Nvidia RTX 4080 Super Review

Rating: 7.5.

Today marks the end of a busy January launch period for the GPU market, as we check out the RTX 4080 Super. Announced alongside the RTX 4070 Super and 4070 Ti Super back at CES 2024, not only has Nvidia outfitted the 4080 Super with more cores and faster memory than the original model, but it's also had a price cut – down from £1269/$1199 at the 4080's launch, to £959/$999 today. It's still mighty expensive, but does it do enough to tempt those looking for an upgrade?

No doubt about it, the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super is the least exciting of the three 40-series Super refreshes. Even just on paper, the RTX 4070 Super delivered a 22% boost in CUDA cores over the vanilla 4070, while the RTX 4070 Ti Super increased VRAM and memory bandwidth by a third over the 4070 Ti. The RTX 4080 Super however, only ups the CUDA core count by 5%, alongside a 3% increase to memory speeds.

We'll analyse what that means for gaming performance over a wide range of titles, but clearly the 4080 Super is all about the price cut. Back in November 2022, the original 4080 hit the market at £1269 in the UK, or $1199 in the States, and it was almost universally agreed to deliver poor value for money at that price point. Fast-forward just over a year and the 4080 Super has come down in price by over £300, to the MSRP of £959, or $999 USD. Let's find out what that means for those with about a grand to spend on a new GPU…

If you want to read this review as a single page, click HERE.

First, a quick spec recap. Unlike the RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 Ti which use cut-down versions of the AD103 GPU, the new 4080 Super is a full implementation of AD103 silicon, with the die measuring in at 379mm². This means the RTX 4080 Super offers a total of 80 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), each housing 256 CUDA Cores, for a total of 10240. We also find 80 RT cores, 320 Tensor cores, 320 Texture Units, and 12 ROPs.

TSMC's N4 node has Nvidia cranking up the clock speed significantly this generation, with the RTX 4080 Super sporting a 2550MHz rated boost. That's 45MHz faster than the rated clock speed of the RTX 4080, but we would expect GPU Boost to push things further still.

The memory configuration is almost identical to the RTX 4080, too. The 4080 Super comes equipped with a 256-bit memory interface, paired with 16GB GDDR6X running at 23Gbps, putting total memory bandwidth at 736 GB/s. L2 cache remains unchanged at 65536KB.

Considering the slightly increased core-count, it's interesting that power draw remains the same as the RTX 4080, with the new Super model still boasting a 320W TGP. This is something we focus on closely in this review, using our enhanced GPU power testing methodology, so read on for our most detailed power and efficiency testing yet.

The RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition ships in a large black box, with barely distinguishable branding on the front. The front of the box opens up to reveal the card sitting in the middle of the cardboard surround.

Inside, we find a few support guides and pieces of documentation, along with a triple 8-pin to 16-pin 12VHPWR adapter.

The design of the 4080 Super Founders Edition (FE) is almost identical to that of the vanilla 4080 FE, but this time Nvidia has gone very stealthy with the overall look – instead of gunmetal grey and silver accents, the 4080 Super has been ‘blacked out' using a combination of matte and glossy metal, and I have to say it looks fantastic.

That really is the only change to the OG 4080 FE, we're told the internal heatsink is exactly the same, and the 4080 Super retains the same 120mm fans in a push-pull configuration. These are still ‘counter rotating', so the fan on the underside of the card spins anti-clockwise, while the fan on the top spins clockwise.

As for dimensions, there's no change here versus the original 4080, so the card measures in at 304mm long, 127mm tall and is a 60mm/triple-slot thickness. It weighed in on my scales at 2125 grams.

The front side of the card is home to the GeForce RTX logo which is illuminated by white LEDs once powered on. The backplate is very stealthy and understated, you almost can't read the black RTX 4080 Super text – in my opinion this is the best-looking Founders Edition Nvidia has ever made, along with the 4070 Super FE.

