RTX 4060 Ti vs GTX 1080 Ti – is it time for a new GPU?
Pascal to Ada, you get a lot of potential power upgrades years on
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If you still have that Pascal card in your PC, you might consider an upgrade. So how does the RTX 4060 Ti vs GTX 1080 Ti compare? It would be an excellent time to go for it with all the benefits and features of the new generation you can get, it would undoubtedly raise the bar and improve your capabilities.
The GTX 1080 Ti was at the top of its range for most gamers as the Titan cards were something else. Coming out in March 2017, it was quite the contender for the choice of the best graphics card at the time. But now with plenty of improvements down the line, the likes of the RTX 4060 Ti can offer a more modern alternative. The new 40-series Nvidia GPU is now widely available, so it’s time to see if moving on to the 40-series is worth it at the mid-range.
RTX 4060 Ti vs GTX 1080 Ti architecture
With a few generations between them, the architecture has certainly evolved down the line. The GTX 1080 Ti was in the Pascal range of graphics cards. Featuring the GP102-350 GPU, made on TSMCs 16nm process, it has a die size of 471mm² with a transistor count of 11.8 billion. Which means it has a density of 25.1M/mm².
Whereas the RTX 4060 Ti comes with two variants, 8GB and 16GB. The processor only changes in model but offers different capacities for your resolution needs. In it, you’ll find either the AD106-350/351 GPU variant. Made with TSMCs 5nm process, it has a die size of 190mm², with a 22.9 billion transistor count as of yet.
Since the RTX 4060 Ti is built on Ada Lovelace architecture, there are plenty of upgrades to talk about. First things first, ray tracing is yet again improved on the 40-series, while the older GTX cards don’t have this compatibility. AI acceleration is another big aspect, with 4th-gen Tensor Cores boosting performance to help out the new DLSS 3.0 feature with AI frame generation for higher framerates.
RTX 4060 Ti vs GTX 1080 Ti specs
| RTX 4060 Ti | GTX 1080 Ti | |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | AD106-350/351 | GP102-350 |
| GPU process | TSMC 5nm | TSMC 16nm |
| CUDA cores | 4,352 | 3,584 |
| Base clock | 2.31GHz | 1.48GHz |
| Boost clock | 2.54GHz | 1.58GHz |
| VRAM | 8/16GB GDDR6 | 11GB GDDR5X |
| Memory clock/bandwidth | 18Gbps / 288GB/s | 11Gbps / 484.4GB/s |
| Memory interface | 128-bit | 352-bit |
| TGP | 160/165W | 250W |
To compare the base specs of the cards, we see the differences in their makeup. Although not all are direct comparisons, it gives us a view into the changes between them.
Processor and cores
The big change in the graphics cards comes with the processor inside of them. The big differences come from the process available at the time in the making of them/ And as you can see, the Ada range has a 5nm process over the 16nm of the Pascal. This means a much larger transistor count in a smaller package that leads to many improvements.
you also get the improvements in efficiency and ability of these cores inside. And since more can fit on the smaller die you can get more cores in the newer card. Also since the 4060 Ti is in the RTX family, you get the ray-tracing capabilities, from the cores introduced. Along with the DLSS ability introduced as well.
Frequency
These cores also run at a particular frequency or clock. This is how fast they process the graphics and instructions. As such having a higher count usually results in better performance but is limited by the silicon capabilities. But as you see these have been improving over time, with the 4060 Ti nearly 1,000MHz faster than the 1080 Ti boost clock. But custom models and overclocked options do vary from the standard options so that changes it too.
VRAM
The video memory on board is also a key factor in the performance. Especially when it comes to the higher resolutions like 1440p and 4K. This is because the buffer has more pixels to store and so requires a bigger capacity and bandwidth to process it well enough.
And even though the 1080 Ti has an older spec of memory, it still is faster with a wider bus. But even still it’s not the biggest factor you can expect to what’s holding back the performance of the card. The 4060 Ti has both 8GB and 16GB variants, so it’s best to opt for the 16GB card on release if you want to more securely enjoy something like 1440p gaming.
TGP
Total Graphical Power is how much energy the card will consume at a maximum. So you can know how much electricity it will consume and what sort of heat it will give off. As such the 4060 Ti has a 90/85W lower rating and so will be much more efficient to run and a lot cooler. Sometimes you’ll see this referred to as TDP (Thermal Design Power), referring to how heat is dealt with on the component. Either way, the RTX 4060 Ti is impressively efficient for it’s performance, making it a good upgrade for low-power systems.
How much cheaper is the 4060 Ti than a 1080 Ti?
The 1080 Ti was released with an MSRP of $699. So you can find the 4060 Ti for $300/200 cheaper, depending on the model of 8 or 16GB. As these come in with an MSRP of $399 and $499 respectively. And if the performance is better, that provides a good value for it. Like we said though, the 1080 Ti is over six years old now, so you can get it for much cheaper second hand. Likewise, many renewed versions are available, but you’ll struggle to find one completely new like the RTX 4060 Ti.
RTX 4060 Ti vs GTX 1080 Ti performance
The GTX 1080 Ti is still a strong contender, although the performance might be a bit degraded this many years on if the card isn’t new. Ranging in performance but averaging above 60 FPS in most titles in TechSpots revisit at 1080p and 1440p, it shows a strong performance to this day alongside the newer cards.
With the RTX 4060 Ti embargo up, we have the benchmarks for the 4060 Ti, in particular, we have TechSpots review to get a look at what it can achieve. And there you have the RTX 4060 Ti achieving 111 FPS on average at 1080p, 78 at 1440p, and 38 at 4K. This does mean it is a good alternative to choose from as it is more modern and has plenty more features available and beats it out on default.
Is the 4060 Ti worth it over the 1080 Ti?
The 4060 Ti is a better performance and more modern option than the 1080 Ti. It beats it out on performance and features available just via the architectural changes, and as such is the better choice for the modern day. Especially since it will be more available in general as well. If you already have a 1080 Ti, you’re probably happy with the amount of time it’s lasted you. Considering this card is over six years old, it has remained a fantastic choice if you saw generations of cards pass by without budging.
However, now could be a good time to upgrade from the old GTX 1080 Ti, especially if you want to jump on board modern features like ray tracing or upscaling. These are kind of upgrades that the Nvidia GeForce RTX cards offer. The 4060 Ti even offers better power consumption levels, so your rig may be good to go in terms of cooling solutions or power supply compatibility.
