Is the RTX 3080 12 GB worth it?
Is the 2GB worth the extra cost on top?
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After the launch of RTX 3080, Nvidia released RTX 3080 12 GB. An additional 2GB is added to the video memory, and there is a little increase in the core count. There are not many upgrades on this card. Nvidia launched this card silently in January 2022 without announcing a fixed price.
Apart from the extra 2GB memory, the 12 GB version offers a memory bus of 384 bits. This increases the bandwidth to 912 GB/s, which is considered to be 20% higher compared to the 10GB model. The 3080 12 GB model is quite similar to the RTX 3080 Ti.
Consider the new gen cards with the RTX 4090 releasing soon!
It has the same bus size and memory configuration as the 3080 Ti. Though the upgrade has an improvement, it does not really make a big difference. Most modern games have trouble saturating the bandwidth of 10 GB RTX 3080, even at 4k. Increased bandwidth and memory only matter when the games can reach saturation; for most of the latest games, many areas are not saturated.
The 12 GB model also has some changes in the cores and power. It has almost 3% more cores than the 10 GB model including tensor and ray tracing cores. The 12 GB model also requires an extra 30W power, but this upgrade does not significantly impact the gaming experience.
Regarding the pricing, the cost of the RTX 3080 12 GB is much higher than the 10 GB model, but the gaming performance has not shown any significant difference. Both models perform pretty similarly. According to tests, a few games show an average of 6% improvement at 12 GB in performance, while few show no improvement. The slight improvement is not justifiable according to the high increase in price.
If you want to experience smooth gaming at 4k, you can easily opt for RTX 3080 10GB and save some money to spare. 12 GB RTX 3080 is not worth buying because it is a marginally upgraded GPU with an extremely high price.