Of course, it is still powered by a single 12VHPWR/PCIe Gen5 power connector, though a triple 8-pin adapter is included in the box. Display outputs are unchanged, with 3x DisplayPort 1.4 and 1x HDMI 2.1 connectors.

Driver Notes

• AMD GPUs were benchmarked with the Adrenalin 23.12.1 driver.
• Nvidia GPUs (except RTX 4070 Super/RTX 4070 Ti Super) were benchmarked with the 546.33 driver.
• RTX 4070 Super was benchmarked with the 546.52 driver supplied to press.
• RTX 4070 Ti Super was benchmarked with the 551.15 driver supplied to press.
• RTX 4080 Super was benchmarked with the 551.22 driver supplied to press.

Results are only directly comparable where this exact configuration has been used.

Test System:

We test using a custom built system from PCSpecialist, based on Intel’s Rocket Lake platform. You can read more about this system HERE and configure your own PCSpecialist system HERE.

Comparison Graphics Cards List

• AMD RX 7900 XTX 24GB
• AMD RX 7900 XT 20GB
• AMD RX 7800 XT 16GB
• Sapphire RX 7700 XT Pulse 12GB
• AMD RX 6700 XT 12GB
• Nvidia RTX 4090 FE 24GB
• Nvidia RTX 4080 FE 16GB
• MSI RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X 16GB
• Gigabyte RTX 4070 Ti Gaming 12GB
• Nvidia RTX 4070 FE 12GB
• Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti FE 8GB
• Gigabyte RTX 3080 Eagle 10GB
• Nvidia RTX 3070 FE 8GB

All cards were tested at reference specifications.

Software and Games List

• 3DMark Fire Strike & Fire Strike Ultra (DX11 Synthetic)
• 3DMark Time Spy (DX12 Synthetic)
• 3DMark DirectX Raytracing feature test (DXR Synthetic)
• Alan Wake II (DX12)
• Assassin's Creed Mirage (DX12)
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (DX12)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12)
• F1 23 (DX12)
• Forza Horizon 5 (DX12)
• Hitman 3 (DX12)
• The Last of Us Part 1 (DX12)
• Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (DX12)
• A Plague Tale: Requiem (DX12)
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (DX12)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (DX12)
• Resident Evil 4 (DX12)
• Returnal (DX12)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DX12)
• Starfield (DX12)
• Total War: Pharaoh (DX11)

We run each benchmark/game three times, and present mean averages in our graphs. We use FrameView to measure average frame rates as well as 1% low values (99th percentile) across our three runs.

Fire Strike is a showcase DirectX 11 benchmark for modern gaming PCs. Its ambitious real-time graphics are rendered with detail and complexity far beyond other DirectX 11 benchmarks and games. Fire Strike includes two graphics tests, a physics test and a combined test that stresses the CPU and GPU. (UL).

3DMark Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark test for Windows 10 gaming PCs. Time Spy is one of the first DirectX 12 apps to be built the right way from the ground up to fully realize the performance gains that the new API offers. With its pure DirectX 12 engine, which supports new API features like asynchronous compute, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading, Time Spy is the ideal test for benchmarking the latest graphics cards. (UL).

3DMark gives us an initial look at the RTX 4080 Super and it is neck-and-neck with the original 4080, only coming in 2% faster in Time Spy Extreme.

Real-time ray tracing is incredibly demanding. The latest graphics cards have dedicated hardware that’s optimized for ray-tracing. The 3DMark DirectX Raytracing feature test measures the performance of this dedicated hardware. Instead of using traditional rendering techniques, the whole scene is ray-traced and drawn in one pass. The result of the test depends entirely on ray-tracing performance. (UL).

In the 3DMark DXR feature test, we see another 2% lead for the 4080 Super over the 4080.

Alan Wake 2 is a 2023 survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. A sequel to Alan Wake, the story follows best-selling novelist Alan Wake, who has been trapped in an alternate dimension for 13 years, as he attempts to escape by writing a horror story involving an FBI special agent named Saga Anderson. The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 27 October 2023. (Wikipedia)

Engine: Northlight. We test using the High preset, FSR set to native resolution, DX12 API.

