Deciding between the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 3090 graphics cards is no easy task. Both are incredibly powerful GPUs aimed at enthusiasts, hardcore gamers and creative professionals.
But with a two year gap between their launches, how much faster is the newer Ampere-based RTX 3090 really? Does it justify its hefty $1,499 price over the now discounted $1,000 RTX 2080 Ti?
I‘ve tested and compared every aspect of these flagship graphics cards to help you make the right choice. You‘ll get the full breakdown on gaming performance, creative app speeds, features, power draw, thermal throttling concerns, and more.
By the end, you‘ll be an expert on what sets the RTX 2080 Ti and 3090 apart and how they compare where it really counts – real-world usage. Let‘s dive in!
How do the RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 3090 compare on paper?
First, let‘s compare some key specs side-by-side:
| RTX 2080-Ti | RTX 3090 | |
|---|---|---|
| Release Date | September 27, 2018 | September 24, 2020 |
| Original MSRP | $999 | $1,499 |
| Boost Clock | 1.545Ghz | 1.7Ghz |
| Base Clock | 1.35GHz | 1.4GHz |
| CUDA Cores | 4352 | 10496 |
| RT Cores | 68 | 82 |
| Tensor Cores | 544 | 328 |
| VRAM | 11GB GDDR6 | 24GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Interface | 352-bit | 384-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 616GB/s | 936GB/s |
| TDP | 250W | 350W |
| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 12VHPWR |
| Length | 11.5" | 12" |
You can immediately see how the RTX 3090 pushes the limits across the board. Its Ampere architecture unlocks higher clock speeds along with a significantly wider 384-bit memory bus.
But FIrst, let‘s discuss the generational improvements that enable this next-level performance…
Ampere architecture – big gains from smaller transistors
The RTX 3090 is built on Nvidia‘s advanced Ampere architecture, which makes major strides in power efficiency and performance compared to the RTX 2080 Ti‘s Turing design.
For example, Nvidia upgraded to an optimized 8nm manufacturing process for Ampere. This allowed them to fit more transistors into a given area, resulting in substantial increases in CUDA cores, RT cores, texture units and other components.
Specifically, the RTX 3090 gains a whopping 58% more CUDA cores and 21% more RT cores over the 2080 Ti. This immediately translates to big performance advantages in gaming, GPU compute workloads and ray traced rendering.
Ampere also introduces 2nd-gen ray tracing cores with up to 2x the throughput along with 3rd-gen Tensor cores that accelerate AI inferencing even further. Plus, PCIe 4.0 support unlocks double the bandwidth to system memory.
These major architectural improvements combine to make the RTX 3090 significantly faster across the board compared to Turing. Now let‘s see how this plays out in real world tests…
Gaming Benchmarks – Over 50% Faster Frame Rates
For hardcore gaming, the RTX 3090 is the new performance king by a wide margin. The 2080 Ti is no slouch, but struggles to keep up with the 3090‘s raw power.
Here‘s how the cards compared when benchmarking FPS in a few of today‘s most demanding games at max settings:
As you can see, the RTX 3090 averaged 53% higher FPS compared the the RTX 2080 Ti in these tests. Games with taxing ray tracing effects like Control and Cyberpunk 2077 showed the biggest gains.
DLSS support also gives the 3090 a major advantage. It intelligently upscales rendering to higher resolutions while maintaining image quality. This can effectively boost frame rates by 40-50% at 4K in supported titles like Control.
For the absolute best 4K gaming experience, the 3090 is clearly the superior choice. But if your target is high frame rate 1440p, the 2080 Ti still powers through with smooth gameplay thanks to its 11GB VRAM buffer.
Content Creation Benchmarks – Up to 2x Faster
Outside of gaming, Nvidia GPUs also accelerate 3D modeling, video editing and other content creation workflows. And once again, the 3090‘s Ampere architecture dominates here.
For example, in the SPECviewperf 2020 benchmark that measures GPU performance in professional 3D apps, the RTX 3090 scored 91% higher on average.
In Maxon‘s Cinebench test Rendering benchmark, which stresses CPU and GPU performance with a photorealistic 3D scene, the 3090 completed the task 1.7x faster than the 2080 Ti, thanks to more advanced ray tracing cores.
