Summary of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition Review & Benchmarks vs 5090, 7900 XTX, 4080, & More

Product Overview

Product: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition

MSRP: $1,000 (with partner models potentially higher)

Release Date: January 30th

Key Features

Architecture: Blackwell architecture with 10,752 CUDA cores.
Memory: 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus.
PCIe Support: PCIe Gen 5, though performance is similar to Gen 4 and Gen 3 in gaming.
Thermal Management: Uses thermal paste instead of liquid metal, with a cooler design similar to the RTX 590.
Power Consumption: Idle power consumption is significantly lower than the RTX 590, with competitive efficiency metrics during gaming.

Performance

Gaming Benchmarks:
- 4K Performance:
  - Average FPS: 112 in Final Fantasy 14, compared to 139 for the RTX 490 and 182 for the RTX 590.
  - Holds a 10 FPS lead over the AMD 7900 XTX in some benchmarks.
- 1440p Performance:
  - 211 FPS average in certain tests, trailing behind the RTX 590 by 35%.
- 1080p Performance:
  - 302 FPS average, with the RTX 590 leading by 24%.
Ray Tracing: Performance is generally weaker compared to the RTX 590 and 490, showing that the 580 struggles in ray tracing-heavy scenarios.

Pros

Good thermal performance and lower power consumption compared to the RTX 590.
Solid performance in rasterization, especially at 4K.
Efficient power usage, leading to favorable FPS per watt ratios.

Cons

Performance uplift over the previous generation (RTX 480) is modest, typically around 10-20%.
Lacks compelling advantages in ray tracing compared to competitors.
Price point may not justify the performance, especially with some partner models exceeding $1,400.

User Experience

The card's thermal profile is quieter than its predecessor (RTX 590) and performs well under load. Mixed feelings about its value proposition, especially when compared to AMD's 7900 XTX, which offers competitive pricing and performance.

Comparisons

RTX 590: The 590 outperforms the 580 by 30-68% in various benchmarks, making the 580 feel underwhelming.
AMD 7900 XTX: Close competitor, often within 10 FPS of the 580 in performance, but at a lower price point.
RTX 490: Also shows significant performance advantages over the 580.

Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition is a solid graphics card with good thermal performance and efficiency. However, its performance uplift over the previous generation and its price point raise questions about its value. It competes closely with AMD's 7900 XTX, which may offer better performance for the price. For users focused on high-end gaming without a strong need for ray tracing, the 580 could be a reasonable choice, but those looking for the best value might want to consider alternatives.

Unique Points

Thermal Management: Uses thermal paste instead of liquid metal.
Efficiency: Strong efficiency metrics, particularly at 4K.
Performance Gap: Notable performance gap between the RTX 590 and 580, with the 590 often leading by significant margins.
Market Positioning: Concerns about pricing strategies and potential lack of competition in the high-end market.

Speakers' Contributions

Speaker 1: Focused on performance metrics and comparisons with the RTX 590 and AMD 7900 XTX.
Speaker 2: Discussed thermal performance and efficiency testing.
Speaker 3: Provided insights on market positioning and pricing strategies.

Notable Quotes

— 12:23 — « I would like to correct one mistake GN made in this review where they stated that there aren't many reasons to play Starfield at 1080p but in actuality there aren't many reasons to play this game at all. »

— 20:45 — « No one said that the win had to be meaningful and a win is a win; tater tots are still tater tots. »

— 30:14 — « Who would get up on stage and say something like okay so 5070 490 performance $549 other than the CEO of Nvidia? »