NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, AI & Machine Learning Comparison
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 wins 2 of 11 benchmarks, averaging 29% faster.
Both cards were measured first-party on our bench, same suite, same test rig.
What the numbers say
The gap is widest in Llama 3.1 8B, where NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 leads by 35% (125.85 vs 93.16 tok/s); the closest fight is Qwen3 4B (23% apart); VRAM decides part of this one: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 runs 3 of our 12 AI workloads while the other card runs 3, models that don't fit score zero.
Benchmark results head-to-head
| Benchmark | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3 4B tok/s | 184.08 | 149.68 | +23% |
| Llama 3.1 8B tok/s | 125.85 | 93.16 | +35% |
| Qwen2.5-Coder 14B tok/s | 0 | 50.74 | n/a |
| Qwen3 32B tok/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Llama 3.3 70B tok/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Z-Image Turbo images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| FLUX.1 dev images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| FLUX.1 Kontext dev images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Qwen-Image-Edit images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| LTX-Video (distilled) frames/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Wan 2.2 5B (720p) frames/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Cost to rent
| Card | Per hour |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | $0.029 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | $0.076 |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 2.62x cheaper per hour. Cheapest on-demand rate we see across RunPod and Vast.
Specifications compared
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 10GB | 12GB |
| Transistors | 28,300M | 35,800M |
| Die size | 628.4 mm² | 294.5 mm² |
| Transistor density | 45 M/mm² | 121.6 M/mm² |
| Architecture | Ampere (GA102) | Ada Lovelace |
| Memory bandwidth | 760 GB/s | 504 GB/s |
| Boost clock | 1,710 MHz | 2,475 MHz |
| TDP | 320 W | 200 W |
| Launch MSRP | $699 | $599 |
| Release | 2020-09-17 | 2023-04-13 |
FAQ
- Which is better for ai & machine learning: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070?
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 performs better for ai & machine learning, winning 2 of 11 benchmarks in our suite with an average 29% advantage.
- What are the main hardware differences between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070?
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has 10GB VRAM and a 320W TDP, while NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has 12GB VRAM and a 200W TDP.
- Does VRAM matter more than speed between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070?
- For AI, yes, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 fits 1 more of our 12 workloads than NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. A model that exceeds VRAM doesn't run slower, it doesn't run at all, so the card that fits the model wins that workload outright.
- Where is the biggest performance difference between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070?
- Llama 3.1 8B: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 leads by roughly 35% (125.85 vs 93.16 tok/s) in our testing.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 full review · NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 full review · All AI & Machine Learning rankings