NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 is Team Green's high-end gaming offering in the RTX 50 "Blackwell" GPU lineup, and the successor to the RTX 4080. Here's everything you need to know about the GeForce RTX 5080 Blackwell GeForce GPU, including specs, price, and benchmarks.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU: Blackwell Designed For Enthusiast Gamers!
Check Out Our Top Picks for the Best Graphics Cards of 2025 Here!
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 sits right under the GeForce RTX 5090 as the 2nd fastest graphics card in the RTX 50 Blackwell lineup. The RTX 5080 succeeds the RTX 4080 & RTX 4080 SUPER GPUs, offering a brand new architecture, and more. NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture is used in both data centers and gaming GPUs. The Blackwell GPUs utilize a new custom 5nm process node, particularly the TSMC 4N.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU takes over the Ada-based GeForce RTX 4080 GPU by offering a noticeable performance lead in gaming and general graphical workloads. NVIDIA has been continuing the 80-class cards for generations, and they used to be the fastest GPUs in the entire lineup until the Turing-based RTX 30 series GPUs made an entry, and since then, we have the 90-class GPUs, the fastest in the lineup.
Updated with the new Blackwell GPU architecture, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 GPUs utilize next-gen hardware technologies such as 5th Gen Tensor Cores, new streaming multiprocessor units, and 4th Gen ray tracing cores. The new architecture also supports FP4 algorithms for even faster AI processing capabilities that can be leveraged by technologies such as DLSS 4.
The GeForce RTX 5080 Specifications - 2nd Fastest In The RTX 50 Lineup
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card will be based on the PG144/147-SKU45 PCB and will incorporate the GB203-400-A1 GPU die. This card will utilize the full GB203 GPU die with 84 SMs and 10,752 cores, but that's a 51% reduction compared to the RTX 5090. For comparison, the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 had a -40 percent difference in the number of cores, so the overall performance will vary by a huge margin.
Other than that, the RTX 5080 is also going to feature half the VRAM configuration with a 16 GB capacity running across a 256-bit bus interface while utilizing GDDR7 modules. The graphics card will feature the fastest GDDR7 memory on the market, offering up to 30 Gbps speeds for 960 GB/s of total bandwidth. The graphics card will feature a 360W TBP. This will be a 12.5% increase in the power wall versus the 320W of the RTX 4080 SUPER, but once again, the real-world figures should be very different.
The TBP is simply the peak power that the board can utilize and is not to be compared with actual power consumption, which, when looking at the RTX 40 GPUs, has been lower than the actual wattage rating. The RTX 5080 will feature a single 12V-2x6 connector for its power requirements, as the connector can deliver up to 600W.
RTX 5080 vs RTX 4080 Specs Comparison
When compared to the RTX 4080, the RTX 5080 is a very similar GPU in terms of die size, transistors, and even the core counts. Both the GB203 and AD103 chips are similar, with the underlying architecture being the main difference alongwith the memory subsystem, which has been updated to GDDR7 for Blackwell & is GDDR6X for Ada Lovelace chips. The RTX 5080 also supports the DLSS 4.5 technology with MFG (Up To 6X Mode). The RTX 4080 launched with DLSS 3, got a DLSS 3.5 update, and currently supports the new DLSS 4.5 model but doesn't feature MFG (Multi-Frame Gen) support. So, on a high level, the differences between the RTX 5080 and RTX 4080 are as follows:
