Review: NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition

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The last word:

NVIDIA’s smackdown continues?

With the RTX 4090, NVIDIA has slapped the competition and even its previous generation in terms of raw performance. So, what about this NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition and especially, what is the performance/price ratio worth compared to the RTX 4090?

Let’s start with the performance, which is just what we expected. Compared to the RTX 3080 Ti, the gains are well over 30% and they are more than 15% compared to the top of the range of the previous generation, the RTX 3090 Ti. At this level, we have no remarks to make knowing that the card is compatible with DLSS 3. As we have seen, DLSS 3 brings a real gain compared to version 2. Now let’s be honest, this is still a card that is intended for 2160p. If you play in lower resolutions, other models will be more interesting.

In terms of pricing, because this is where all eyes are on it and we don’t want to be satisfied with a response like: “But what does NVIDIA do, it’s shameful and way too expensive! So, indeed, the prices of computer components are skyrocketing, and not just graphics cards. Coming back to the RTX 4080 Founders Edition, its price is listed on the NVIDIA website at $1,199. According to our gaming tests, it is 27% less powerful than the RTX 4090.

To get another view, we looked for the price for an RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition which is still listed at 1,329 euros in Europe. Again, with the performance gap, the price of the RTX 4080 is perfectly justified. So, be careful, we did not say that these prices were convenient for us but we compare them to the other current models. Indeed, setting up a configuration today has become unaffordable.

If NVIDIA with its Founders Edition will be able to get away with it, it will certainly be more complicated for the partner cards which will be sold at a higher price, even much higher. Now, as we have seen during the launch of the RTX 4090 and despite prices starting at 1 959 euros for the Founders Edition, the online sales sites were sold out in a few hours, proof that there is still a clientele for this price range and even for the partners.

Finally, let’s remember that in dollars, this RTX 4080 Founders Edition is displayed at $1199 or €1469, which adds even more incomprehension to the price in euros, even if we know some of the reasons such as taxes and conversion which has not been to our advantage for too long.

This NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition:

As for our model of the day, the Founders Edition, it does the job perfectly thanks to its impressive cooling system. The card doesn’t heat up at all and the fans don’t make themselves heard at all. Finally, if we could have had an RTX 4080 with the size of the RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition, it would have been a very good thing.

Finally, and we’re going to emphasize this point again, ask yourself depending on the rest of your configuration if you’ll be able to take full advantage of an RTX 4080’s potential? Don’t forget that many models of the RTX 3000 are still available for sale and that there might be some good deals during Black Friday. Personally, a recent Intel or AMD CPU as well as DDR5 seems more and more mandatory to us as well as a 4K display. The idea is to keep a balance between the components. Don’t hesitate to ask your questions on our Discord.

We liked:

  • A card to take full advantage of 2160p
  • Performance is way up compared to the RTX 3080 Ti
  • Excellent overclocking potential
  • GDDR6X memory is still very flexible when overclocking
  • Excellent cooling system combined with low noise levels
  • Very reliable noise levels
  • Power consumption has improved significantly!
  • The design quality of the card

We would have liked :

  • A much lower price when you know that the Founders Edition RTX 3080 was available at its launch at $699 (759 euros)
  • A less bodybuilt version

médaille award OMF or goldIn terms of performance, this RTX 4080 fulfills its objectives perfectly and ensures the transition with the previous generation. Our sample of the day, which we would have liked to see with smaller proportions, proved to be silent and capable of keeping the graphics chip and the power supply stages cool. Even if the price seems too high, especially when you know the price in dollars, the price/performance ratio compared to the RTX 4090 and the previous generation does not seem inconsistent. Thanks to NVIDIA France for making this sample available.