Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Whether you foot theRTX 4080 Superor theRX 7900 XTX , you ’re getting a hefty GPU that ’s capable of seamless gaming at 4K. But which one is better for the money ? There used to bea clear answerto that question when we were only dealing with the RTX 4080 , but the liberation of its Super successor made it a sight less straightforward .
Both the RTX 4080 Super and the RX 7900 XTX are among thebest graphics cardsthat money can buy . While they ’re close in carrying into action , they ’re not incisively the same , and the scale might now be tip in an unexpected focusing .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Pricing and availability
GPU pricesare one of the master intellect why the base manakin of theRTX 4080is one of the least pop card of this generation . When that GPU launch at $ 1,200 , it was almost universally declared to be tremendous value . Nvidia largely fixes that issue with the RTX 4080 Super .
First annunciate on January 8 , the RTX 4080 Super hit the shelves on January 31 , 2024 . It get in as the last of the three nontextual matter cards in the RTX 40 - series Super refresh , observe the successfulRTX 4070 Superand the not - quite - as - superRTX 4070 Ti Super . Although the 4080 Super does n’t wait on up any notable improvement in spec , Nvidia addressed the glaring pricing problem and price it at $ 1,000 .
Meanwhile , AMD ’s RX 7900 XTX has already been around for a while . It formally launched on December 13 , 2022 , with its companion flagship , the RX 7900 XT . The GPU was $ 1,000 at launching . Although it ’s dropped in price a little bit since then , various models linger around the $ 960 to $ 980 range .
It ’s rarified for AMD and Nvidia to have two evenly matched graphics carte that cost exactly the same amount of money , but that is currently the case . However , the RTX 4080 Super might still terminate up being more expensive depending on whether Nvidia ’s add-in partners choose to add a flock extra on top of the MSRP .
Specs
Nvidia and AMD do n’t partake that much in common when it comes to GPU architecture . This intend that comparing any two scorecard on report is tricky . For instance , AMD uses stream processor and compute units , but Nvidia relies on CUDA cores . Although it might look like the RTX 4080 Super has much more compute power than the RX 7900 XTX based on the specs listed above , that ’s not how it works . just put , the graphics card are so different on an architectural level that compare them in this way makes little sense .
Still , some specs are share , and those are easy to match up . AMD ’s RX 7900 XTX has a carload of VRAM , with 24 GB spread across a 384 - bit bus , while the RTX 4080 Super is limited to 16 GB and a 256 - fleck interface . However , Nvidia ’s posting use firm GDDR6X store , deliver a higher bandwidth as a final result . It ’s also clock a little bit higher . astonishingly , the RTX 4080 Super also consumes less world power .
The RX 7900 XTX is a testament to AMD ’s phylogenetic relation for decking out its GPUs with more video computer memory . After all , this amount of VRAM pock it against theRTX 4090 . However , using GDDR6 alternatively of GDDR6X makes it comparable to the RTX 4080 Super for gambling use .
Another interesting difference between the two cards refer their connectivity . AMD already plump for DisplayPort 2.1 in RDNA 3 , but Nvidia sticks to DisplayPort 1.4a ( although it ’s bruit to support the next iteration inRTX 50 - series ) . While this is n’t an issue now , it might be a meek disappointment if DisplayPort 2.1 becomes more widespread over the next few years .
We ca n’t list these glasses without sharing how they rival up against the al-Qaeda RTX 4080 . The gains for Nvidia ’s new GPU are negligible , with a tiny bump in cores that maxes out the AD103 GPU and a small-scale addition in memory speed . Everything else is the same .
Performance
We already tested the RX 7900 XTX extensively upon its release and matched it up against the RTX 4080 . Over a year later , we ’ve done it again , this time with the RTX 4080 Super . The RTX 4080 Super is new , so to make certain that we ’ve develop the late data point , we also retested the RX 7900 XTX . How do they cope with up ? Not much has transfer , but there are a few difference of opinion .
