GPU Showdown

GeForce RTX 3060vsGeForce RTX 4080

The GeForce RTX 3060 is a solid, budget-friendly card for 1080p gaming, while the RTX 4080 is a high-end beast built for 4K and demanding creative work.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
12 GB · 170W
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
16 GB · 320W
NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 3060

Ampere · TSMC 8 nm · 2021

41score
4.1/ 5
0 votes
VRAM
12 GB
TDP
170W
CUDA Cores
3,584
Boost Clock
1777 MHz

As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases.

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 4080

Ada Lovelace · TSMC 5 nm · 2022

83score
4.2/ 5
0 votes
VRAM
16 GB
TDP
320W
Shaders
9,728
Boost Clock
2505 MHz

As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases.

Aggregate Performance

Overall Performance Score

A unified score from combined synthetic and real-world benchmarks. 100 represents the fastest consumer GPU available.

RTX 3060
41
RTX 4080Winner
83
RTX 4080 leads by 102.4% in aggregate performance.
Where they rank overall
#4RTX 508086
#5RTX 408083
#6RTX 4080 SUPER82
#62TITAN V CEO Edition41
#63RTX 306041
#64RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary40
Technical Specifications

Side-by-Side Specs

Every detail compared. Highlighted cells indicate the leading value for that metric.

SpecsRTX 3060RTX 4080
General
ArchitectureAmpereAda Lovelace
Process Node8 nm5 nm
Memory
VRAM12 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6GDDR6X
Memory Bus192-bit256-bit
Bandwidth360 GB/s716.8 GB/s
Compute
CUDA Cores3,5849,728
TMUs112304
ROPs48112
Boost Clock1777 MHz2505 MHz
FP3212.74 TF48.74 TF
Power
TDP170320
Power Connectors1x 12-pin1x 16-pin
Display
Max Resolution7680×43207680×4320
Display Outputs1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Verdict

Which should you buy?

Winner overall

The GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear winner for high-end gaming and creative work, leaving the RTX 3060 far behind in performance.

Best value

For budget-minded buyers, the GeForce RTX 3060 offers solid 1080p gaming at a much lower cost than the pricier RTX 4080.

When the other wins

The GeForce RTX 3060 is the right choice if you game at 1080p and want to save money, rather than overspending on the RTX 4080's excess power.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is the RTX 3060 better than the RTX 4080?

Overall the RTX 4080 is the stronger graphics card: it ranks higher in our aggregate performance score (83 vs 41 out of 100), so it leads the RTX 3060 in most workloads.

How much faster is the RTX 4080 than the RTX 3060?

Based on our aggregated benchmark scores the RTX 4080 is roughly 102% faster than the RTX 3060 overall. The real-world gap varies by game, resolution and settings.

Which should you buy, the RTX 3060 or the RTX 4080?

If you want the most performance, pick the RTX 4080. If the RTX 3060 is meaningfully cheaper where you shop, it can be the better value for similar real-world results — check current prices and the full spec comparison above before deciding.