GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs GeForce RTX 4060 Ti

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

2017Core: 1290 MHzBoost: 1468 MHz
GTX family
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VS
NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 4060 Ti

2023Core: 2310 MHzBoost: 2535 MHz
RTX family
·······

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs GeForce RTX 4060 Ti FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs GeForce RTX 4060 Ti: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

2017

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 4060 Ti across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • No equivalent frame-generation stack like DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
  • 2017 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 56.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

GeForce RTX 4060 Ti

2023

Why buy it

  • 69.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 56.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Access to a newer frame-generation stack with DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023).
  • Better long-term bet: Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 69.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 95.8% in PassMark G3D (22,651 vs 11,566), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer feature stack, with DLSS 3.5 Super Resolution (2023) and DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation (2023), while GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is limited to no meaningful modern upscaling stack and no comparable frame-generation support, a 5nm process instead of 16nm, 34 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2023 generation instead of 2017. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 27 2017. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1290 MHz to 1468 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,566 points.

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 4060 Ti

The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 18 2023. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 2310 MHz to 2535 MHz. It has 4352 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 160W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 34 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 22,651 points. Launch price was $399.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design scores 11,566 versus the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti's 22,651 — the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti leads by 95.8%. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti uses Ada Lovelace, both on 16 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 4,352 (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti). Raw compute: 7.516 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 22.06 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti). Boost clocks: 1468 MHz vs 2535 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
G3D Mark Score
11,566
22,651+96%
Architecture
Pascal
Ada Lovelace
Process Node
16 nm
5 nm
Shading Units
2560
4352+70%
Compute (TFLOPS)
7.516 TFLOPS
22.06 TFLOPS+194%
Boost Clock
1468 MHz
2535 MHz+73%
ROPs
64+33%
48
TMUs
160+18%
136
L1 Cache
0.94 MB
4.3 MB+357%
L2 Cache
2 MB
32 MB+1500%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The clearest feature edge for the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is support for DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation. In games that support it, that can smooth out motion and lift perceived FPS. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design does not have comparable native support in the same tier.The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti supports the newer DLSS 3.5 Super Resolution, whereas the GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is capped at Upscaling support.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
DLSS 3.5 Super Resolution
Frame Generation
Not Supported
DLSS 3.5 + Frame Generation
Ray Reconstruction
No
Yes (DLSS 3.5)
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
NVIDIA Reflex
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 8 GB of video memory. Memory bandwidth: 256 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 288 GB/s (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti) — a 12.5% advantage for the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design and 128-bit on the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 32 MB (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti) — the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
VRAM Capacity
8 GB
8 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5X
GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth
256 GB/s
288 GB/s+13%
Bus Width
256-bit+100%
128-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB
32 MB+1500%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.2 (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
DirectX
12.1
12.2
Vulkan
1.1
1.3+18%
OpenGL
4.5
4.6+2%
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 8th Gen NVENC (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Encoder
NVENC 4.0
8th Gen NVENC
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP6
5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design draws 150W versus the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti's 160W — a 6.5% difference. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 550W (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 240mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 70°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
TDP
150W-6%
160W
Recommended PSU
500W-9%
550W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
8-pin
Length
0mm
240mm
Height
0mm
111mm
Slots
0-100%
2
Temp (Load)
80°C
70°C-13%
Perf/Watt
77.1
141.6+84%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (2023 vs 2017).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignGeForce RTX 4060 Ti
MSRP
$399
Codename
GP104
AD106
Release
June 27 2017
May 18 2023
Ranking
#257
#59

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