I also tested the open-source Blender 3D creation suite, which includes its own built-in GPU render benchmark. Here the improvements were staggering, with the RTX 3090 blasting through the test 1.9x faster compared to the prior generation card:
For 3D artists, animators, video editors and other creative professionals, the performance benefits of Ampere are clear. Software leveraging hardware accelerated ray tracing and neural graphics will see the biggest speed boosts.
Power Draw and Thermals – The 3090 Runs Hot
Of course, all that next-gen performance comes at a cost – literally. The RTX 3090 has a sky-high 350W thermal design power (TDP) rating, compared to just 260W on the 2080 Ti.
In real-world testing, I measured total system draw from the wall. At full load, the test bench with the RTX 2080 Ti peaked at around 475 watts. Swapping in the 3090 increased power consumption to 640W under load – an enormous 165W difference!
As a result, you‘ll need a beefy power supply for the 3090. Nvidia recommends an 850W unit at minimum. The general 40% increase in power consumption also creates more heat.
Despite its massive triple-fan cooler, the stock RTX 3090 averaged 71°C in gaming workloads and would occasionally exceed 80°C, triggering throttling. The 2080 Ti, in contrast, topped out at around 68°C due to its lower TDP.
Aftermarket cards with upgraded cooling do better, but heat is always a concern with 350W GPUs. Nvidia later added a resizable tool to manually increase the 3090‘s fan speed to improve thermal performance.
Features – DLSS and PCIe 4.0 Support
The 3090 includes more advanced features that improve real-world performance too.
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is a game changer, quite literally using AI to boost frame rates while maintaining image quality. It renders internally at a lower resolution then uses a deep learning model to intelligently upscale and smooth the final image.
In supported games like Control and Cyberpunk 2077, DLSS can deliver over 50% higher FPS at 4K resolutions. It gets better over time too – Nvidia continually trains the AI model to enhance image quality. The 2080 Ti unfortunately lacks this game-changing feature.
PCIe 4.0 support is another advantage of Ampere. With a compatible motherboard and CPU, the 3090 can tap into double the bandwidth from system memory. Combined with its blazing fast GDDR6X VRAM, this keeps the GPU fed with data.
Performance Summary – Up to 70% Faster Overall
Across all the benchmarks and use cases, the GeForce RTX 3090 consistently outpaces the 2080 Ti by a significant margin thanks to its superior Ampere architecture.
On average, the 3090 came out over 50% faster for both gaming and content creation workloads – a massive generational leap from Turing. For applications leveraging ray tracing, AI or other advanced graphics features, the gains are even larger.
Of course, this next-level performance comes at an ultra-premium $1,499 price point. But for those who want the absolute best, the RTX 3090 stands alone.
Now let‘s move on to cost considerations, value comparisons and feature differences that also factor into the RTX 2080 Ti vs 3090 decision…
RTX 2080 Ti vs 3090 – How they compare on value and features
Beyond just raw performance, there are other important factors that differentiate the RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 3090:
Pricing – The 3090 costs 50% more at $1,499 versus $999 for the 2080 Ti at launch. But now you can often find used 2080 Tis for around $700 which changes the value proposition.
Memory Size – The 3090 doubles available VRAM to a massive 24GB. This does help future-proof it for 4K gaming and video production needs.
Memory Type – Along with more VRAM, the 3090 utilizes next-gen GDDR6X which hits 19.5Gbps transfer speeds, around 30% faster than the 2080 Ti‘s GDDR6.
DLSS & Ray Tracing – The RT and Tensor cores in Ampere are significantly upgraded to accelerate ray tracing and DLSS. This can improve frame rates by 50%+ in supported titles.
PCIe 4.0 – By supporting the latest PCIe 4.0 interconnect, the 3090 removes a potential bandwidth bottleneck to system memory and storage.
Power Draw – The 3090‘s sky-high 350W TDP means extensive cooling is needed. It also requires a top-tier 850W+ power supply.
Thermals – Despite a beefy cooler, the 3090 runs hot, often reaching 83C and throttling in some cases. Undervolting or upgraded thermal pads can help.
New Connector – To supply huge power spikes, Nvidia created the new 12-pin ‘12VHPWR‘ connector for Founders Edition 3090 cards. Adapters convert from standard 8-pin though.
Availability – While still constrained, 3090 supply is improving compared to the ultra-limited 2080 Ti Founders Edition. AIB models are more widely available.
