NVIDIA RTX 5080 vs AMD 7900 XTX

If you're looking to upgrade your existing PC or build a new one, your research may have led you to the RTX 5080 and/or 7900 XTX. The two GPUs are both good options to look at, especially for handling the latest game titles. So, how do the two match up against each other?

Based on testing done by popular reviewers, the RTX 5080 leads in most of the benchmarks – especially with Upscaling (DLSS) enabled. The most significant difference we saw was with Black Myth Wukong, which heavily favored the RTX 5080 over the 7900 XTX.

However, the 7900 XTX which still holds up very well in other titles and sometimes manages to maintain a single digit difference - notably Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077.

The pure rasterization (without upscaling FSR) performance of the 7900 XTX is especially impressive and performs well in terms of productivity.

Check out the full reviews over at Gamers Nexus and TechPowerUp.

The RTX 5080 excels in 3D rendering and video editing thanks to its ray-tracing performance. Programs like Blender, which leverage ray tracing for rendering, see significant performance gains on Nvidia cards. The RTX 5080's Tensor cores also prove it to be superior for AI workloads such as machine learning development and any AI-powered tools, which has been implemented into some productivity programs, especially for video editing.

As for the 7900 XTX, its larger VRAM capacity gives the advantage when it comes to tasks that involve working with large datasets, high-resolution video editing, and complex 3D scenes. The pure rasterization performance also takes the edge for any tasks that rely heavily on raw rasterization performance such as CAD, graphic design, and ArchViz.

The software you use is a critical factor. If your workflow relies on applications optimized for CUDA, the RTX 5080 is likely the better choice.

Regardless of whichever GPU you choose, it's highly important you pair it with a proper PSU to appropriately power your whole system and provide sufficient power connectors.

Our RMe Series is a great start for both GPUs, and even has a native 12V-2x6 cable for the 5080. If you'd like a PSU that is easier to connect cables to (for initial install and future additions), our innovative RMx SHIFT Series is the perfect choice with its patent-pending side cable interface. If you're looking for a PSU with top-notch Platinum efficiency and the ability for monitoring PSU performance via iCUE, our HXi Series is suited for that.

Both the RTX 5080 and 7900 XTX are powerful GPUs for gaming, but between the two, the winner is the RTX 5080. The 7900 XTX is still very much a competent GPU however, and holds a place amongst top GPUs. If you're playing games at 1440p or 1080p, the 7900 XTX is a very feasible choice. If you're looking to achieve the highest number of frames out of a budget that could accommodate the RTX 5080, then you'll know which one to choose.

In regard to productivity, it depends on which specific tasks/software you're using the GPU for, but we see a strong use case for either.