The brand new RTX 3000 series graphics cards are causing a massive stir in the PC gaming and graphics technology world. All the hype is for good reason too; if Nvidia‘s claims can be believed, this launch will represent the biggest generational leap in graphics technology for the last 20 years. While the top-of-the-line RTX 3090 offers staggering performance meant for content creators and professionals, the new 3080 is the flagship card for gamers. At about $700, it boasts almost double the performance of the RTX 2080 with ray tracing turned on, plus a slew of other features that are making recent 2080Ti buyers regret their purchases.
The 3080 launches on September 17th and boasts 8,704 CUDA cores, 10GB of GDDR6X VRAM, 68 Gen-2 RT cores, plus features like Nvidia DLSS and DX12. All of those numbers may sound impressive, but its important to keep in mind that no one other than Nvidia themselves has had the chance to test and verify all of the impressive claims made about the new technology. Still, a quick breakdown of the new 3080’s specs should give a good idea of what real-world benefits gamers can expect out of all of the techno-jargon.
The biggest feature to look forward to out of this new line of graphics cards is practical, powerful ray tracing. Last generation, not too many games took advantage of ray tracing technology, and even when they did it was mostly a gimmick. Even the high-end RTX 20-series cards struggled with keeping frame rates high while RTX was active. While the 2080Ti and the 3080 share an RT (ray tracing) core count of 68, the new second gen RT cores of the 3080 are far more powerful and efficient than its predecessors’. The big takeaway here is that real-time ray tracing will finally be practical enough for game developers to use in next-gen titles.
The memory, or VRAM, used in the 3080 is also a big step forward, with 10 gigabytes of GDDR6X RAM that runs extremely quickly and can handle a large volume of data. One of the major features that Nvidia is pushing for with these new cards is the ability of the graphics card to use its VRAM to take some stress off of the computer’s regular RAM, allowing for faster frame processing and more efficient use of the hardware. This is one area that will definitely require some outside testing and experimentation, though. One thing that is a clear advantage is the 3080’s 8,704 CUDA cores (standard cores used for graphics processing) compared to the 2080Ti’s 4,352. Nvidia worked with Samsung to create a new 8nm process for the 30-series cards, and it has payed off by allowing Nvidia to cram ever more graphics computing power into less and less space.
AI capabilities are boosted by the 3080’s Tensor cores and RT cores, which can both assist with AI-related processes. AI can be used to scale up images and increase frame rates, which Nvidia plans to apply through DLSS, or Deep Learning Super Sampling. That, in short, will be yet another way to boost frame rates at higher resolutions, and will also assist with non-gaming processes like video rendering or streaming. While the 3090 is a powerhouse aimed squarely at content creators, the 3080 shares the same technology without being such overkill for people who are just focused on playing games.
The 3080 will no doubt be the best option for gamers who want to play at 4K or 1440P resolutions with high frame rates. The 3090 may be capable of 8K gaming at 60FPS, but that kind of performance isn’t necessary for most people when 8K displays are few and far between. For the utmost in practical gaming performance, the 3080 deserves its flagship spot on Nvidia’s roster. The most promising thing about its launch, though, is how it will push graphics technology and game development forward, as most consumers will likely opt for more mid-range to budget-oriented cards as they are revealed.
The RTX 3080 is set to launch on September 17th.
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