RTX 4070 vs RTX 3080: Gaming Performance & Bottleneck (2026)

The RTX 4070 and RTX 3080 are effectively tied: at 1440p High they average 84 and 88 FPS in AAA games with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and at 4K the gap is just 0%. At 1080p they're 6% apart too. With ray tracing on at 1440p they manage 48 and 46 FPS respectively, so plan on DLSS, FSR or XeSS upscaling. In esports games like CS2 or Valorant at 1080p they reach 379 and 398 FPS, so either can feed a 360 Hz monitor. At 4K the RTX 4070 manages 51 FPS native, and DLSS Quality lifts that to about 71. The RTX 4070 also has more memory (12 GB vs 10 GB), and 10 GB is short of the ~11 GB that 4K High needs. With frame rates this close, price and the features you value should decide, not benchmarks. To stay under a 10% CPU bottleneck at 1440p, both need only a Ryzen 5 3600-class CPU.

Relative performance

Faster card = 100%. Average FPS at High settings with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

1440p, AAA games

RTX 407095%

RTX 3080100%

84 vs 88 FPS · RTX 3080 +6%

4K, AAA games

RTX 4070100%

RTX 3080100%

51 vs 51 FPS · level

1440p, ray tracing

RTX 4070100%

RTX 308095%

48 vs 46 FPS · RTX 4070 +5%

FPS with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D

Average FPS in AAA games, no upscaling. A fast CPU, so the graphics card sets the pace.

Setting	RTX 4070	RTX 3080	Lead
1080p High	119	126	3080 +6%
1440p High	84	88	3080 +6%
4K High	51	51	Level
1440p ray tracing	48	46	4070 +5%

Specifications

Raster index: RTX 4090 = 100.

Spec	RTX 4070	RTX 3080
VRAM	12 GB	10 GB
Ray tracing	Yes, full speed	Yes, 95% efficiency
Released	2023	2020
Raster index	52	55

Which CPU do you need?

Slowest common CPU that keeps each card under a 10% bottleneck at 1440p High.

Graphics card	Slowest CPU	FPS
RTX 4070	Ryzen 5 3600 or faster	75
RTX 3080	Ryzen 5 3600 or faster	76

Which should you buy?

On raster performance this is a coin toss, so buy whichever is cheaper where you shop. If you play with ray tracing, the RTX 4070 is the safer pick (5% faster with RT at 1440p). At the same price, take the RTX 4070 for its extra VRAM.

Buy the RTX 4070 if…

you play with ray tracing: 48 vs 46 FPS at 1440p.
you play at 4K or use high-resolution texture packs: 12 GB of VRAM vs 10 GB.
you want the newer card (2023) with the longer driver and feature support ahead of it.
it costs at least 6% less than the RTX 3080, which makes it the better value per frame.

Buy the RTX 3080 if…

it's the cheaper of the two where you shop: performance is close enough that price decides.

Check your build

These numbers use a Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate the graphics card. Your own CPU, resolution and settings change the result, so run your exact parts through the calculator.

Check Ryzen 5 3600 + RTX 4070 Check Ryzen 5 3600 + RTX 3080

Popular builds with these cards

Ryzen 5 7600 + RTX 40701440p · GPU-limited 39% · ≈83 FPS Core i5-14600K + RTX 40701440p · GPU-limited 44% · ≈83 FPS Ryzen 7 5700X3D + RTX 40701440p · GPU-limited 37% · ≈83 FPS Ryzen 7 9800X3D + RTX 30801440p · GPU-limited 56% · ≈88 FPS Ryzen 7 7800X3D + RTX 30801440p · GPU-limited 50% · ≈88 FPS Ryzen 5 7600 + RTX 30801440p · GPU-limited 35% · ≈88 FPS

RTX 4070 vs RTX 3080: quick answers

Is the RTX 4070 faster than the RTX 3080?

They're within 0% of each other at 4K and 6% at 1440p, so in practice they perform the same. With ray tracing on at 1440p the RTX 4070 gets about 48 FPS and the RTX 3080 46 FPS.

How many FPS do the RTX 4070 and RTX 3080 get?

With a Ryzen 7 9800X3D at High settings in AAA games, the RTX 4070 averages about 119 FPS at 1080p, 84 at 1440p and 51 at 4K. The RTX 3080 averages 126, 88 and 51 FPS. DLSS, FSR or XeSS upscaling adds roughly 40% where the graphics card is the limit.

What CPU do I need for the RTX 4070 or RTX 3080?

To keep the CPU bottleneck under 10% at 1440p, the RTX 4070 needs a Ryzen 5 3600 or faster and the RTX 3080 needs a Ryzen 5 3600 or faster. At 1080p you need a faster CPU for the same result, and at 4K a slower one is fine.