GeForce RTX 3080 vs 6800 XT

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce 6800 XT and GeForce RTX 3080, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

6800 XT
2005
256 MB GDDR3
0.32

RTX 3080 outperforms 6800 XT by a whopping 20381% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking131226
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data45.72
Power efficiencyno data14.10
ArchitectureCurie (2003−2013)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameNV42GA102
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date30 September 2005 (19 years ago)1 September 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$699

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA coresno data8704
Core clock speed450 MHz1440 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1710 MHz
Number of transistors202 million28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology110 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data320 Watt
Texture fill rate5.400465.1
Floating-point processing powerno data29.77 TFLOPS
ROPs896
TMUs12272
Tensor Coresno data272
Ray Tracing Coresno data68

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfaceAGP 8xPCIe 4.0 x16
Lengthno data285 mm
Width1-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x Molex1x 12-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount256 MB10 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit320 Bit
Memory clock speed600 MHz1188 MHz
Memory bandwidth38.4 GB/s760.3 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
HDMI-+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX9.0c (9_3)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model3.06.5
OpenGL2.0 (full) 2.1 (partial)4.6
OpenCLN/A2.0
VulkanN/A1.2
CUDA-8.5

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

6800 XT 0.32
RTX 3080 65.54
+20381%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

6800 XT 123
RTX 3080 25194
+20383%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD0−1168
1440p0−1125
4K-0−187

Cost per frame, $

1080pno data4.16
1440pno data5.59
4Kno data8.03

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Elden Ring 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 133
+0%
133
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 383
+0%
383
+0%
Metro Exodus 129
+0%
129
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 131
+0%
131
+0%
Valorant 277
+0%
277
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 125
+0%
125
+0%
Dota 2 147
+0%
147
+0%
Elden Ring 306
+0%
306
+0%
Far Cry 5 123
+0%
123
+0%
Fortnite 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 326
+0%
326
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 147
+0%
147
+0%
Metro Exodus 119
+0%
119
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 210−220
+0%
210−220
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 119
+0%
119
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Valorant 200
+0%
200
+0%
World of Tanks 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 117
+0%
117
+0%
Dota 2 135
+0%
135
+0%
Far Cry 5 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 287
+0%
287
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 210−220
+0%
210−220
+0%
Valorant 268
+0%
268
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 112
+0%
112
+0%
Elden Ring 181
+0%
181
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 112
+0%
112
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 84
+0%
84
+0%
World of Tanks 400−450
+0%
400−450
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 79
+0%
79
+0%
Far Cry 5 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 219
+0%
219
+0%
Metro Exodus 107
+0%
107
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Valorant 248
+0%
248
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Dota 2 143
+0%
143
+0%
Elden Ring 98
+0%
98
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 143
+0%
143
+0%
Metro Exodus 65
+0%
65
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 56
+0%
56
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 143
+0%
143
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 41
+0%
41
+0%
Dota 2 129
+0%
129
+0%
Far Cry 5 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Fortnite 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 135
+0%
135
+0%
Valorant 153
+0%
153
+0%

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.32 65.54
Recency 30 September 2005 1 September 2020
Maximum RAM amount 256 MB 10 GB
Chip lithography 110 nm 8 nm

RTX 3080 has a 20381.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 3900% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 1275% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3080 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 6800 XT in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT
GeForce 6800 XT
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
GeForce RTX 3080

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4.1 45 votes

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4.2 6286 votes

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Questions & comments

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