Is the Nvidia Geforce RTX 4080 worth buying in 2023?

The Geforce RTX 4080 is Nvidia's latest launch. It was launched at a premium of $1,199 and has been built for 4K gaming at high framerates without making any compromises. However, following low demand and extreme backlash, the prices have been revised. In many markets, the card sells for slightly less than MSRP.

Considering the prices of the last-gen high-end cards, the RTX 4080 comes off as a solid value for money. Thus, many gamers are considering this GPU over other options from AMD and Nvidia.

However, there are a few more points to note before one can finalize the 4080 for their next build. The differences vary wildly based on the use case of the video card.

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The RTX 4080 is not value for money but it makes sense in a lot of ways

Undeniably, the RTX 4080 is one of the costliest cards money can buy. However, it delivers a solid performance to match its price tag.

It is based on the AD103 GPU, a slightly turned-down version of the largest AD102 found in the RTX 4090.

The card comes with 9,728 CUDA cores, which might look like a downgrade on paper compared to the last-gen RTX 3080 Ti. However, one should note that the 40 series card packs improved CUDA cores in contrast to the last-gen options.

The GPU also packs 304 Texture Mapping Units (TMUs), 112 Render Output Units (ROPs), and a whopping 16 GB of 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory that is based on a 256-bit bus.

Thus, the card is a beast on paper. According to TechPowerUp's GPU performance aggregates, the 4080 is about 21% faster than the last-gen RTX 3080 Ti and takes about 14% lead over the RTX 3090 Ti.

	Nvidia RTX 4080
CUDA core count	9,728
Tensor cores	304
RT cores	76
Base clock	2,205 MHz
Boost clock	2,505 MHz
VRAM	16 GB GDDR6X
VRAM bus width	256 bit
Total board power (TBP)	320 W

However, whether one should buy this $1,200 depends on whether the card will be used for gaming or productivity. While it is true that the RTX 4080 is solid for gaming, AMD has a better option that costs a whole lot cheaper.

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Competitors to the RTX 4080

Users can pick up the Radeon RX 7900 XTX for around $1,000. This card is about 4% faster than the RTX 4080 in terms of specs. The RX 7900 XT is another $100 cheaper than the AMD flagship and is a solid option for many. However, it is about 13% slower than the Nvidia equivalent.

Regardless, creative professionals should stick with Nvidia cards for a bunch of reasons. CUDA outperforms AMD's OpenGL technology consistently across all major software like Premiere Pro, Autodesk Maya, and more.

However, for budding professionals, the AMD cards are a solid option as in no dimension are these cards bad performers in creative software. They might be comparatively weaker than the Nvidia options, but the RX 7900 XTX and the 7900 XT pack some serious rendering prowess and can handle some of the heaviest workloads with ease.

To properly utilize the full power of the RTX 4080, one has to invest in a high-end 4K monitor as well. This will add to the price as well. Thus, users on a budget should avoid the 4080.

Thus, the answer boils down to the pricing and the solid options that the competition has come up with. If one has the budget and the necessity for the video card, the RTX 4080 will not disappoint.