- Same 5nm Process Tech (TSMC 4N)
- Similar Amount of Transistors (45.6B vs 45.9B)
- 11% More Cores On RTX 5090
- Same VRAM as RTX 4080
- Same Bus Width as RTX 4080
- 34% Higher Bandwidth on RTX 5090
- 12.5% Higher Power (TBP)
- Lower MSRP ($999 vs $1199)
GeForce RTX 5080 vs RTX 4080 Specs:
| Graphics Card Name | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Name | Blackwell GB203-400 | Ada AD103-400 | Ada AD103-300 |
| GPU SMs | 84 | 80 | 76 |
| GPU Cores | 10752 | 10240 | 9728 |
| Clock Speeds | 2295 MHz (Base) 2617 MHz (Boost) | 2295 MHz (Base) 2550 MHz (Boost) | 2205 MHz (Base) 2505 MHz (Boost) |
| Memory Capacity | 16 GB GDDR7 | 16 GB GDDR6X | 16 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 30 Gbps | 23 Gbps | 22.4 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 960 GB/s | 736 GB/s | 717 GB/s |
| Power Interface | 1 12V-2x6 (16-Pin) | 1 12HPWR (16-Pin) | 1 12HPWR (16-Pin) |
| Launch | 30th Jan, 2025 | 31st Jan, 2024 | 16th Nov, 2022 |
| TBP | 360W | 320W | 320W |
| Price (MSRP) | $999 | $999 | $1199 |
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 - Performance & Review
In our GeForce RTX 5080 review, we found that the graphics card delivers an average of 15% uplift over the RTX 4080, which isn't much considering the RTX 4080 offered around 30-40% gains over the RTX 3080. Sure, most of us were expecting similar gains as we saw from the RTX 4080 (versus the RTX 3080), but NVIDIA is achieving these gains on the same node, so those bigger jumps might have to wait till the next node shrink and architectural update. This 10-15% uplift in performance does lead to higher gaming potential, especially at 4K. The RTX 5080 is going to be a tinier upgrade than the RTX 5090, but it packs the same set of features as the higher-end option.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, in all due respect, is a feat of engineering, both architecturally and in terms of software updates. DLSS4, Neural Shaders, and FP4 for AI, along with upgraded Media and Video engines, are its core points, which will go a long way once proper applications that utilize these features start to roll out.
For those looking for traditional performance uplifts, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 may not be the biggest uplift, offering an average of 12.5% increase in rasterization and a 14% increase in RT & PT-intensive titles. But at the same time, the RTX 5080 is priced at the same $999 as the 4080 SUPER & that's a good thing because if the card had been priced anywhere above this, it would've been a big disappointment.
RTX 5080 vs RTX 4080 4K Benchmarks
There are GPU families like the GTX 10 series and the RTX 40 series, which really spoiled us by bringing impressive and massive generational performance jumps. Well, the RTX 5080 offers a smaller upgrade vs the RTX 4080.
Even with that said, the RTX 5080 is easily positioned as one of the fastest GPU offerings right now for gamers, delivering superb capabilities that allow for faster 4K and high-refresh-rate gaming experiences. With the new DLSS 4 MFG modes, gamers get smoother and fluid performance, while DLSS 4.5 further enhances image quality, and the upcoming MFG 6X mode should enable a 4K 240Hz experience on high-end graphics cards with ease.
4K RT Gaming Benchmarks (Higher is Better)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Pricing
The GeForce RTX 5080 is officially priced at $999 USD. The price is $200 lower than the launch price of the GeForce RTX 4080 and the same as the RTX 4080 SUPER.
The RTX 4080 SUPER was launched at $1000, which was a slight cut versus the original model that retailed for $1199 US. This positions the RTX 5080 as a ultra high-end offering, and the recent DRAM shortages (2/19/2026) have pushed the prices beyond $1500 US.