Our first game of the day is Alan Wake 2, where at 4K, the 4080 Super delivers 44FPS, making it functionally level with the 4080. Technically there is a 1.4% difference, but the end result is identical. It's also on par with the 7900 XTX here, but with better 1% lows.

Assassin's Creed Mirage is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Bordeaux and published by Ubisoft. The game is the thirteenth major instalment in the Assassin's Creed series and the successor to 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Mirage was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 5, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: AnvilNext 2.0. We test using the Ultra High preset, Adaptive Quality disabled, DX12 API.

Assassin's Creed Mirage actually shows us the biggest difference between 4080 Super and 4080 that we will see all day – with the new GPU hitting 82FPS, making it 5% faster than the model it replaces. 4080 Super is also barely slower than the 7900 XTX, and about 15% faster than the 4070 Ti Super.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customisable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. Cyberpunk 2077 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One on 10 December 2020. (Wikipedia).

Engine: REDengine 4. We test using the Ultra preset, FSR disabled, DX12 API.

Up next we have Cyberpunk 2077, where the 4080 Super once again has an almost non-existent performance differential against the regular 4080 – they're within 1.3% at 4K, while the new card lags behind the 7900 XTX by 10%.

Forza Horizon 5 is a 2021 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. The twelfth main instalment of the Forza series, the game is set in a fictionalised representation of Mexico. It was released on 9 November 2021 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. (Wikipedia).

Engine: ForzaTech. We test using the Extreme preset, DX12 API.

Forza Horizon 5 is another game where we see very underwhelming results from the 4080 Super, as it's not even a single frame faster than the 4080 at 4K. It comes in 8% slower than the 7900 XTX, and about 17% faster than the 4070 Ti Super.

The Last of Us Part I is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. A remake of the 2013 game The Last of Us, it features revised gameplay, including enhanced combat and exploration, and expanded accessibility options. It was released for Microsoft Windows in March 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Naughty Dog in-house engine. We test using the Ultra preset, DX12 API.

The Last of Us Part 1 sees the RTX 4080 Super hit 63FPS, compared to 62FPS for the regular 4080, so it's not exactly a big step forward. The 7900 XTX is still faster here, by a handful of frames, while the RTX 4090 remains a class apart.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019), and follows siblings Amicia and Hugo de Rune who must look for a cure to Hugo's blood disease in Southern France while fleeing from soldiers of the Inquisition and hordes of rats that are spreading the black plague. The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 18 October 2022. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Asobo Studio in-house engine. We test using the Ultra preset, DX12 API.

It's more of the same in A Plague Tale: Requiem, with close enough to identical performance on offer when looking at the 4080 and 4080 Super – the difference between the two really is meaningless here.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a 2021 third-person shooter platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. It is the ninth main installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and a sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. Rift Apart was announced in June 2020 and was released on June 11, 2021. A Windows port by Nixxes Software was released on July 26, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Insomniac Games in-house engine. We test using the Very High preset, DX12 API.

As for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, we're again looking at a difference of a single frame between the two xx80-series SKUS, which really is margin of error stuff. Versus the 4070 Ti Super, you get about 18% more performance from the fully-enabled AD103 GPU.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the Red Dead series and is a prequel to the 2010 game Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption 2 was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2018, and for Microsoft Windows and Stadia in November 2019. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Rockstar Advance Game Engine (RAGE). We test by manually selecting Ultra settings (or High where Ultra is not available), TAA, DX12 API.

New game, same result – the 4080 Super is within 1% of the original 4080 in Red Dead Redemption 2, so there's no difference in performance. it also lags behind the 7900 XTX here, by a 14% margin at 4K.

Resident Evil 4 is a 2023 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It is a remake of the 2005 game Resident Evil 4. Players control the US agent Leon S. Kennedy, who must save Ashley Graham, the daughter of the United States president, from the mysterious Los Illuminados cult. Resident Evil 4 was announced in June 2022 and released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on March 24, 2023.

