Nvidia has announced brand new Ti hardware for its flagship RTX graphics cards. In this guide, we compare the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti with facts that tell you which card is the best value for virtual reality.
We’ll look at:
- Should you buy the 3070 Ti or the 3080 Ti?
- What RTX 30-series Ti cards, desktops, and laptops can you buy TODAY?
- What features in the new Ti cards help virtual reality gaming?
- Where can you buy the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti?
As well, we have facts and statistics on:
- Price
- Speed
- Memory
- Bandwidth
- TGP
and a lot more!
All of these cards are getting serious consideration for our best GPUs for VR guide. They provide big improvement over the original 3070 and 3080 cards.
If you are looking for details on the new AMD Radeon RX graphics cards, click here to read our 6500 vs 6700 vs 6800 vs 6900 XT guide.
Comment down at the bottom of this guide and let us know which Ti card you are going to use for VR.
What is the Nvidia RTX 3000 Series?
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 30XX Series (Ampere architecture) are Nvidia’s 2020 graphics cards for high performance gaming PC and virtual reality applications. RTX series cards have performance enhancements over Nvidia’s GTX series and new releases always bring a lot of attention.
They are some of the top choices for those looking to build their own PC or buy a pre-made workhorse.
Ti Cards
In June 2021, Nvidia announced updated 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti graphics cards. They are built on the same Ampere architecture, but built for improved gaming. The 3080 Ti is closer in spec to the original RTX 3090, released last year. The 3070 Ti provides good value for series gamers.
Both RTX 30XX Ti graphics cards feature ray tracing technology. Alongside the announcement of the new hardware, Nvidia announced that additional games would be receiving DLSS upgrades as well.
A breakdown of special features included in the upcoming 2021 graphics cards is below.
2nd Generation Ray Tracing
Ray tracing (RT) allows light to be rendered in real-time in games. It adds an unprecedented accuracy to video games and was a big deal when it was announced.
The 2021 RTX specs show second generation RT cores. During the release of the chips, Nvidia previewed ray tracing on a number of games such as Doom Eternal, Lego Builder’s Journey, Icarus, and more. If you are a serious virtual reality gamer, then ray tracing coming to your headset is a big deal.
3rd Generation Tensor Cores
Tensor cores are special types of processing cores that do deep learning and artificial intelligence. They allow for faster computation and better graphics rendering.
Both the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti have more Tensor Cores than their predecessor.
New PCIe Power Connectors
You’ll want to make sure that your card is compatible with the PCIe power connection on your PC. Both the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti have a 12-pin connector.
There is no word on whether Nvidia will include a dual 8-pin to standard single 12-pin connector with each card like they did with the original RTX 30-series cards. PNY has already announced that their Ti GPUs will ship with a traditional dual 8-pin connector.
Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)
DLSS is an exciting feature from Nvidia that uses artificial intelligence to boost frame rates in PC games. It generates beautiful and sharp game images without weighing down your CPU. DLSS is powered by AI processors in the graphics card called tensor cores (more on that later).
DLSS support is being added to VR games regularly. No Man Man’s Sky, Into the Radius, Wrench, and Red Dead Redemption 2 are some recent VR games with new DLSS availability.
Next up, get direct links to buy the new Nvidia RTX cards. Underneath that, we’ll have a look at the RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti to see which graphics card has your attention the most!
How to Buy the Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti
Nvidia works with a handful of certified board partners such as Zotac, XFX, EVGA, PNY and more. who package the chips on a custom board. Below are direct links to purchase these boards.
If you know somewhere else to buy the new RTX Ti chips, comment down at the bottom of this guide!
Check out the RTX Ti cards you can buy right now on Amazon below. If you click the Buy on Amazon link and the card is out of stock, click the Notify Me button on the right side to get an email the second it comes back in stock!
RTX 3070 Ti
RTX 3070
Click here to access the RTX 3070 Founders Edition directly from Nvidia.
RTX 3080 Ti
RTX 3080
Click here to access the RTX 3080 Founders Edition directly from Nvidia.
The following pre-built gaming PCs with the RTX 3080 included are available:
Not sure which card is right for you? Check out our complete breakdown of features below!
Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti For VR
Price
Naturally, price is the first factor to consider if you are looking at the new RTX graphics cards. The price of the Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti and the original cards from last year are:
- 3070 Ti = $599 USD
- 3080 Ti = 1199 USD
- 3070 = $499 USD
- 3080 = $699 USD
The RTX 3080 Ti retails for $200 less than the RTX 3090, but matches nearly every spec on the card except for memory (more on that later).
