GeForce RTX 5080 vs GT 420M

Place in the ranking	1111	3
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	40.98
Power efficiency	3.08	18.22
Architecture	Fermi (2010−2014)	Blackwell 2.0 (2025)
GPU code name	GF108	GB203
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	3 September 2010 (14 years ago)	30 January 2025 (recently)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$999

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

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 cores	96	10752
Core clock speed	500 MHz	2295 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	2617 MHz
Number of transistors	585 million	45,600 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	4 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	23 Watt	360 Watt
Texture fill rate	8.000	879.3
Floating-point processing power	0.192 TFLOPS	56.28 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	128
TMUs	16	336
Tensor Cores	no data	336
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	84

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).

Laptop size	medium sized	no data
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 5.0 x16
Length	no data	304 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	1x 16-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 type	DDR3	GDDR7
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	16 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	800 MHz	1875 MHz
Memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	960.0 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 Connectors	No outputs	1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b
HDMI	-	+

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX	12 API	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.8
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	3.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.4
CUDA	+	10.1

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.

GT 420M 0.99

RTX 5080 91.80
+9173%

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.

GT 420M 396

RTX 5080 36549
+9130%

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:

900p	12 −9067%	1100−1150 +9067%
Full HD	17 −1035%	193 +1035%
1440p	1−2 −15300%	154 +15300%
4K	1−2 −10100%	102 +10100%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	no data	5.18
1440p	no data	6.49
4K	no data	9.79

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −1809%	210−220 +1809%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −8650%	350−400 +8650%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	0−1	110−120
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −1809%	210−220 +1809%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −8650%	350−400 +8650%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −8650%	700−750 +8650%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −2500%	150−160 +2500%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	0−1	110−120
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −1809%	210−220 +1809%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −8650%	350−400 +8650%
Far Cry 5	10−11 −1470%	157 +1470%
Fortnite	4−5 −7600%	300−350 +7600%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −8650%	700−750 +8650%
Grand Theft Auto V	0−1	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	12−14 −1692%	210−220 +1692%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −2500%	150−160 +2500%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 −2800%	170−180 +2800%
World of Tanks	24−27 −1063%	270−280 +1063%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	0−1	110−120
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −1918%	222 +1918%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −8650%	350−400 +8650%
Far Cry 5	10−11 −1730%	180−190 +1730%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −8650%	700−750 +8650%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	12−14 −1692%	210−220 +1692%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	4−5 −3425%	140−150 +3425%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	5−6 −8900%	450−500 +8900%
World of Tanks	5−6 −10220%	500−550 +10220%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −8900%	270−280 +8900%
Far Cry 5	5−6 −3100%	160−170 +3100%
Forza Horizon 5	0−1	210−220
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 −8650%	350−400 +8650%
Valorant	6−7 −8867%	500−550 +8867%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	14−16 −1147%	180−190 +1147%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 −8900%	1350−1400 +8900%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	3−4 −6867%	200−210 +6867%
Red Dead Redemption 2	0−1	60−65
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 −8900%	1350−1400 +8900%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2 −9000%	90−95 +9000%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −8900%	180−190 +8900%
Dota 2	14−16 −8900%	1350−1400 +8900%
Far Cry 5	0−1	100−110
Valorant	1−2 −32000%	300−350 +32000%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Forza Horizon 5	280−290 +0%	280−290 +0%
Metro Exodus	180−190 +0%	180−190 +0%
Valorant	700−750 +0%	700−750 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Dota 2	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	280−290 +0%	280−290 +0%
Metro Exodus	180−190 +0%	180−190 +0%
Valorant	700−750 +0%	700−750 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Forza Horizon 5	280−290 +0%	280−290 +0%
Valorant	700−750 +0%	700−750 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	85−90 +0%	85−90 +0%
Metro Exodus	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	109 +0%	109 +0%
Metro Exodus	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	36 +0%	36 +0%
Fortnite	95−100 +0%	95−100 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%

This is how GT 420M and RTX 5080 compete in popular games:

RTX 5080 is 9067% faster in 900p
RTX 5080 is 1035% faster in 1080p
RTX 5080 is 15300% faster in 1440p
RTX 5080 is 10100% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Valorant, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 5080 is 32000% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RTX 5080 is ahead in 21 test (54%)
there's a draw in 18 tests (46%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.99	91.80
Recency	3 September 2010	30 January 2025
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	16 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	4 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	23 Watt	360 Watt

GT 420M has 1465.2% lower power consumption.

RTX 5080, on the other hand, has a 9172.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 900% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 5080 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 420M in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GT 420M is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 5080 is a desktop one.

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