much more sense at 1440p in Cyberpunk 2077 on the RTX 5080 than it does at 4K. I’m ready to check extra video games with DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen and even the power to pressure these choices on with the Nvidia app.

The RTX 5080 is the perfect $999 card in the marketplace proper now, beating AMD’s Radeon RX 9700 XTX by a mean of 11 or 12 % throughout the video games I examined, with out DLSS or ray tracing. It’s a major improve over an RTX 30 sequence or earlier, with over 50 % increased body charges than the RTX 3080 Ti, plus entry to the newest Multi Frame Generation approach. The 5080 provides about two-thirds the efficiency of the RTX 5090 for half the value and a bit greater than half the ability draw.

But Nvidia hasn’t delivered the pure efficiency features I used to be anticipating. The RTX 5080 isn’t the cheaper RTX 4090 many had been hoping for. I needed to see a extra significant bump to 4K efficiency than simply 15 % over the RTX 4080 with out DLSS. I’m left questioning whether or not Nvidia will introduce an RTX 5080 Ti down the road and the way shut the upcoming $749 RTX 5070 Ti will get to the RTX 5080.