Engine: RE Engine. We test using the Max preset with ray tracing disabled, DX12 API.

Moving onto Resident Evil 4, at 4K we actually see one of the bigger differences, with the 4080 Super being 2.5% faster – but that works out as just 2FPS in the real world, so there's no way you'd actually be able to tell the difference.

Returnal is a 2021 roguelike video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 5 on April 30, 2021 and Windows on February 15, 2023. The game follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut who lands on the planet Atropos in search of the mysterious “White Shadow” signal and finds herself trapped in a time loop. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Unreal Engine 4. We test using the Epic preset with ray tracing disabled, DX12 API.

Likewise, in Returnal, both 4080 models deliver 73FPS, so no change there. The 4080 Super is also 5% slower than the 7900 XTX, while it comes in 18% faster than the 4070 Ti Super.

Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Announced in 2018, Starfield was delayed several times. The game was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on September 6, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Creation Engine 2. We test using the Ultra preset, with 100% resolution scale, dynamic resolution disabled, DX12 API.

Once more we see basically non-existent performance differences between the 4080 and 4080 Super when looking at Starfield. Both cards come in 9% slower than the 7900 XTX, or 27% behind the RTX 4090.

Total War: Pharaoh is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly Sofia and published by Sega. Part of the Total War series, Pharaoh is set in the New Kingdom of Egypt and its surrounding areas before the Late Bronze Age collapse. The game was released for Windows PC on October 11, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: TW Engine 3 (Warscape). We test using the Ultra preset, 4X AA, with unlimited video memory enabled, DX11 API.

Our final test for rasterised performance is Total War: Pharaoh, which sees the 4080 Super hit 74FPS, so it's a single frame faster than the 4080. It does at least come in faster than the 7900 XTX here, by a 7% margin at 4K.

Here we present frame rate figures for each graphics card, averaged across all 12 games on test today. These figures can disguise significant variations in performance from game to game, but provide a useful overview of the sort of performance you can expect at each resolution tested.

Overall then, it is safe to say, performance versus the RTX 4080 is very underwhelming. The price cut is clearly the main event here, but at 4K we're looking at an average difference that's just 1% in favour of the 4080 Super. That means the new GPU is still slower than the 7900 XTX by a 6% margin, while it's 11% faster than the 7900 XT and 18% faster than the 4070 Ti Super. Anyone hoping for anything close to RTX 4090 performance will be disappointed, as the 4080 Super is 24% slower on average at 4K.

Just to illustrate the performance difference against the RTX 4080, above we have a breakdown of all 12 games tested at 4K, showing the relative performance increase of the 4080 Super. Just three titles show a difference of more than 2%, and only one shows a margin above 3%, so this really is margin of error stuff.

During the review process, I did pass on my feedback to Nvidia that performance gains for the 4080 Super were not at all impressive or even noticeable versus the RTX 4080. As part of the discussions, they mentioned that my RTX 4080 (non-Super) Founders Edition was a ‘good' model, hitting an average gaming clock speed above what Nvidia typically saw in their own testing. As such, I calculated the average clock speed of both the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition, as recorded by FrameView, in all 12 games tested, across 1080p, 1440p and 4K.

Looking at the data we did see a small frequency advantage for the 4080 non-Super, as it was clocking roughly 60MHz faster at any given resolution. That's just a 2% difference on average though, and we have to ask if something so insignificant can really change the picture that much – clearly there is just a very, very minimal difference between the performance of the 4080 and 4080 Super.

The MSRPs

Using the average frame rate data presented earlier in the review, here we look at the cost per frame using the UK MSRP launch prices for each GPU.

Considering the 4080 Super performs the same as the 4080, but with a UK MSRP that's £310 lower at launch, overall value is improved a fair it, as cost per frame comes in 26% lower with the new model. That makes it basically on par with the RTX 4070 using its original launch MSRP, though it's still hardly an improvement over the RTX 3080 10GB which launched at £649.

