Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Review: Revolutionizing Gaming with Unbridled Performance
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: A Powerful Graphics Card for Gaming and Beyond
At first glance, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 may not seem like a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080. However, this graphics card is much more than just a minor revision. With its impressive performance, innovative design, and competitive pricing, the RTX 5080 is an excellent choice for gamers, content creators, and anyone looking for a powerful graphics card.
Performance
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is a solid performer, delivering exceptional frame rates in games and applications. Its new PCIe 5.0 interface and GDDR7 VRAM enable it to outperform the RTX 4080 and even the best AMD graphics card, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. In our testing, the RTX 5080 achieved frame rates that were within 12-14% of the RTX 4090’s performance in many games.
Design and Cooling
The RTX 5080’s design is sleek and compact, featuring a slimmer dual-slot profile that makes it easier to fit into your case. The dual flow-through fan cooling solution is effective in managing the extra heat generated by the card’s higher power consumption. Additionally, the 12VHPWR cable connector is still present, although the 3-to-1 8-pin adapter is less cumbersome than its predecessor.
Architecture and Process Node
The RTX 5080 is built on TSMC’s 4nm N4 process node, making it one of the most advanced GPUs on the market. This architecture enables improved performance, power efficiency, and reduced heat generation.
Pricing and Availability
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is priced competitively at $999 / £939 / AU$2,019, making it an excellent value for its performance and features. You’re getting close to RTX 4090 performance for under a grand (or just over two, if you’re in Australia) at MSRP.
Don’t Buy It If…
- You want the absolute best performance possible: While the RTX 5080 is an excellent performer, it doesn’t quite reach the level of the RTX 5090.
- You’re looking for something more affordable: At this price, it’s an approachable premium graphics card, but there are other options available for less.
- You only plan on playing at 1440p: The RTX 5070 Ti is a better option for 1440p gaming.
Also Consider
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: With the release of the RTX 5090, the RTX 4090’s price may drop, making it a more attractive option.
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: If you want the absolute best performance and are willing to pay a premium, the RTX 5090 is the way to go.
How I Tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080
I spent about a week and a half with the RTX 5080, using my complete GPU testing suite to analyze its performance. I tested the card in everyday, gaming, creative, and AI workload usage. Here are the specs on the system I used for testing:
- Motherboard: ASRock Z790i Lightning WiFi
- CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
- CPU Cooler: Gigabyte Auros Waterforce II 360 ICE
- RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR5-6600 (2 x 16GB)
- SSD: Crucial T705
- PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum
- Case: Praxis Wetbench
I also used this card as my primary work GPU for photo editing and design work, while testing out a number of games on it like Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth Wukong, and others.
