RTX 2080 vs GTX 1080
In this article, we have taken an in-depth look at the differences between the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 and the Nvidia GTX 1080, to help you decide which one is best for you.
With the vast sea of GPUs on the market and the never-ending technological innovations of competing companies, making the decision to upgrade your gaming system is never an easy one.
To help make the process a little easier, we’re going to be taking a look at two Nvidia GPUs, the GTX 1080 from the GeForce 10 series, and the RTX 2080 which is a part of the GeForce 20 series, and deciding which one is the best.
As the 2080 is a direct upgrade to the 1080, it’s to be expected that the RTX will pull ahead in most specifications. But, what we’re going to be focusing on is helping you decide which out of the two is better suited for your needs and whether the improvements of the RTX 2080 is worth the upgrade.
Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the differences between their cooling systems, resolution capabilities, and architectural hardware, not to mention other important details such as the ray-tracing ability. Let’s get straight into it.
Architecture
We’re kicking off this comparison review by taking a look at the architectural differences between the two cards. As you might have expected, as with the newer card, the 2080 RTX has seen some improvements in this specification.
To begin, let’s unpack the architecture of the GTX 1080. As part of Nvidia’s 10 series, the GTX 1080 features Nvidia’s Pascal architecture. This microarchitecture was first introduced in 2014, and the GTX 1080 alongside the 1070, was one of the first graphics cards made with this architecture.
It incorporates 16nm FinFET technologies developed by TSMC, however, this technology was later refined to a 14nm process (by Samsung) which consisted of smaller die designs to encourage a faster overall performance. Unfortunately, the GTX 1080 lacks the upgraded Pascal microarchitecture.
As for the RTX 2080, it consists of Nvidia’s new Turing microarchitecture. The Turing architecture is created using TSMC’s 12nm FinFET semiconductor fabrication process and utilizes an advanced TU102 GPU that consists of 18.6 billion transistors. Alongside these advancements, the RTX platform also allows for additions such as ray-tracing to be accessible in commercial gaming, something that has never been seen before.
Resolution
Out of the two cards, the RTX 2080 will be more efficient at rendering pixels on your screen without any lagging and with more realistic visuals, but that doesn’t mean we can count the 1080 out.
It all comes down to what type of gaming resolution you want to play at. The GTX 1080 is still a pretty decent card for all 1440p and 1080p gaming, however, if you play on a 4K monitor, then the RTX 2080 is much better equipped at meeting your needs.
Cooling
Regardless of the purpose, you want to give your GPU card, one of the most important factors you’ll need to take into consideration is how well the card will be able to keep itself cool, no matter how demanding the workload is.
Despite it being the older card, the GTX 1080 features an impressively efficient vapor chamber cooling technology that is able to dissipate heat to prevent the system from becoming overloaded. As for the RTX 2080, it features dual-axial 13-blades paired with an upgraded vapor chamber which not only helps to keep the GPU card cool but also allows for a quieter performance than the 1080.
The 2080 is also more equipped at overclocking, as it features the next-generation 8-phase power supply, which is something the 1080 lacks. Of course, you can always purchase a separate cooling system, but this will come at an additional cost.
Dimensions
Sure, comparing and contrasting the different specifications between two graphics cards will help you decide which one is the most powerful, but what happens if it doesn’t even fit? Before making your decision, take a moment to make sure that the dimensions line up with your existing PC rig:
The GeForce GTX 1080 takes its power from a 1x 8-pin power connector and has a maximum of 180W. It has one DVI port and one HDMI port, as well as three DisplayPorts. It is connected to the rest of the system via a PCI-Express interface. The dimensions are as follows: 267 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm.
In contrast, the GeForce RTX 2080 is also a dual-slot card and contains one HDMI port, 1 USB Type C port, as well as three DisplayPorts. It draws its power from either a 1x 6-pin or a 1x 8-pin power connector and has a power draw maximum wattage of 215W. The card’s dimensions are as follows: 267 mm x 116 mm x 35 mm, so it is slightly larger than the GTX 1080.
Ray Tracing
The next specification that we’re going to be taking a look at is ray-tracing. If you’re already familiar with Nvidia, then you’ll be aware that their RTX release came with the main selling point of ray-trace enabling.
If you’re not sure what ray-tracing is (or would simply like a knowledge refresh) ray-tracing is the ability to effectively emulate the way that light and shading work in real life. This allows for more realistic and immersive gaming experiences than ever before.
So, with that being said, it is the GeForce 2080 out of the two that has been specifically developed to support ray-tracing. This is because it’s Turing architecture features both RT and Tensor cores that are able to make ray-tracing happen. Though it is technically possible to get ray tracing on your 1080, the results won’t be nearly as impressive as what you would get with the 2080, and the fps will lower significantly.
VRAM
The next specification we’re going to be exploring is the VRAM, which helps to indicate to us the Video RAM capabilities of each card. The memory is important and helps to keep games running smoothly without any lagging, so let’s take a look at the differences between the two below:
The 1080 has 8GB of GDDR5X memory that is connected via a 256-bit memory interface and operates at a frequency of 1607MHz, which can be boosted to 1733MHz. The 2080 has 8GB of GDDR6 memory and uses a 256-bit interface, which operates at a frequency of 1515MHz, and can be boosted to 1710MHz.
So, what does this mean for performance? Well, the GDDR5X’s transfer speed is capable of between 10 to 12 Gbps per second while the GDDR6 is able to get up to anywhere between 14-16 Gbps. The GDDR6 is also a lot more power-efficient, drawing 1.3V during operation compared to the GDDR5X’s 1.5V. Though these differences may seem minor, it means that the RTX 2060 will offer a more efficient and consistent performance over the 1080.
Final Words
So, now that we’ve unpacked the differences between these two cards, which one should you buy? Both offer their own individual benefits and are both powerful in their own right, however, it’s clear that the GeForce RTX 2080 is the superior choice out of the two.
On the other hand, if you already own the 1080 and you’re wondering whether or not to purchase the upgraded 2080, you won’t regret making the switch, especially if you plan on using the card primarily for gaming purposes.