NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 vs RTX 2070 – TU104 is 50% faster but costs much more money
Today is the day when we are going to compare two monstrous mobile video cards – RTX 2080 and RTX 2070. They are suitable for 144Hz monitors, they both can deliver high FPS results in the newest titles, and you can find them in high-end laptops with mind-blowing price tags.
The RTX 2080 and RTX 2070 are the dream of the hardcore gamers. We all know that the RTX 2080 is faster but the question is how much and is it worth it over the GTX 2070 price/performance. Our test will show it. Let’s go.
See all configurations with: GeForce RTX 2080 / GeForce RTX 2070
Contents
Specs overview
Both GPUs are based on the Turing architecture. The RTX 2080 is based on the TU104 chip while RTX 2070 is a TU106 GPU.
The RTX 2080 is a monster of a GPU. It features 2944 shaders, 64 ROPs, 150 TGP, 1380 MHz / 1590 MHz base/boost clock, 14000 MHz memory frequency, 8GB GDDR6 memory, and а 256-bit memory bus. As we already said, a true monster, the fastest mobile GPU right now (December 2019).
Hey, don’t forget that the RTX 2070 isn’t slow by any means – it’s a fast GPU too. TU106 has some identical specs to TU104 – the same ROPs count (64), the same memory size and type (8GB GDDR6), and the same memory bus – 256 bit. Not bad, spec-wise the RTX 2070 looks like a great GPU even when it is compared to RTX 2080. Of course, there are some cut-downs – lower base and boost clocks (1215 MHz/ 1440 MHz), lower memory frequency (1200 MHz), and lower TGP – 115W. This means that in heavy game loads the GPU will throttle its frequencies to stay in the 115W range.
Ok, enough talking, let’s go straight to our benchmarks.
GPU comparison table
RTX 2080 | RTX 2070 | |
---|---|---|
Architecture | Turing | Turing |
GPU chip | TU104 | TU106 |
Shader units | 2944 (+45%) | 2034 |
ROPs | 64 | 64 |
Base Clock (MHz) | 1380 (+14%) | 1215 |
Boost clock (MHz) | 1590 (+10%) | 1440 |
Memory clock (MHz) | 14000 | 12000 |
Memory size (MB) | 8192 | 8192 |
Memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
Memory bus width (bit) | 256 | 256 |
TGP (Total Graphics Power) | 150W (+30%) | 115W |
DirectX version | 12.1 | 12.1 |
Technology | 12nm | 12nm |
RTX capabilities | Yes | Yes |
Release date | 01.2019 | 01.2019 |
Official page | Link | Link |
Synthetic benchmarks
RTX 2080 over RTX 2070 | 3Dmark Fire Strike (G) | Unigine Heaven 3.0 | Unigine Heaven 4.0 | Unigine Superposition | Average difference % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | +22% | +16% | +21% | +18% | ~19% |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | – | – | – | – | – |
In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 2080 is around 19% faster than RTX 2070. The “real deal” is in the gaming tests with realtime gameplay statistics so let’s jump to them.
Gaming tests
The moment of the truth. Yes, RTX 2080 is like a hypercar, but we will analyze every test to see how much the RTX 2070 falls behind. It will be interesting to see if both cards can deliver 60 FPS on Max settings.
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Very High (Check settings) | Full HD, MAX (Check settings) |
---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | 144 fps (+46%) | 88 fps (+34%) | 70 fps (+25%) |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | 99 fps | 68 fps | 56 fps |
In GTA V, the RTX 2080 delivers top performance no matter the settings, as expected. We have 70 FPS score for the RTX 2080, which means a bit smoother gameplay than RTX 2070, with no dips below 60 FPS. For example, the RTX 2070 is 25% slower on Max settings and the result is under 60 FPS with a score of 56 FPS. Not bad.
Far Cry 5 | Full HD, Normal (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | 129 fps (+55%) | 128 fps (+58%) | 118 fps (+51%) |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | 83 fps | 81 fps | 78 fps |
In Far Cry 5, both GPUs deliver smooth performance even when the settings are maxed-out. But boy, RTX 2080 is 51% faster on Max settings. Yes, 71 FPS is a great result for the RTX 2070, but RTX 2080 delivers 121 FPS – if your machine is configured with a 144Hz panel the gameplay will be smooth as butter.
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, Very High (Check settings) | Full HD, MAX (Check settings) |
---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | 163 fps (+63%) | 106 fps (+34%) | 96 fps (+71%) |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | 100 fps | 79 fps | 56 fps |
Rise Of The Tomb Raider has a beautiful engine that is heavy too. It isn’t a problem for RTX 2080 with a whopping 96 FPS on Max settings. RTX 2070 is again, a notch below 60 FPS – “only 4 FPS under the barrier”. If you look closer at the results here, you may notice that RTX 2080 has almost the same score on Max settings that RTX 2070 has on Medium settings.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Very High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | 121 fps (+64%) | 108 fps (+61%) | 73 fps (+52%) |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | 74 fps | 67 fps | 48 fps |
Ghost Recon: Wildlands is one of the heaviest games in our tests. RTX 2080 result is very strong (Max settings) – 73 FPS. RTX 2070 has a decent result too – 48 FPS. Every GPU below RTX 2070 will struggle much more here.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Highest (Check settings) |
---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | 112 fps (+34%) | 117 fps (+58%) | 81 fps (+53%) |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | 76 fps | 74 fps | 62 fps |
In Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, the trend is maintained as the benchmarks above. RTX 2080 has 53% better result on Max settings. RTX 2070 has nothing to hide with a 62 FPS score – a nice one too.
Performance summary (gaming tests)
RTX 2080 over RTX 2070 | Full HD, High | Full HD, Very High | Full HD, MAX |
---|---|---|---|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | +52% | +49% | +50% |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | – | – | – |
So, before the verdict, let’s make a quick summary of all tests – no matter the setting the RTX 2080 is around 50% faster! The RTX 2070 is a good performer too and it is always close to the 60 FPS mark. Maybe if you drop one or two settings down (shadow quality for example) you will get better frame times (above 60 FPS).
Verdict
Well, both GPUs are performance monsters. Even the performance of RTX 2070 is enough for heavy games with eye-candy quality settings. RTX 2080 is 50% faster but a configuration with it will empty your wallet (or maybe your savings too). The RTX 2070 is the smart choice – great performance (especially for a mobile GPU) at a much lower price tag.
The RTX 2080 is the best mobile GPU that money can buy. If the money isn’t a problem go for it – you will not be disappointed. The higher shader count, the higher frequencies, and the 35W higher TGP are its “horsepower”. We can recommend the TU106 configured with a fast high refresh rate monitor – you will have the best of both worlds, high FPS and smooth gameplay.
Don’t forget that both GPUs require good cooling because of the higher heat dissipation and the devices equipped with them are a bit thicker than the ones with the Max-Q versions (which are slower).
All laptops equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
All laptops equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070