Nvidia Might Offer RTX 5080 A Nice Consolation Prize

Nvidia is preparing to refresh its lineup of graphics cards, and the upcoming RTX 5080 may receive an unexpected upgrade with significantly faster GDDR7 memory, potentially outpacing even the high-end RTX 5090. However, this might be the only silver lining for the RTX 5080, as the disparity between the two models could be more pronounced than in the current series.

Now for the positive news. According to Wccftech, sources suggest that the RTX 5080 will feature 32 Gbps memory from its launch, a notable advancement over the 28 Gbps seen in the RTX 5090. This memory enhancement could allow the RTX 5080 to achieve a staggering total bandwidth of 1TB/s, a substantial increase over the RTX 4080 Super’s maximum of 736GB/s.

As highlighted in our overview of the RTX 50-series, the RTX 5080 is expected to come with 16GB of VRAM on a 256-bit memory bus. There are whispers of a possible 24GB variant in the future, though that remains speculative. Nevertheless, with the anticipated release of 3GB GDDR7 modules later on, Nvidia will have room for impressive upgrades moving forward.

On the downside, there is growing concern that Nvidia may be repeating a strategy from this generation. The RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 displayed a considerable performance gap, leading to the RTX 4090 being viewed as a better value despite its higher introductory price of $1,600. The $1,000 Super version offered improved value for performance, yet the specifications remained largely unchanged.

Current leaks indicate that the RTX 5080 will likely be a weaker offering compared to the RTX 5090. Reports suggest that the flagship model will feature 21,760 CUDA cores and could include up to 32GB of GDDR7 memory with a 512-bit memory bus. In contrast, the RTX 5080 may max out at 10,752 CUDA cores, providing only a modest increase over the RTX 4080 Super and falling far behind the RTX 5090. Additionally, it’s rumored that the RTX 5080 could have a considerably higher total board power (TBP) of around 400 watts, while the RTX 5090 may utilize the 12VHPWR connector at its full 600 watts.

While all this information remains speculative, the potential specs suggest that the RTX 5080 could be as much as 50% less powerful than the RTX 5090. We’ll have to wait for further confirmations, but various leaks show that the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are expected to be introduced to the market soon, with announcements rumored for CES 2025 in January.