Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition Review
Unlike most things in the world of consumer hardware and software, new graphics processing units are not released according to an annual upgrade cycle. Several years sometimes pass between major generation refreshes, and so each new series tends to introduce significant changes and improvements in performance. It's now been almost exactly two years since Nvidia launched its GeForce RTX 20 lineup, and we've only just seen the launch of its successors, the GeForce RTX 3090, the GeForce RTX 3080, and the GeForce RTX 3070. As anticipated, these models are based on a whole new architecture, codenamed ‘Ampere', which Nvidia says represents its “greatest ever generational performance leap”.
Nvidia of course has plenty to say about its new architecture — the main points are that RTX ray tracing is here to stay, power efficiency is improved, and prices are not much higher considering what you get. The first GPU in the GeForce RTX 30 series that we can get our hands on is the middle of the three, the GeForce RTX 3080. It's aimed at high-end gamers who want to push the highest quality settings and all the effects turned on at 4K, probably while streaming everything.
As usual, Nvidia will sell its own Founders Edition graphics cards based on these new GPUs, and this is the version of the GeForce RTX 3080 that we're reviewing today. The company has come up with a unique new hybrid cooling system and has also continued to refine its industrial design. Cards from partner brands including Asus, Zotac, Gigabyte, MSI, Palit, Galax will also soon be available, with their own coolers and custom tweaks.
There's a lot about the GeForce RTX 3080 GPU and the Founders Edition graphics card to cover here, so let's get started with a quick rundown
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