Current retail pricing

Cost per frame using current retail prices tells a different story, too. RTX 4080 may have launched at £1269 over a year ago, but it's been selling under £1100 in recent months, making the 4080 Super 13% better value. It's still an improvement, but it's not as large as the MSRP data would suggest. The RX 7900 XTX also continues to offer superior value for rasterisation, as the 4080 Super is 17% more expensive per frame.

Alan Wake 2 is a 2023 survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. A sequel to Alan Wake, the story follows best-selling novelist Alan Wake, who has been trapped in an alternate dimension for 13 years, as he attempts to escape by writing a horror story involving an FBI special agent named Saga Anderson. The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 27 October 2023. (Wikipedia)

Engine: Northlight. We test using the High preset, High Ray Tracing preset, FSR set to Quality upscaling, DXR API.

Moving onto ray tracing performance, Alan Wake 2 with path tracing enabled is incredibly demanding at 4K, even with Quality upscaling applied. Nvidia performance is in a completely different league to AMD here, but we're still looking at basically identical performance between the 4080 and 4080 Super.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a 2023 open world action-adventure game based on the Avatar film series, developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. The game was released for Amazon Luna, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on December 7, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Snowdrop. We test using the Ultra preset, TAA, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora sees a 10% lead for the 4080 Super over the 7900 XTX at 4K, though it's no faster than the original RTX 4080.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customisable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. Cyberpunk 2077 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One on 10 December 2020. (Wikipedia).

Engine: REDengine 4. We test using the Ray Tracing: Ultra preset, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Likewise, performance in Cyberpunk 2077 is also no better than the vanilla RTX 4080, though that does still make it about 46% faster than AMD's 7900 XTX.

F1 23 is a racing video game developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is the sixteenth entry in the F1 series by Codemasters. It holds the official licence for the 2023 Formula One and Formula 2 championships. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Linux (through Valve's Proton compatibility layer) on 16 June 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: EGO. We test using the Ultra High preset, High ray tracing quality, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

F1 2023 shows another decent lead for the 4080 Super over the 7900 XTX, this time by a 17% margin, but is the 4080 Super any faster than the 4080? No, no it is not…

Hitman 3 is a 2021 stealth game developed and published by IO Interactive. Hitman 3 was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch (via cloud gaming) on 20 January 2021. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Glacier. We test using Ultra settings, RT Reflections, RT Shadows, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Hitman 3 is up next and it's more of the same here, we're talking performance that's within 1FPS of the original 4080, while we still see a healthy lead over the 7900 XTX.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a 2021 third-person shooter platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. It is the ninth main installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and a sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. Rift Apart was announced in June 2020 and was released on June 11, 2021. A Windows port by Nixxes Software was released on July 26, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Insomniac Games in-house engine. We test using the Very High preset, Very High ray tracing, DX12 API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Ratchet and Clank shows us an even bigger lead for Nvidia over AMD with ray tracing enabled, as the 4080 Super is almost twice as fast as the 7900 XTX, though it doesn't offer a tangible benefit over the RTX 4080.

Returnal is a 2021 roguelike video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 5 on April 30, 2021 and Windows on February 15, 2023. The game follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut who lands on the planet Atropos in search of the mysterious “White Shadow” signal and finds herself trapped in a time loop. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Unreal Engine 4. We test using the Epic preset, Epic ray traced shadows and reflections, DX12 API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

AMD is more competitive in Returnal, but the 4080 Super still holds a 16% lead over the 7900 XTX, while it's barely 1% ahead of the 4080.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a 2018 action-adventure video game developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. It continues the narrative from the 2015 game Rise of the Tomb Raider and is the twelfth mainline entry in the Tomb Raider series, as well as the third and final entry of the Survivor trilogy. The game was originally released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Foundation Engine. We test using the Highest preset, RT Ultra Shadows, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Lastly, we close with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Once again, we're looking at a different of a single frame when comparing the 4080 Super to the 4080. The new Nvidia GPU is still 21% faster than the 7900 XTX however.

