RTX 5080 vs 3080 vs 2080

With the release of NVIDIA’s 50-Series, we’re all tempted to buy one. The lucky few who already have a 40 Series GPU are already well provided with advice about whether it’s worth making the jump to the newest generation.

However, 40-Series enjoyers do not represent the majority of PC gamers. With a 4080 costing around $1,200, it is unsurprising that most are unable to spend that kind of money. As such, many are still getting their money’s worth with 30 and even 20-Series cards. So, we thought we’d skip the 40-Series today and compare 5080 vs 3080 vs 2080. Let’s go.

Note that we’re comparing the Founder’s Editions of these GPUs today. There are minor performance fluctuations if you get one of these from people like ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte, but not enough to change the overall conclusions, here.

Comparing the video outputs here is interesting, as we see some large changes between the 2080 and the 3080, with a significant shift between the 3080 and the 5080 with support for the latest HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b as well.

HDMI 2.0 vs 2.1b provides some big changes in terms of refresh rate and resolution. HDMI 2.1b supports up to 4K at 480Hz compared to HDMI 2.0's paltry 4K at 60Hz.

DisplayPort 1.4 vs 2.1b also provides a big jump in performance, with 2.1b capable of the same 4K at 480Hz as HDMI 2.1b, with the potential for 8K at 120Hz. That last one is a bit aspirational though, as even the latest GPUs still struggle at 8K with everything running at the best settings, and no one makes 8K displays that users, even prosperous 50-Series owners, can afford.

It's interesting to say that, at least on paper, we see a relatively smooth gradation moving through the years here. The growth in CUDA cores is a victim of diminishing returns, though. The count more than doubled between the 2080 and the 3080, but jumps by only 2000 from the 3080 to the 5080. This is not surprising to long-time PC gaming enthusiasts as huge jumps in performances have largely given way to small incremental bumps.

However, despite how performance has slowed over the years, The big increase in memory capacity has made a noticeable difference. With textures more crisp than ever, and ray tracing growing more and more astounding, memory is becoming more and more vital for GPU performance.

So, if you can comfortably afford it, and are still holding on to a 30 or 20-Series GPU, upgrading will bring a very noticeable improvement to fidelity and FPS. And the jump will be a lot more apparent than it is for those who upgrade year over year. Opening a game you're familiar with after installing a new GPU, after going without an upgrade for years and being able to crank all the settings to their highest is a true pleasure.

Power requirements, as any PC gamer will know, have changed over the years. The 3080 uses a 12-pin connector that superficially resembles the 12V-2x6 / 12VHPWR cable that was introduced with the 40-Series and continues to serve the 50-Series. Luckily the 3080 shipped with an adapter cable that allowed the usual gamut of PSU cables to power the card.

Going back to the 2080, we see a nostalgic combination of 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin. Those content with their 2080 will be able to rest easy as there were fewer confusing standards and questions around reliability back then.

The 5080, however, makes use of the 12V-2x6 cable we mentioned earlier, which has cause come confusion. If you're using one of the latest PSUs, then you are likely to find a native connection, but if you need to use a cable that converts 3x 8-pin connectors to a 12V-2x6, you are also in the clear. CORSAIR PSUs frequently include such a cable in the box.

If your CORSAIR PSU does not, though, you are not out of luck. We sell some snazzy 90-degree 12V-2x6 cables that terminate in the universal 12-2x6 standard, or to Type 4 or Type 5 CORSAIR PSU connections. You can see the different ways to make this connection below.