NVIDIA GeForce GPU Segment/Tier Prices
| Graphics Segment | 2025 | 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019 | 2017-2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan Tier | GeForce RTX 5090 | GeForce RTX 4090 | GeForce RTX 4090 | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GeForce RTX 3090 | GeForce RTX 3090 | Titan RTX (Turing) | Titan V (Volta) | Titan Xp (Pascal) |
| Price | $1999 US | $1599 US | $1599 US | $1999 US $1499 US | $1499 US | $2499 US | $2999 US | $1199 US |
| Ultra Enthusiast Tier | GeForce RTX 5080 | GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER | GeForce RTX 4080 | GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | GeForce GTX 1080 Ti |
| Price | $999 US | $999 US | $1199 US | $1199 US | $1199 US | $999 US | $999 US | $699 US |
| Enthusiast Tier | GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER | GeForce RTX 4070 Ti | GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB | GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB | GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER | GeForce RTX 2080 | GeForce GTX 1080 |
| Price | $749 US | $799 US | $799 US | $799 US | $699 US | $699 US | $699 US | $549 US |
| High-End Tier | GeForce RTX 5070 | GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER GeForce RTX 4070 | GeForce RTX 4070 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GeForce RTX 3070 | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GeForce RTX 3070 | GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER | GeForce RTX 2070 | GeForce GTX 1070 |
| Price | $549 US | $599 $549 | $599 US $499 US | $599 $499 | $599 $499 | $499 US | $499 US | $379 US |
| Mainstream Tier | GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB | GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GeForce RTX 4060 | GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GeForce RTX 4060 | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GeForce RTX 2060 GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER GeForce GTX 1660 | GeForce GTX 1060 | GeForce GTX 1060 |
| Price | $429 US $379 US | $449 $299 | $399 US $299 US | $399 US $329 US | $399 US $329 US | $399 US $349 US $279 US $229 US $219 US | $249 US | $249 US |
| Entry Tier | GeForce RTX 5060 | RTX 3050 8 GB RTX 3050 6 GB | RTX 3050 | RTX 3050 | GTX 1650 SUPER GTX 1650 | GTX 1650 SUPER GTX 1650 | GTX 1050 Ti GTX 1050 | GTX 1050 Ti GTX 1050 |
| Price | $299 | $229 $179 | $249 US | $249 US | $159 US $149 US | $159 US $149 US | $139 US $109 US | $139 US $109 US |
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 - Release Date & Availability
NVIDIA's RTX 50 Blackwell lineup was showcased at CES 2025, and the first cards to get an official retail launch were the GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, both of which hit the stores on January 30th. Since then, the supply has been at conservative levels, with the Founders Edition model being the most scarce SKU of the bunch. In 2026, the RTX 5090 has reached pricing above $3000 US for base models and over $5000 US for premium models due to DRAM shortages. Currently, there's no way of obtaining the RTX 5080 at its $999 US MSRP (writing as of 2/19/2026).
While you are here, you can read one of our many RTX 5080 reviews in the links below:
- ASUS RTX 5080 Noctua OC Edition
- MSI RTX 5080 SUPRIM SOC
- MSI RTX 5080 Expert OC
- MSI RTX 5080 Vanguard SOC
- GALAX RTX 5080 HOF OC
- GALAX RTX 5080 1-Click OC
- Palit RTX 5080 GameRock OC
You can buy the GeForce RTX 5090 on NVIDIA's official marketplace or through these retailers:
FAQ
What CPU is best to pair with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card?
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is one of the fastest graphics cards right now; as such, you will require a very speedy processor to ensure that your GPU isn't bottlenecked. You can check out our recommended processors here.
In short, we advise a fast and latest AMD Ryzen 7/9 (3D V-Cache suitable) or Intel i7/i9 (13th/14th/Series 2) chip for a guaranteed and stable gaming experience.
Should I be worried about using a 16-pin cable/adapter on the RTX 5080?
To answer this one as short as possible, the 16-pin (12V-2x6) connector used on the RTX 5080 is much safer than the previous design. If you have the cable inserted properly, then you shouldn't worry about much, but it is best to ensure that your graphics card is working properly by checking the cable routinely and monitoring the 12V status through any decent hardware monitoring application (such as HWiNFO, etc). The most common signs of 16-pin cables going bad are random monitor flickering, off-colored 16-pin inputs, and the 12V voltages falling below 11.6V. In that case, it's best to get a new cable, and if the problem persists, make sure to get your card replaced under warranty.
Also, there are fewer reports of the RTX 5080 being affected by 16-pin issues since it has a lower power input versus the 500W+ rating of the RTX 5090.
When are RTX 5080 prices going to return to normal?
As of right now, we are in the midst of a serious DRAM shortage, and reports suggest these will last until 2027. So there's no telling when the pricing returns to normal levels, but it is best to check your local retail sites for the best deals on the RTX 5080.