Ray tracing 8-game average FPS

Looking at the eight-game ray tracing average, it's no surprise to see the RTX 4080 Super is second only to the RTX 4090, though it is admittedly still well behind the Nvidia flagship, coming in 28% slower on average. It also has the beating of the RX 7900 XTX, by a 30% margin, but there are no real gains over the RTX 4080.

Cost per frame, launch MSRP data

Nvidia's ray tracing prowess and the new lower price of the 4080 Super does mean that the 4080 Super sits close to the top of the chart for ray tracing cost per frame, when based on MSRP pricing. It's not quite as good value as the 4070 Super or 4070 Ti Super for 4K gaming, but it's certainly close.

Cost per frame, current pricing data

That picture doesn't change much when looking at current retail pricing either, with the 4080 Super about level with the vanilla RTX 4070.

Here we re-test three titles using both DLSS 2 and DLSS 3, to give you an idea of the performance on offer from Nvidia's upscaling technologies.

Enabling DLSS 3 Frame Generation in Cyberpunk 2077 sees the frame rate increase from 28FPS, up to 50FPS, at the cost of higher latency, averaging 86ms. DLSS 2 Quality actually offers higher frame rates than just Frame Gen, but using both together nets a frame rate north of 80FPS, while latency comes in at 57ms.

Hitman 3 shows another big improvement to frame rates when using DLSS, as we hit 57FPS and 53FPS when using Fame Gen and DLSS 2 Quality, respectively – the main difference is latency, which is about halved when using DLSS 2. Combing both features results in 82FPS on average, and latency a touch below what we saw at native resolution.

Lastly, Spider-Man Remastered sees similar results, with DLSS 2 Quality boosting frame rates to 111FPS while reducing latency, compared to native. DLSS 3 Frame Gen on its own gets up to a similar frame rate but with twice the latency, while using DLSS 2 plus Frame Gen increases FPS to just below 140, with latency at 47.6ms.

Here we present the average clock speed for each graphics card while running Cyberpunk 2077 for 30 minutes. We use GPU-Z to record the GPU core frequency during gameplay. We calculate the average core frequency during the 30 minute run to present here.

We've tested three RTX 4080 Super cards for launch, with separate reviews available if you want to see those. Over our thirty minute stress test, the RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition averaged 2730MHz. It's also interesting to see how the frequency plot is completely flat – after an initial period of a minute, the card did not budge from 2730MHz, which usually indicates it was not power limited.

For our temperature testing, we measure the peak GPU core temperature under load. A reading under load comes from running Cyberpunk 2077 for 30 minutes.

Thermally, the 4080 Super FE does as well as you'd expect, keeping the GPU at 64C while the hotspot hit 75C. This puts it about level with the Gigabyte Gaming OC when using the Silent BIOS.

For our temperature testing, we measure the peak memory temperature under load. A reading under load comes from running Cyberpunk 2077 for 30 minutes.

Likewise, memory thermals are no problem. The Founders Edition does run the hottest of the three cards we've tested today, but the result of 72C is still well within safe limits and nothing to complain about.

We take our noise measurements with the sound meter positioned 1 foot from the graphics card. I measured the noise floor to be 32 dBA, thus anything above this level can be attributed to the graphics cards. The power supply is passive for the entire power output range we tested all graphics cards in, while all CPU and system fans were disabled. A reading under load comes from running Cyberpunk 2077 for 30 minutes.

Fan noise isn't a real problem for the 4080 Super, either. I did measure it a touch louder than the 4080 non-Super, but it was hard to hear over my case fans. I also didn't notice any coil whine during my testing.

Following on from our stock thermal and acoustic testing, here we re-test the operating temperature of the GPU, but with noise levels normalised to 40dBa. This allows us to measure the efficiency of the overall cooling solution as varying noise levels as a result of more aggressive fan curves are no longer a factor.

