GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs RTX A4000H

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

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

RTX A4000H

2021Core: 735 MHzBoost: 1560 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design vs RTX A4000H 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 RTX A4000H 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 RTX A4000H: 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 RTX A4000H across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2017 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 11.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $1,000 MSRP).

RTX A4000H

2021

Why buy it

  • 31.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 11.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($1,000 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm 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?
RTX A4000H is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 31.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.2% in PassMark G3D (11,815 vs 11,566), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
RTX A4000H is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 8nm process instead of 16nm, 48 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2021 generation instead of 2017. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
RTX A4000H 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 RTX A4000H 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

RTX A4000H

The RTX A4000H is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 735 MHz to 1560 MHz. It has 6144 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 140W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 48 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,815 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design scores 11,566 and the RTX A4000H reaches 11,815 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the RTX A4000H uses Ampere, both on 16 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 6,144 (RTX A4000H). Raw compute: 7.516 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 19.17 TFLOPS (RTX A4000H). Boost clocks: 1468 MHz vs 1560 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
G3D Mark Score
11,566
11,815+2%
Architecture
Pascal
Ampere
Process Node
16 nm
8 nm
Shading Units
2560
6144+140%
Compute (TFLOPS)
7.516 TFLOPS
19.17 TFLOPS+155%
Boost Clock
1468 MHz
1560 MHz+6%
ROPs
64
96+50%
TMUs
160
192+20%
L1 Cache
0.94 MB
6 MB+538%
L2 Cache
2 MB
4 MB+100%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
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 448 GB/s (RTX A4000H) — a 75% advantage for the RTX A4000H. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design and 192-bit on the RTX A4000H. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 4 MB (RTX A4000H) — the RTX A4000H has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
VRAM Capacity
8 GB
8 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5X
GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth
256 GB/s
448 GB/s+75%
Bus Width
256-bit+33%
192-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB
4 MB+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.2 (RTX A4000H). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
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 None (RTX A4000H). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs None. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs None (RTX A4000H).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
Encoder
NVENC 4.0
None
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP6
None
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC
None
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design draws 150W versus the RTX A4000H's 140W — a 6.9% difference. The RTX A4000H is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 500W (RTX A4000H). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 241mm, occupying 0 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 75°C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
TDP
150W
140W-7%
Recommended PSU
500W
500W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
241mm
Height
0mm
111mm
Slots
0-100%
1
Temp (Load)
80°C
75°C-6%
Perf/Watt
77.1
84.4+9%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is RTX A4000H (2021 vs 2017).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q DesignRTX A4000H
MSRP
$1000
Codename
GP104
GA104
Release
June 27 2017
April 12 2021
Ranking
#257
#226

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