Nvidia RTX 3080
AMX RX 6800
Initially introducing the RTX 3080 at $699, AMD fired back with the RX 6800 XT at $649 with highly competitive specs to match its competition. As the great GPU shortage of 2020 hit thanks to our crypto friends coupled with supply chain issues, prices quickly skyrocketed! Stock levels quickly depleted and prices hit all time highs.
The RTX 3080 reached an all time high of over $2000 on the secondhand market and the the 6800XT not far behind at $1500
Performance Comparison
Entering the high end playground the AMD RX 6800 XT brings some insane performance giving Nvidia a run for its money. Nvidia firing back some surprise attack specific technologies
VRAM
RX 6800: 16GB
RTX 3080: 10GB
The RTX 3080 comes with GDDR6x which is faster the slightly slower GDDR6 on the RX 6800XT. Whilst the difference is small, this can have a significant impact even with the VRAM in favour of the RX 6800. As it stands 4K gaming is supported by 10GB VRAM, but there maybe some titles soon that will start to pass this threshold making the 6800 XT’s 16GB a bit more future proof.
Another important difference relates to the superior RTX 3080 Ray Tracing capability coupled with its DLSS technology. This provides incredible performance with high frame rates. AMD offers smart Access memory, which increases the GPU performance when paired with a Ryzen 5000 CPU.
In non-Ray Tracing games, the 6800 XT puts up a great fight vs the RTX 3080. From a Ray Tracing point of view the RTX 3080 is the best choice. The Ray Tracing performance of the 6800 XT is currently acceptable and improvements in the future should make it highly competitive.
Having thermal pad issues, be caution when buying the Founders Edition RTX, resulting from higher than normal VRAM temperatures and thermal throttling. Some third-party 3080s with more substantial cooling are affected less by this overheating problem.
Conclusion
Nvidia RTX 3080
But which is the best GPU? While the 6800XT puts up a good fight, the RTX 3080 is our GPU of choice. Despite the VRAM deficit, the Ray Tracing coupled with the DLSS make the card the preferable choice especially at 1440p and 4K resolutions.
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