After noise-normalising to 40dBa, we see very similar results between all three RTX 4080 Supers tested. The Founders Edition is nominally the worst-performing, but the differences are barely 2C between it and the Gaming OC, so it's only a very minor point.

The Founders Edition memory still runs the hottest, hitting 70C, which is 14C warmer than the Gaming OC, or 4C hotter than the Palit JetStream OC.

Here we present power draw figures for the graphics card-only, on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1080p. This is measured using Nvidia's Power Capture Analysis Tool, also known as PCAT. You can read more about our updated power draw testing methodology HERE.

Per-Game Results at 1080p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1080p:

1080p is not a realistic gaming resolution for this GPU, but we saw average power draw hit 246.2W, which is a hair below the 4080 non-Super.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all six games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

Here we present power draw figures for the graphics card-only, on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1440p. This is measured using Nvidia's Power Capture Analysis Tool, also known as PCAT. You can read more about our updated power draw testing methodology HERE.

Per-Game Results at 1440p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1440p:

Power draw increases as we step up the resolution to 1440p, with the 4080 Super averaging 266.6W. That is almost identical to the RTX 4080 non-Super, but still well below the rated 320W TGP.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all six games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

Here we present power draw figures for the graphics card-only, on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 2160p (4K). This is measured using Nvidia's Power Capture Analysis Tool, also known as PCAT. You can read more about our updated power draw testing methodology HERE.

Per-Game Results at 2160p (4K):

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 2160p (4K):

As for 4K power draw, even at this resolution the average figure of 287.1W is almost 40W below the rated TGP. We see no significant difference compared to the RTX 4080, but it is still a good chunk below the RX 7900 XTX, and about 100W lower than the RTX 4090.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all six games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

Using the graphics card-only power draw figures presented earlier in the review, here we present performance per Watt on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1080p.

Per-Game Results at 1080p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1080p:

The RTX 4080 has been sat atop our efficiency charts for a long time but it has now been superseded – just! – by the RTX 4080 Super.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all six games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

Using the graphics card-only power draw figures presented earlier in the review, here we present performance per Watt on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1440p.

Per-Game Results at 1440p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1440p:

Likewise, at 1440p the RTX 4080 Super remains the most efficient GPU tested. The margins are very slim compared to the RTX 4080, but it does nudge ahead.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all six games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

Using the graphics card-only power draw figures presented earlier in the review, here we present performance per Watt on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 2160p (4K).

Per-Game Results at 2160p (4K):

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 2160p (4K):

At 4K however, performance per Watt equalises and the RTX 4080 Super and RTX 4080 are just as efficient as each other. That still means Nvidia has a clear lead over RDNA 3 however, with the 4080 Super offering 18% better performance per Watt than the RX 7900 XTX, and it's even a hair more efficient than the RTX 4090.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all six games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

We measure system-wide power draw from the wall while running Cyberpunk 2077 for 30 minutes (4K resolution).

For a look at total system power draw, we see the RTX 4080 Super draw just under 510W in Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K. This will vary depending on the game, the resolution and, of course, the rest of your system's components, but as a guide Nvidia recommends a 750W PSU.

For our manual overclocking tests, we used MSI Afterburner. Our best results are as below.

The Nvidia Founders Edition features a maximum power limit of 355W, so we maximised the power limit and added 185MHz to the GPU and 1200MHz to the memory.

This brought the card's average clock speed up to 2925MHz as measured in our 30-minute stress test.

Real-world gains of this overclock varied from 3-8% in the title we re-tested, so it's very similar to other Ada Lovelace GPUs – it's fine but not exactly a game changer.

Power draw also rose when overclocked, up from 304W stock to 312W overclocked, though that's a trivial difference in the grand scheme of things.

As the last of three RTX 40-series Super launches this month, there is no doubt the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super is the least interesting of the lot, for the simple reason that it brings no tangible performance benefit over the outgoing RTX 4080. The refreshes started strongly with the RTX 4070 Super coming in a good 15% faster than the 4070, while the RTX 4070 Ti Super delivers performance that's a touch ahead the RTX 4070 Ti but with VRAM and memory bandwidth increased by a third. Today we've assessed the RTX 4080 Super and found it to be… 1% faster than the RTX 4080.

