GeForce RTX 3080 vs GTX 590

Place in the ranking	499	27
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.75	46.38
Power efficiency	1.64	14.09
Architecture	Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GF110	GA102
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	24 March 2011 (13 years ago)	1 September 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$699	$699

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3080 has 6084% better value for money than GTX 590.

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	1024	8704
Core clock speed	607 MHz	1440 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1710 MHz
Number of transistors	3,000 million	28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	365 Watt	320 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	97 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	38.91	465.1
Floating-point processing power	1.244 TFLOPS	29.77 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	96
TMUs	64	272
Tensor Cores	no data	272
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	68

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).

Bus support	16x PCI-E 2.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	279 mm	285 mm
Height	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 8-pin	1x 12-pin
SLI options	+	-

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	GDDR5	GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount	3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)	10 GB
Memory bus width	768-bit (384-bit per GPU)	320 Bit
Memory clock speed	1707 MHz	1188 MHz
Memory bandwidth	327.7 GB/s	760.3 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 Connectors	Three Dual Link DVI-IMini DisplayPort	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Multi monitor support	+	no data
HDMI	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.5
OpenGL	4.2	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	2.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.2
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.

GTX 590 8.36

RTX 3080 63.02
+654%

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.

GTX 590 3341

RTX 3080 25186
+654%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 590 9167

RTX 3080 53713
+486%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 590 25720

RTX 3080 91747
+257%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 590 6680

RTX 3080 39257
+488%

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GTX 590 12811

RTX 3080 167014
+1204%

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	47 −645%	350−400 +645%
Full HD	108 −55.6%	168 +55.6%
1200p	112 −614%	800−850 +614%
1440p	16−18 −681%	125 +681%
4K	10−12 −770%	87 +770%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	6.47 −55.6%	4.16 +55.6%
1440p	43.69 −681%	5.59 +681%
4K	69.90 −770%	8.03 +770%

RTX 3080 has 56% lower cost per frame in 1080p
RTX 3080 has 681% lower cost per frame in 1440p
RTX 3080 has 770% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −806%	150−160 +806%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −782%	150−160 +782%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −318%	110−120 +318%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −806%	150−160 +806%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −682%	133 +682%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −994%	383 +994%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 −624%	152 +624%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −461%	129 +461%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −446%	131 +446%
Valorant	30−35 −766%	277 +766%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −318%	110−120 +318%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −806%	150−160 +806%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −635%	125 +635%
Dota 2	30−35 −374%	147 +374%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −232%	123 +232%
Fortnite	50−55 −402%	250−260 +402%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −831%	326 +831%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 −738%	176 +738%
Grand Theft Auto V	30−35 −374%	147 +374%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −417%	119 +417%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 −216%	210−220 +216%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −396%	119 +396%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 −569%	170−180 +569%
Valorant	30−35 −525%	200 +525%
World of Tanks	120−130 −116%	270−280 +116%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −318%	110−120 +318%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −806%	150−160 +806%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −588%	117 +588%
Dota 2	30−35 −335%	135 +335%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −241%	120−130 +241%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −720%	287 +720%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 −567%	140 +567%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 −216%	210−220 +216%
Valorant	30−35 −738%	268 +738%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	10−12 −918%	112 +918%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−12 −918%	112 +918%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 −317%	170−180 +317%
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 −1100%	84 +1100%
World of Tanks	60−65 −613%	400−450 +613%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	16−18 −444%	85−90 +444%
Counter-Strike 2	7−8 −614%	50−55 +614%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 −1029%	79 +1029%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −789%	160−170 +789%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 −1053%	219 +1053%
Forza Horizon 5	12−14 −869%	126 +869%
Metro Exodus	14−16 −613%	107 +613%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 −1075%	140−150 +1075%
Valorant	21−24 −1027%	248 +1027%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	12−14 −200%	35−40 +200%
Dota 2	18−20 −653%	143 +653%
Grand Theft Auto V	18−20 −653%	143 +653%
Metro Exodus	4−5 −1525%	65 +1525%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −736%	200−210 +736%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −833%	56 +833%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 −653%	143 +653%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	7−8 −1100%	80−85 +1100%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 −200%	35−40 +200%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −1267%	41 +1267%
Dota 2	18−20 −579%	129 +579%
Far Cry 5	10−11 −950%	100−110 +950%
Fortnite	9−10 −967%	95−100 +967%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 −1127%	135 +1127%
Forza Horizon 5	6−7 −1200%	78 +1200%
Valorant	8−9 −1813%	153 +1813%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2

30−35

+0%

30−35

+0%

This is how GTX 590 and RTX 3080 compete in popular games:

RTX 3080 is 645% faster in 900p
RTX 3080 is 56% faster in 1080p
RTX 3080 is 614% faster in 1200p
RTX 3080 is 681% faster in 1440p
RTX 3080 is 770% 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 3080 is 1813% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RTX 3080 is ahead in 63 tests (98%)
there's a draw in 1 test (2%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	8.36	63.02
Recency	24 March 2011	1 September 2020
Maximum RAM amount	3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)	10 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	365 Watt	320 Watt

RTX 3080 has a 653.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 9 years, a 233.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 400% more advanced lithography process, and 14.1% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3080 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 590 in performance tests.

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