RX 9070 XT vs RTX 3080 spec and performance comparison – how do they compare?
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AMD’s new mid-range champion, the RX 9070 XT, has blown all of us away with its performance and dealt a serious blow to Team Green as the stock of these Radeon GPUs is out due to the extreme demand even though AMD delivered on its promise of excellent availability on launch. If you want to grab one as soon as they are restocked, we recommend bookmarking our RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 stock tracker.
That being said, we thoroughly tested and reviewed the ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT OC in our testing lab, and it delivered excellent performance and value compared to its competitors’ alternatives. It vastly outperforms the RTX 5070 and could even go toe-to-toe with the RTX 5080 in some instances, but that isn’t the main takeaway.
So, it isn’t surprising that after witnessing such performance, many are wondering how these GPUs compare to the previous GPUs from AMD and Nvidia, and this time around, we'll stack it against the RTX 3080. This is an interesting matchup as the RTX 3080 has two variants, 10GB and 12GB, with varying core counts.
We've reviewed the 10GB RTX 3080 and have the performance benchmarks for both of these cards, so we'll use them to draw an accurate comparison. Here is how the RX 9070 XT stacks against the RTX 3080.
RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 3080 specs comparison
Here’s a quick look at how these two cards stack up side-by-side.
| Specifications | RX 9070 XT | RTX 3080 |
| Compute units | 64 | 68 (8960 / 8704) |
| RT Accelerators | 64 | 68 |
| AI Accelerators | 128 | 272 |
| Peak AI TOPS | 1557 | – |
| Boost clock speed | 2.97 GHz | 1.7 GHZ |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6 | 10/12GB GDDR6X |
| TDP | 304W | 350/320W |
| Connectivity | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Display | DisplayPort 2.1a, HDMI 2.1b | DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.1 |
Performance comparison
The RTX 3080 has solid 4K gaming performance, but so does the RX 9070 XT. So, what it all boils down to is the performance difference between them, and we’ll compare their 4K, 1440p, and synthetic output to draw a clear and accurate comparison.
RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 3080 4K performance
When it comes to the 4K performance of these graphics cards, both have excellent results, but there can only be one winner. The RTX 3080 still holds up today, but the RX 9070 XT is on a whole other level. In Counter-Strike, the RX 9070 XT managed to churn out 110 FPS while the RTX 3080 delivered 333. This is 100% better performance in favor of the latter, but the output of the RX 9070 XT was most likely hindered by a driver or compatibility issues as it delivered a dominating performance compared to other GPUs.
ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT OC Doom Eternal, Image by PC Guide
ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT OC CS2, Image by PC Guide
In Doom Eternal, the RTX 3080 delivered 160 FPS while the RX 9070 XT topped out at 228 FPS, which is 35% better performance. Also, to give you an idea of how well the RX 9070 XT performed, we got 106 FPS with the RTX 5080 FE at 4K, while the 9070 XT managed 98 FPS, a difference of only 7.8%, and in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, we got 96 and 100 FPS, respectively (4% performance difference in favor of the 9070 XT).
RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 3080 1440p performance
Regarding the 1440p performance of these graphics cards, the results remained the same. In Counter-Strike, the RTX 3080 delivered 344 FPS, and the RX 9070 XT closed the gap with 231 FPS, bringing the performance difference to 39%, which is a huge reduction from 100%. However, this seems to be an anomaly, and most likely, the output will be different after a driver or game update.
For Doom Eternal, we saw the RTX 3080 delivering 253 FPS and 182 FPS with ray tracing turned on. The RX 9070 XT was able to easily overcome this with 387 and 249 FPS, respectively. This means that the RX 9070 XT was 41% and 31% better than the 3080. Overall, despite being a mid-range card, the 9070 XT showcased excellent 4K and 1440p performance, punching way above its weight class, and its price makes it the obvious choice for an upgrade.
RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 3080 synthetic performance
There are various software to test the synthetic performance, but we’ll take 3DMark as an example as it has Fire Stike Ultra, which uses DX11, Time Spy Extreme with DX12, and Port Royal, which tests the card’s ability to handle real-time ray tracing. After testing these GPUs, we got the following results.
In Time Spy Extreme, the RX 9070 XT managed 14,275 while the RTX 3080 trailed behind with 8,997 points, putting a difference of 45% between them. On the other hand, in Fire Strike Ultra, we got 17,604 and 11,512, respectively, meaning the 9070 XT is 41% better at rendering 4K frames with DX11.
In Port Royal, the RX 9070 XT got 18,096 points, and the RTX 3080 could only manage 11,638. This is a difference of 43%, which means that the 9070 XT is far better at Ray Tracing than the RTX 3080, which is amazing because Nvidia has always been better at RT than AMD.
Design differences
Cores
The RX 9070 XT and RTX 3080 have 64 and 68 compute units, but Nvidia calls them Streaming Multiprocessors. The 64 CU of the 9070 XT are based on the RDNA 4 architecture, which uses 4nm process nodes and has 4096 Stream Processors.
The RTX 3080 (10GB) has 8704 CUDA cores with 8nm process nodes, which enable it to make quick work of any task you put in front of it. However, since the RX 9070 has reduced the node size by 50%, its cores run more efficiently and deliver better performance.
Memory
Regarding memory capacity, the RX 9070 XT has the edge as it features 16GB GDDR6 VRAM with a 256-bit memory interface width. In contrast, the RTX 3080 (10GB GDDR6X) features a 320-bit memory bus width, giving it a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s compared to the RX 9070 XT's 640 GB/s.
So, both of these GPUs feature excellent memory bandwidth, and despite having fewer VRAM, the memory type and bus width give the 3080 a much higher bandwidth. This means the 3080 should have better performance, but the architecture, higher VRAM, and smaller process nodes all work in favor of RX 9070 XT.
Price
The RX 9070 XT has an MSRP of $599, while the RTX 3080 launched with a $100 higher MSRP of $699. So, the question is, are there new RTX 3080s available for $699, and would it be worth it to invest in a 5-year-old GPU?
We found this MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio on Amazon for $980.46, and the only option for $699.99 was the ASUS TUF RTX 3080 from the Amazon renewed store. So, we recommend waiting for the RX 9070 XT to be restocked, as that is a much better GPU at a lower price point, especially if you can grab one at MSRP.
Verdict
Despite both of these graphics cards delivering great results at 4K, the performance difference between them puts the RX 9070 XT well above the RTX 3080. It also has superior synthetic performance, meaning it is an excellent option for creatives as well and can compete with Nvidia alternatives, which are priced much higher than it.
On top of that, the new iteration of FSR, FSR 4, also aims to deliver much higher quality upscaling and rivals DLSS 4. Overall, AMD has truly outdone itself, and the community got what they wanted: a GPU with excellent performance that doesn’t burn a hole in their pocket. This should prompt Nvidia to think about how they price their GPUs if they want to compete with AMD in the mid-range bracket.
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