Overall , both GPUs are close in performance . This is very plain in our 4 green play benchmarks , although Nvidia ’s RTX 4080 Super wins that battle . On average , across our entire gaming test rooms at 4 K and using max background , the RTX 4080 Super proved to be around 7 % quicker than AMD ’s RX 7900 XTX . take care you , this include re trace , which may knock a few frames off for the AMD GPU .
We ’ve tested both cards across some of themost require games , such asHorizon Zero DawnandCyberpunk 2077 .
No matter the test , the RTX 4080 Super is fundamentally the same as the RTX 4080 . The spec pinch were too modest to make a dent in its public presentation , giving the GPU an special dot of soma charge per unit here and there , and nothing else . It ’s around 1 % faster than its harbinger , which imply it come well within the margin of error — it ’s basically the same GPU . While a couple of titles favor AMD , the two GPUs always return within a few flesh per second ( Federal Protective Service ) of each other , making the difference in straight - up rasterization paltry .
Moving down to 1440p reveals a very similar set of bench mark , although the termination variegate from game to plot . The RTX 4080 Super remains around 7 % ahead of the RX 7900 XTX , but taking ray tracing out of the equality brings the cards even closer .
The 4080 Super does a adept job inHorizon Zero Dawn , beating the 7900 XTX by 8 % , but the AMD card shoots beforehand in a few games , Forza Horizon 5included . In fact , both 4080s are vote out by AMD in this benchmark , and not just by the RX 7900 XTX , but also by therecently discounted RX 7900 XT .
affair get a picayune more interesting when we account forray trace . Historically , AMD has struggle to deliver the same variety of ray trace performance as Nvidia , and that remains true in our benchmarks . Nvidia also furnish access to DLSS 3.5 , and that ’s what gives it a massive boundary over AMD at 4 K , with ray tracing toggled on .
The above benchmark ofCyberpunk 2077at 4 K with ray trace is the perfect example of this . The RX 7900 XTX is far behind both the RTX 4080s , but also behind the $ 200 brassy RTX 4070 Ti Super . Those few frames are n’t much when you ’re already sitting at 100 Federal Protective Service and above , but at such low thresholds , they make the departure between “ playable ” and “ slideshow . ”
enable DLSS 3.5 give the RTX 4080 Super carrying into action far above the RTX 4090 ( without DLSS ) . It leaves everything AMD can offer in the dust , and although AMD also offers frame generation through FSR 3 , it ’s not supported inCyberpunk 2077just yet . In fact , it ’s not available in many games in general .
It ’s significant to note that the electron beam retrace performance of both card is significantly beneficial in games that are n’t quite as overkill asCyberpunk 2077 . TakeReturnal , for case — while Nvidia still maintains a overlooking jumper cable with 70 fps , the RX 7900 XTX holds its ground with 59 Federal Protective Service .
A surprising turn of events
Between the RTX 4080 Super and the RX 7900 XTX , which one should you be buy ? It ’s surprising , but we ’ll have to do a complete 180 compared to our previous verdict . Nvidia ’s unexpected monetary value cold shoulder is too much to resist .
When we match up the RTX 4080 against the RX 7900 XTX , the AMD card provide better time value . It was $ 200 cheaper while being able to deliver like floor of 4 kibibyte gambling performance . The only proceeds was the downgrade in ray tracing capableness and the want of DLSS , but beyond that , it was ( and still is ) a hefty GPU .
In terms of raw carrying out , not much has alter . The RTX 4080 Super is basically an RTX 4080 with a Modern name shred . To see Nvidia slash its price is downright shocking , and it puts it in a whole novel conference of GPUs . Now , with the two carte du jour sporting the same Leontyne Price , the story changes in favor of Nvidia . It ’s slenderly faster , it ’s better in electron beam trace , and it provides DLSS 3.5 for when you require that little bit of extra business leader .
If you ’re not sure which GPU to include in your next personal computer build , let the pricing be your guide . If they ’re similarly price and you could recognize an RTX 4080 Super near its $ 1,000 price , that ’s a clear achiever . Until AMD cut down the Mary Leontyne Price of the RX 7900 XTX , the RTX 4080 Super will stay the better great deal .
