Are you wondering if the Nvidia RTX 4080 is worth buying? The GPU gives many reasons to want it, but there is also the opposite opinion.
The Nvidia RTX 4080 arrived a month after the Nvidia RTX 4090. Based on early reviews, Nvidia 's latest "Lovelace" graphics card is about 30% faster than its predecessor, the Nvidia RTX 3080 , and overall faster than the entire Nvidia RTX 30 series . Like the RTX 4090 , this massive card also features the new DLSS 3, which can exponentially increase frame rates in video games.
But is the Nvidia RTX 4080 worth the $1,199 price tag ? While it certainly offers better performance than previous-generation cards, these improvements may not mean much to those happy with their existing GPU. However, serious PC gamers who want a current-gen Nvidia card but can't afford the $1,599 RTX 4090 could find it useful.
Below, we'll look at the reasons to buy and the reasons to avoid an Nvidia RTX 4080.
More power in the Nvidia RTX 4080
That's a given, but the main reason to buy the Nvidia RTX 4080 is that it's more powerful than its predecessor. Based on independent testing conducted by Tom's Hardware, the Nvidia RTX 4080 is 21% faster than the Nvidia RTX 3090 Ti that was released earlier this year and 51% faster than the RTX 3080.However, as the site notes, it's only 38% faster than the card it replaces, the Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti. The RTX 4080 also offers 78% of the performance of the RTX 4090.
See also: Nvidia RTX Titan Ada canceled after melting PSUs
In terms of gaming performance compared to the 3090 Ti, Tom's Hardware saw a 49% improvement in Total War: Warhammer 3 and a 40% improvement in Forza Horizon 5. Some titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator only saw an 8% improvement.
While these improvements are in line with the improvements seen between the RTX 30 series and its predecessor, they're still impressive — especially if you want to play games at high resolutions and frame rates. The RTX 30 series cards have no problem delivering high-performance gaming, but with an GPU Nvidia RTX 4080 in your system, you'll have more headroom when playing current titles — not to mention you'll have plenty of power to run upcoming titles as well.
DLSS 3
DLSS 3 is arguably the defining feature of the RTX 40 for those with the best gaming monitors that feature high frame rates.
Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) isn't new, but it's gotten a major upgrade with Nvidia's new graphics cards. As with previous versions, DLSS 3 renders frames at a lower resolution and then upscales them to a higher resolution. The machine learning technology then uses data from surrounding frames to create interpolated (extra) frames between existing frames. In turn, this helps boost a game's overall frame rate.
Nvidia released a video showing DLSS 3 in action. With DLSS 3 and ray tracing disabled, the racing game F1 2022 ran at a respectable 65 fps . With DLSS 3 and ray tracing enabled , the frame rate reached an astonishing 172 fps . Nvidia also released a video of Cyberpunk 2077 running at 102 fps with DLSS 3. Considering how the game ran at 23 fps without DLSS 3 enabled, that's a huge jump.
See also: Nvidia: Rumors of GeForce RTX 3060 and 3070 variants
If you were worried about increased latency with DLSS 3, you'll be happy to know that the feature integrates Nvidia Reflex to maintain nominal system latency. According to Nvidia, DLSS 3 can reduce latency by up to twice the native latency. While hardcore competitive gamers probably won't want DLSS 3 enabled during online matches, casual gamers should be able to play titles without much (or any) noticeable latency.
Reasons not to buy the Nvidia RTX 4080
At $1,199 , the RTX 4090 is $400 cheaper than the $1,599 RTX 4090. Still , $1,199 is a huge amount to pay for what is now the standard version of the GPU. The RTX 4080 doesn't even have the "Ti" suffix to denote it as a premium card, but it's priced high enough to be like one.
And while the performance improvements are impressive compared to the RTX 30 series, these last-gen cards are still capable of running graphics-intensive games at high resolutions and frame rates. I don't think there are many people with a strong desire for 8K gaming. The performance improvements won't make much of a difference for most people.
It's very big!
The RTX 4090 has drawn some negative reviews due to its gigantic size. While it's comical to see a GPU that's almost as big as a PS5, it's not so funny anymore if the card can't fit into a small PC tower. Unfortunately, the RTX 4080 is just as big as the RTX 4090.
If you have a fairly large PC tower, then the size of the Nvidia RTX 4080 might not be a problem. But those with smaller towers in their systems won't be able to get any edge unless they get a larger tower.
Overheating problems
As PC Mag and other sites have reported , several users are claiming that faulty cables are melting the connectors on the RTX 4090. The problem apparently stems from the 12VHPWR adapter that comes with the GPU, which channels additional power to the card through a single cable. According to affected users, this adapter can melt the plastic parts of the 16-pin connector. This issue has not been resolved at this time.
We can’t say that the Nvidia RTX 4080 will suffer from this same issue. However, it’s a potential risk that prospective buyers should be aware of. In fact, it might be wise to wait until Nvidia fixes the issue before even considering buying an RTX 40-series GPU. The last thing you want is to spend $1,199 on a GPU that overheats and burns out.
Source: tomsguide.com