Release Date
The release date of the new RTX 30-series Ti GPU cards are:
- 3070 Ti = June 10, 2021
- 3080 Ti = June 3, 2021
The release dates above are for third party graphics cards. Nvidia will be releasing a Founders Edition for all cards at a later date with optimized specs.
GPU SKU
The GPU is the physical silicone board that all of the components sit on. The models of GPU in the new cards are as follows:
- 3070 Ti = 8nm GA104-400 GPU
- 3080 Ti = 8nm GA102-225
- 3070 = 8nm GA104-300 GPU
- 3080 = 8nm GA102-200 GPU
All Ampere GPU models use a 8 nanometer production process.
Teraflops: 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti
A teraflop (TFOPS) is a calculation referring to the capability of a processor to calculate one trillion floating-point operations per second. It is a general representation of the speed and processing power of a graphics card. There are three different processors in a graphics card: Programmable shaders, ray-tracing (RT) cores, and tensor cores.
The new RTX cards offer the following:
- 3070 Ti = 22 Shader TFLOPS, 42 RT TFLOPS, 174 Tensor TFLOPS
- 3070 = 20 Shader TFLOPS, 40 RT TFLOPS, 163 Tensor TFLOPS
- 3080 Ti = 34 Shader TFLOPS, 67 RT TFLOPS, 273 Tensor TFLOPS
- 3080 = 30 Shader TFLOPS, 58 RT TFLOPS, 238 Tensor TFLOPS
Since VR games require a lot of operations to render the game on your computer and your headset, teraflops are very important. This is one area between the RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti for VR that is worth considering paying extra for.
While the 3070 Ti offers modest improvements, the 3080 Ti is over 10% more powerful than its original.
CUDA Cores
CUDA cores are a fancy term for the computing power of the chip. CUDA cores work in parallel to render graphics on your display. The more you have, the faster and higher process power your chip has. Nvidia’s CUDA cores is equivalent to AMD’s stream processors and are the following on the new chips:
- 3070 Ti = 6144
- 3080 Ti = 10,240
- 3070 = 5888
- 3080 = 8704
- 3090 = 10,496
As you can see above, the RTX 3080 Ti has nearly the same CUDA Cores as last year’s 3090 for $200 less in price.
Nvidia says that the 3080 Ti runs games 2X faster than the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and 1.5X faster than the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti at 4K.
Memory
The memory is responsible for storing all the graphical information. This information is shown on the output screen. Higher memory helps the card perform at high levels. This is a main factor to consider when buying a VR-ready GPU.
The memory in each of Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX Ti cards are:
- 3070 Ti = 8GB DDR6X
- 3080 Ti = 12GB DDR6X
- 3070 = 8GB DDR6
- 3080 = 10GB GGR6X
- 3090 = 24GGB DDR6X
Memory is the one big advantage that the RTX 3090 from last year still has. The 3080 Ti contains an extra 2 GB over the original card, but still 12 GB less than the 3090.
Boost Clock
Boost clock is the overclocking speed of the device. When a graphics card notices that power and temperature have extra room from their upper limits, it automatically overclocks itself to add more performance. The boost clock for the new Nvidia RTX Ti cards are:
- 3070 Ti = 1770 MHz
- 3080 Ti = 1670 MHz
- 3070 = 1730 MHz
- 3080 = 1710 MHz
Boost clock isn’t too much to be concerned about when looking for a VR-ready GPU. The difference between the models is minimal and not something you will notice.
Memory Bus
Memory bus works together with the memory on the chip to deliver information. The memory bus is the pathway that your gpu uses to access the memory it has. It works together with the memory clock speed to work out exactly how much of the memory can be accessed per second.
- 3070 Ti = 256-bit bus
- 3080 Ti = 384-bit bus
- 3070 = 256-bit bus
- 3080 = 320-bit bus
- 3090 = 384-bit bus
The higher 320-bit memory bus rating on the RTX 3080 Ti means that it can access its 12GB at the same speed as the RTX 3090. This should help the overall performance of the RTX 3080 Ti for VR players.
Bandwidth
The memory bandwidth is the measure of speed between the graphics card and other components inside of the PC. A higher bandwidth means that the card can communicate with the computer’s CPU, memory, and other components quicker.
