Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and AMD Radeon RX 6800XT are currently the most popular graphics cards. Their demand is so high that there is a supply shortage in the market for both GPUs.
They are nearly impossible to get your hands on. However, if they ever get re-stocked, which one you should choose for your PC? Here is a little head-to-head battle between RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT comparing specs, performance, gaming, and benchmarks.
Specs
| RTX 3080 | RX 6800 XT | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 2.0 |
| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |
| Process Size | 8nm | 7nm |
| Transistors | 28.3 billion | 26.8 billion |
| Die Size | 628 mm² | 519 mm² |
| Shading Units | 8704 | 4608 |
| TMUs | 272 | 288 |
| ROPs | 96 | 128 |
| RT Cores | 68 | 72 |
| Base Clock | 1440 MHz | 1825 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1710 MHz | 2250 MHz |
| Memory Size | 10GB | 16GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 320 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 760.3 GB/s | 512.0 GB/s |
| TDP | 320W | 300W |
| Launch Date | September, 2020 | October, 2020 |
| Price | $699 | $649 |
RTX 3080 vs Radeon RX 6800 XT: Gaming Benchmarks
When you look at the specs 6800 XT looks a little better than RTX 3080. However what about the actual gaming performance. Let’s find out by checking both graphics card’s performance in the different high-end video games.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla(4K ultra settings)
RX 6800 XT: 51 fps
RTX 3080: 46 fps
Battlefield V(4K ultra settings)
RX 6800 XT: 101 fps
RTX 3080: 95 fps
Battlefield V(1080p ultra settings)
RX 6800 XT: 229 fps
RTX 3080: 198 fps
Control(4K ultra settings)
RX 6800 XT: 44 fps
RTX 3080: 56 fps
Cyberpunk 2077(1440p high settings)
RX 6800 XT: 71 fps
RTX 3080: 78 fps
DOOM Eternal(4K ultra settings)
RX 6800 XT: 161 fps
RTX 3080: 182 fps
Red Dead Redemption 2(1080p High settings)
RX 6800 XT: 124 fps
RTX 3080: 166 fps
Red Dead Redemption 2(4K High settings)
RX 6800 XT: 55 fps
RTX 3080: 63 fps
15 Best Graphics Video Games in 2021 for High-end Gaming PC
When it comes to gaming both cards are almost similar. RX 6800 XT has slightly better performance in Assassin’s creed Valhalla and battlefield V. on the other hand RTX 3080 is ahead in games like control, cyberpunk 2077, Doom Eternal, and red dead redemption 2. The main reason behind that is the DLSS 2.0. However, keep in mind visuals aren’t that great when DLSS 2.0 is turned on, except when you are using 4K resolution.
If you are playing fps shooter then defiantly use DLSS 2.0 as you will benefit in those games with a higher frame rate. Another thing is the ray-tracing from RX 6800XT looks basic while Nvidia’s ray tracing from RTX 3080 looks absolutely amazing.
Take a look at both cards’ performance in red dead redemption 2. There is something interesting going on here. RX 6800 XT is performing better at 1080p but RTX 3080 is doing better at 4k resolution. This is not just limited to RDR2, We have seen tons of benchmarks where RTX 3080 does better at 4K resolution and for some reason lags behind at 1080p and 1440p.
Temps and power
AMD RX 6800XT is 2.5 slots wide card and the design is almost similar to the last generation graphics card. RTX 3080 is only 2 slots wide and Nvidia went with a new design approach for a 30 series graphics card. They are using dual axial flow-through and a bigger heatsink for better cooling.
However, how much this new Design impacts the temperature? Well, not much really. RTX 3080 goes about 76° C while RX 6800XT goes slightly higher at about 79° C. So there isn’t any crazy difference in temperature between both graphics cards.
What about the power usage? On paper RTX 3080 20W more than RX 6800 XT. That also seems to be the case in reality. RX 6800XT draws about 30-40W less than RTX 3080 under load.
Other Features
Nvidia has its GeForce Experience and AMD offers Radeon Software. They both provide you some really useful features for gaming. For example Anti-lag, Image sharpening from AMD and Reflex, Ansel, Freestyle from Nvidia.
Aside from that they also offer Game optimizations and tools for Live streaming. When it comes to streaming Nvidia has the upper hand with the new broadcast app. It enhances your Video, Audio and helps with noise reduction using AI technology.
RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XTWhich one to buy?
Of course, With better Ray-tracing capabilities, solid performance at 4k, and features like DLSS and broadcast app RTX 3080 is a clear winner.
If you just want 1080p or 1440p gaming without thinking too much of Ray-tracing, RX 6800XT is a better choice. It will give you better performance in most games at that resolution. Additionally, also costs $50 less and drains less power, which is beneficial in the long run.
For those who want 4K gaming and streaming, RTX 3080 is your card. Some high graphics games will really benefit from this GPU, given they are DLSS ready games.
The last suggestion is that you should just pick out any of these two if available. Currently, there is a huge supply shortage going for both graphics cards. And RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT are very similar graphics cards. Yes, they perform better than the other at a different resolution. But look at the performance gap, it’s really not that massive and you won’t be able to tell the difference between the two.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 ti restock updates
Best Gaming Motherboard for Amd Ryzen 7 3700x
