RTX 5090 vs RTX 5080
Twice the price for a large but not proportional performance gain, plus double the memory and a 215 W increase in board power. The question is whether the top of the range is a product or a statement.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
$1,999 MSRP · 32 GB · 575 W · index 100 at 1440p
The fastest consumer graphics card on the market and the only one that treats 4K at high refresh rates as routine. It also asks for a 575 W power budget, a large case and flagship money, which is why it only makes sense at the very top of a build.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
$999 MSRP · 16 GB · 360 W · index 74 at 1440p
A capable 4K card with the full RTX 50 feature set at roughly half the price of the flagship. The 16 GB memory pool is the one specification that invites debate at this price point.
Full specification comparison
Every row that can be compared marks a winner. Rows where the two cards match, or where a figure is not published, say so.
| Specification | RTX 5090NVIDIA | RTX 5080NVIDIA |
|---|---|---|
| Price and value | ||
| Launch MSRP | $1,999 | Best in this row: $999 |
| Current priceCompareYourGPU does not publish a price it has not verified. | Check current price | Check current price |
| Performance per $100Performance index at 1440p per $100 of launch MSRP. | 5.0 | Best in this row: 7.4 |
| Performance | ||
| CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here. | Best in this row: 100 | 82 |
| CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here. | Best in this row: 100 | 74 |
| CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here. | Best in this row: 100 | 69 |
| CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here. | Best in this row: 100 | 72 |
| Measured suite average at 1440pThird-party geometric mean across their game suite, run with vendor upscaling at Quality. A different test from the estimated row below, not a check on it. | Best in this row: 142.4 FPS (ComputerBase) | 105.4 FPS (ComputerBase) |
| Estimated FPS at 1440pModelled estimate for a typical modern AAA game at High settings with no upscaling. Not a measurement. | Best in this row: 180-260 FPS | 135-190 FPS |
| Memory | ||
| Best in this row: 32 GB | 16 GB | |
| GDDR7 | GDDR7 | |
| Best in this row: 512-bit | 256-bit | |
| Best in this row: 1,792 GB/s | 960 GB/s | |
| Memory speed | 28 Gbps | Best in this row: 30 Gbps |
| Graphics processor | ||
| Architecture | Blackwell | Blackwell |
| GPU die | GB202 | GB203 |
| Only comparable within one manufacturer. | Best in this row: 21,760 | 10,752 |
| Data unavailable | Data unavailable | |
| Best in this row: 170 | 84 | |
| Best in this row: 680 | 336 | |
| 2,017 MHz | 2,295 MHz | |
| 2,407 MHz | 2,617 MHz | |
| Game clockAMD only. | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Power | ||
| 575 W | Best in this row: 360 W | |
| Vendor figure where published, otherwise board power plus 300 W of headroom. | 1,000 W | Best in this row: 850 W |
| Performance per 100 W | 17.4 | Best in this row: 20.6 |
| Power connectors | 1x 16-pin (12V-2x6) | 1x 16-pin (12V-2x6) |
| Technologies | ||
| 4th-generation RT cores | 4th-generation RT cores | |
| DLSS 4 Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, FSR 3.1, XeSS | DLSS 4 Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, FSR 3.1, XeSS | |
| DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation | DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Video encoder | 9th-generation NVENC with AV1 and HEVC encode | 9th-generation NVENC with AV1 and HEVC encode |
| Video decoder | 6th-generation NVDEC with AV1, HEVC and H.264 decode | 6th-generation NVDEC with AV1, HEVC and H.264 decode |
| Display outputs | ||
| DisplayPort | 3x 2.1b | 3x 2.1b |
| HDMI | 1x 2.1b | 1x 2.1b |
| USB-C | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Length | 304 mm | 304 mm |
| Height from bracket | 137 mm | 137 mm |
| Essentially tied | 2 slots | 2 slots |
| Release | ||
| Launch date | January 30, 2025 | January 30, 2025 |
| Generation | RTX 50 | RTX 50 |
| Availability | In production | In production |
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Winner by category
Each category is decided by the same numbers used everywhere else on the site. A category with no clear leader says so rather than picking one.
The shape of the trade-off
All six axes are normalised to a 0-100 scale so they can share one chart. Performance and ray tracing are CompareYourGPU’s estimated indices; value, VRAM, efficiency and features are each card’s standing relative to every other card tracked here.
- RTX 5090
- RTX 5080
| Criterion | RTX 5090 | RTX 5080 |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 100 | 74 |
| Ray tracing | 100 | 72 |
| Value | 28 | 58 |
| VRAM | 100 | 80 |
| Efficiency | 40 | 65 |
| Features | 100 | 100 |
Performance, memory and value
- 100
- 74
CompareYourGPU estimate aggregated from public review coverage, not a measurement.
- 180-260 FPS
- 135-190 FPS
Modelled from the performance index. Not a measured benchmark. Real results vary widely by title.
Capacity alone is not the whole story: memory bus width and bandwidth decide how much of it the GPU can actually use.
Which one should you buy?
The short version: the RTX 5090 is faster, but the RTX 5080 offers better value at the prices on record. Which of those matters more is the decision.
Highest estimated performance index at 1440p of the cards compared here, at 100. It is the right answer if frame rate is the only thing you are optimising for.
Delivers the most performance per dollar of the cards compared, at $999. Choose this if the difference in price matters more to you than the difference in frame rate.
Strongest ray-traced performance here, with an estimated ray tracing index of 100 at 1440p. It also carries DLSS 4 Super Resolution, which is how ray tracing becomes practical.
Carries 32 GB, the most headroom of the cards compared at 1440p. Memory is usually what dates a card before raw speed does.
Best performance per watt of the cards compared, drawing 360 W. That means less heat, quieter fans and less pressure on your power supply.
Best balance of speed, price and memory of the cards compared: 50% performance at 1440p, 30% performance per dollar, 20% memory headroom. Not necessarily the fastest.
RTX 5090 vs RTX 5080: common questions
Is the RTX 5090 twice as fast as the RTX 5080?
Can I run an RTX 5090 on my current power supply?
Does 32 GB of VRAM matter for gaming?
Where to go next
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