- 3070 Ti = 608 GB/s
- 3080 Ti = 912 GB/s
- 3070 = 512 GB/s
- 3080 = 760 GB/s
- 3090 = 936 GB/s
Both the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti have improved bandwidth over last year’s models. Again, the 3080 Ti comes really close to matching the old RTX 3090. RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti, you’ll see bandwidth improvements across each card.
The 3090 still has maximum bandwidth, the most on any graphics card ever.
TGP
TGP stands for Total Graphics Power. Higher power output means higher temperature output, which requires extra cooling of the card and more fans. The TGP of the RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti are as follows:
- 3070 Ti = 290W
- 3080 Ti = 350 W
- 3070 = 220W
- 3080 = 320W
- 3090 = 350W
The TGP of the 2070 and 2080 were 115W and 150W respectively, meaning the power consumption of these 2021 cards is quite a bit more!
The power supply requirement for the 3080 Ti and 3090 is 750W.
Summary: Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti For VR
Once again, here is a summary of the specs between the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti.
| RTX 3070 TI | RTX 3080 Ti | RTX 3070 | RTX 3080 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | GA104-400 | GA102-225 | GA104-300 | GA102-200 |
| CUDA Cores | 6,144 | 10,240 | 5,888 | 8,704 |
| Boost Clock | 1770 MHz | 1670 MHz | 1700 MHz | 1710 MHz |
| Shader FLOPS | 22 TFLOPS | 34 TFLOPS | 20 TFLOPS | 30 TFLOPS |
| RT FLOPS | 42 TFLOPS | 67 TFLOPS | 40 TFLOPS | 58 TFLOPS |
| Tensor FLOPS | 174 TFLOPS | 273 TFLOPS | 163 TFLOPS | 238 TFLOPS |
| Tensor Cores | 192 | 328 | 184 | 272 |
| Memory | 8GB DDR6x | 12GB DDR6X | 8GB DDR6 | 10GB DDR6X |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 384-bit | 256-bit | 320-bit |
| Bandwidth | 608 GB/s | 912 GB/s | 512 GB/s | 760 GB/s |
| TGP | 290W | 350W | 220W | 320W |
| Price | $599 | $1199 | $499 | $769 |
| Release Date | June 10, 2021 | June 3, 2021 | October 2020 | September 17, 2020 |
So, which graphics cards should you buy for your new VR-ready computer? Well, the 3070 Ti is a great card that outperforms the original RTX 3080 and older RTX 2070 and 2080. So if you can look past the shiny extra features of the 3080 Ti, then the 3070 is the best price for a nice improvement!
If you have the budget for the RTX 3080 Ti, it nearly matches last year’s RTX 3090 at $200 less in price. The 3090 was (and still is) notoriously hard to find, so the RTX 3080 Ti might be a good fallback options.
The RTX 3080 Ti has extra memory and bandwidth which is valuable for gaming. Other than memory, it nearly matches the RTX 3090 in all other metrics.
Either way, make sure your setup is compatible with 12-pin power connectors!
The biggest problem for all of these new GPU cards for VR is the stock. Nvidia and third party chip sellers have not shown that they have any measurable stock of these cards so far. If you can get your hands on one for MSRP price, then consider yourself lucky. We are keeping track of 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti stock levels and are posting what is available back up at the top of this guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will Founders Edition cards be released?
When new chips are released, Nvidia licenses the technology to third-party packagers who release the graphics card. Founders Edition graphics cards are sold by Nvidia with the GPU and cooler coming directly from Nvidia.
You can find links to buy the Founders Edition cards up at the top of this guide.
What are the best brand partners to buy a graphics card from?
This question is subjective because all partners technically have the same GPU and core components on them. However, some do a better job of packaging the system over others. Brands that are frequently recommended are Asus, MSI, EVGA, and Gigabyte. Zotac, Galax, and PNY are mid-tier brands that have decent reviews at a lower price point usually.
Which card is better: RTX 2080 Ti vs 3070 Ti
For performance, the 3070 Ti has the same performance as the RTX 2080 Ti but at a much better price of $599. Both the 3080 and 3080 Ti exceed the 2080 Ti.
Which GPU card is better: RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080
The new RTX 3070 Ti nearly matches all specs of last year’s 3080. Even better, it retails at less than half the price.
What are the most important specs for VR players?
If you are comparing the 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti for VR, you want to know which specs are most important for you. The answer varies from person to person and there is no exact science. We like looking for high memory, bandwidth, and teraflops. These factors contribute to high quality graphics rendering that is fast.
When you compare the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti vs 3080 Ti, which card do you like the best? Comment below and let us know!