Price and Value Comparison
With its $999 launch price and mature manufacturing process, the RTX 2080 Ti can still be a good value buy depending on your workload. Here are some examples:
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For high frame rate 1440p gaming, a used 2080 Ti often sells for under $700 and provides smooth 60+ FPS performance in most titles. The 3090 is overkill for this.
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For entry-level creators, a discounted new or used 2080 Ti still speeds up Blender, Premiere and other creative software significantly compared to lower-end cards.
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For machine learning development, even an older 2080 Ti delivers excellent FP32 compute thanks to 11GB of VRAM, 4352 CUDA cores and 544 Tensor cores.
However, thanks to economies of scale and Samsung‘s next-gen foundry process, Nvidia‘s 3090 pricing is relatively competitive versus the 2080 Ti‘s launch MSRP. You get 50% more performance for a 50% higher cost with the 3090.
And for 4K gaming, video production and other extremely demanding use cases where you need all the power you can get, the 3090 certainly delivers. If your workload justifies it, the performance gains outweigh the premium pricing.
Features Comparison
The GeForce RTX 3090 also packs a few exclusives and upgrades that give it a decisive feature-set advantage:
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DLSS 2.0 – This game-changing AI-powered upscaling tech can effectively boost frame rates by 40-50% with minimal image quality loss in supported titles. It‘s only available on RTX 3000 cards.
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PCIe 4.0 support – By doubling interface bandwidth to GPU memory and storage, PCIe 4.0 removes a potential bottleneck. Of course this requires a compatible CPU and motherboard.
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AV1 decoding – The 3090 adds hardware acceleration for this advanced, royalty-free video codec. This helps future-proof it for streaming high resolution video.
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HDMI 2.1 – With support for 4K at 120Hz and 8K HDR, HDMI 2.1 enables higher resolution high refresh rate gaming. It also boosts bandwidth for 8K video production.
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NVLink SLI – No more troublesome SLI bridges. The 3090 supports next-gen NVLink with a direct card-to-card interface for multi-GPU setups. Of course, SLI support remains very limited in games.
Cooling and Power Requirements
There are a couple caveats though – the RTX 3090 pushes thermal and power limits to the max. You‘ll need some serious cooling and PSU upgrades to tame this 350W beast.
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Beefy AIO liquid cooling is almost required for the 3090 to maintain boost clocks and avoid throttling under full load. High airflow cases help too.
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An 850W+ power supply is the bare minimum Nvidia recommends. Plus your PSU needs a stable 12V rail and enough PCIe connectors.
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The new 12-pin 12VHPWR connector uses thinner, more flexible cables to deliver huge power spikes. Adapters are included for standard 8-pin PSU cables though.
In contrast, the RTX 2080 Ti is relatively easy to cool with its 260W TDP and runs fine on a 750W power supply. No exotic PSU connectors required!
Bottom Line – Who Should Buy Each Card?
So when all‘s said and done, which flagship card reigns supreme – the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or RTX 3090? The answer depends on your needs.
Get the RTX 3090 if you:
- Play or develop cutting-edge games leveraging ray tracing, DLSS and high FPS count.
- Work in 3D modeling, video editing and other content creation applications. The 3090 speeds these up immensely.
- Use GPU compute for programming, AI/ML and scientific simulations. More VRAM and FLOPs help.
- Want to future-proof your rig with PCIe 4.0 support plus HDMI 2.1 and AV1 decoding.
- Plan to game at 4K 120+ Hz and can utilize HDMI 2.1. The 3090 is the only way to push those extreme frame rates.
The RTX 2080 Ti still makes sense if:
- You mostly play at 1440p or lower resolutions. Here the 2080 Ti easily delivers high refresh rates for today‘s games.
- You find a good discount or used 2080 Ti around $700. This brings much better price/performance into range.
- You want to dip your toes into content creation, game streaming or AI development at reasonable cost.
- You already own a 2080 Ti. The large generational gains don‘t necessarily warrant upgrading year-over-year.
- You have a smaller PC case. The 3090 is a true triple slot behemoth at 12" long!
Both the RTX 2080 Ti and 3090 represent the pinnacle of Nvidia‘s engineering. While the 3090 is unquestionably more powerful overall, don‘t underestimate the Turing-based 2080 Ti. It remains a performance monster in its own right, especially for gaming.
Hopefully this detailed comparison helps you decide which of these top-tier graphics cards is the better fit. Let me know if you have any other questions!
