Versus Engine
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB) vs Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB)
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB) against Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB), side by side.
Cheaper to start
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB)
Starts about $1,000 lower.
Rated higher
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB)
9.7 vs 9.1 on our design scale.
Standout
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB)
Solid generational gain over the 4080
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB)
A solid generational step over the 4080 at $999, still capped at 16GB of VRAM.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Solid generational gain over the 4080
- Much better cost per frame than the 5090
- Strong for rendering and video work
Cons
- 16GB VRAM — no more model headroom than a 5070 Ti at two-thirds the price
- Cannot run 70B-class inference
- Expensive for what it adds over the tier below
Specifications
- memory16GB GDDR7
- cuda_cores10752
- memory_bus256-bit
- architectureBlackwell
- memory_bandwidth960 GB/s
- total_graphics_power360W
- recommended_psu—
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB)
The fastest consumer card available, with 32GB of GDDR7 — and the power bill to match.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- 32GB GDDR7 — runs 70B-class models quantised on a single card
- Fastest consumer silicon available
- Avoids the complexity of a multi-GPU build
Cons
- Roughly double the 5080's price for far less than double the performance
- 600W-class power delivery dictates case and PSU choices
- Poor value for anything that is not memory-bound
Specifications
- memory32GB GDDR7
- cuda_cores21760
- memory_bus512-bit
- architectureBlackwell
- memory_bandwidth1792 GB/s
- total_graphics_power575W
- recommended_psu1000W