That's right, across twelve games at 4K resolution, the RTX 4080 Super came in 1% faster on average. Nine of the twelve games tested showed a difference of less than 2%, while we saw a performance increase of more than 3% in just a single game. The differences are so marginal that the silicon lottery could well mean a higher-performing RTX 4080 would actually outperform a slightly below-par RTX 4080 Super, and in fact that's exactly what we did find in our review of the Palit JetStream OC.

As lame as that is, it's important to remember we are still talking about a very fast GPU here – it may be an entirely uninteresting difference compared to the original 4080, but it is nonetheless a very capable 4K card, averaging 73FPS across our twelve game suite. It is also second only to the RTX 4090 when looking at ray tracing, admittedly by quite a distance, but the reality is AMD has nothing that can compete in this segment if you value RT performance, given the 4080 Super proved 30% faster than the 7900 XTX over the eight ray traced games we tested.

Clearly, the RTX 4080 Super is all about the new lower price-point, rather than the almost non-existent performance improvements over the RTX 4080. As a reminder, RTX 4080 launched in November 2022 for £1269/$1199, while the 4080 Super is now hitting the market at £959/$999. Offering the same performance for a price that's £310 lower doesn't sound too bad, and it does improve the cost per frame by 26% over the RTX 4080 when looking at the launch MSRPs.

We can't deny that is a good thing, but I also can't help but wonder how much it actually changes in reality. After all, this is still a graphics card priced near £1000, so it's not exactly aimed at the mass market. Would anyone who had been holding off a 4080 purchase for over a year now suddenly be convinced by a £200 savings? If you were already set to pull the trigger on a full-priced 4080, then sure, you just saved yourself a couple hundred quid, but I'd love to know how many people who haven't bought a new GPU this generation could now be swayed by the 4080 Super.

That's because, even with the lower starting price, it's not like the RTX 4080 Super has suddenly become a great value GPU. Based on our cost per frame data it's barely offering better value than the three year-old RTX 3080 10GB, being 53% faster but 48% more expensive. AMD's RX 7900 XTX also remains a real threat for those primarily interested in rasterisation performance, with that GPU now available at £870 while being 6% faster on average at 4K.

The biggest question mark for me is exactly why we needed the RTX 4080 Super in the first place. From my perspective, considering the Super refresh has not improved performance in any meaningful way, a price cut to the original RTX 4080 would have had the exact same effect. Indeed, the fact that the 4080 Super is no faster than the original model means it'll be worth keeping an eye out for any deals as the 4080 gets phased out, as if you can find one for even slightly less money than the 4080 Super, you're really not missing out by opting for the OG version.

At the end of the day, the RTX 4080 Super has improved Nvidia's position in this market segment. Not by offering any meaningful performance gains, but by lowering the price-point to really squeeze AMD and the RX 7900 XTX in particular. I do find it to be a very lacklustre launch overall for the reasons outlined above, but the fact remains, if you are shopping for a £900-£1000 GPU, the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super is probably the card to get.

Nvidia sent the following retail links for the RTX 4080 Super:

• Founders Edition (Nvidia Store)
• Zotac Trinity Black (Scan, OCUK)
• Palit JetStream OC (Scan)
• Gainward (OCUK)

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Pros

• Great 4K gaming performance.
• Second only to the RTX 4090 for ray tracing.
• Lower starting price does improve value over the original 4080.
• Most efficient 40-series GPU yet.
• DLSS support is a strong value-add.
• Founders Edition is a real looker.

Cons

• No real amount faster than the RTX 4080 it replaces.
• Still a very expensive graphics card.
• Next to no improvement in cost per frame versus the previous-gen RTX 3080 10GB.
• RX 7900 XTX is faster for rasterisation while now priced at or below £900.

KitGuru says: Don't think of it as a new graphics card, but as a simple price cut for the original RTX 4080.

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