Table of Contents
Introduction
NVIDIA has a long history of releasing "Ti" variants of their products which in most cases are simply slight upgrades to the base model. With the recent launch of the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti, NVIDIA is continuing this trend. Compared to the base RTX 3070, the RTX 3070 Ti has the same amount of VRAM (8GB) but has a few more CUDA cores that run at a slightly higher frequency. The RTX 3080 Ti, on the other hand, has 2GB more VRAM than the RTX 3080 (12GB versus 10GB) and 18% more CUDA cores – although the maximum boost clock is a bit lower. In fact, in terms of performance, the RTX 3080 Ti should be closer to the RTX 3090 than it is to the RTX 3080.
The improved performance of these new GPUs will make them attractive for many GPU-heavy workflows, but other applications may not see much of a benefit. To see how these new cards perform in a range of other real-world scenarios, we have reviews looking at a number of applications across video and photo editing, game development, and more. While this post includes a summary for each entry, we highly recommend reading the full article for programs you are interested in as we go into much greater detail in the individual reviews.
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If you want to see the full specs for the latest NVIDIA GPUs we recommend checking out the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series product page. But at a glance, here are what we consider to be the most important specs:
| VRAM | Cores | Boost Clock | Power | MSRP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 3060 | 12GB | 3,584 | 1.78 GHz | 170W | $329 |
| RTX 3060 Ti | 8GB | 4,864 | 1.67 GHz | 200W | $399 |
| RTX 3070 | 8GB | 5,888 | 1.70 GHz | 220W | $499 |
| RTX 3070 Ti | 8GB | 6,144 | 1.77 GHz | 290W | $599 |
| RTX 3080 | 10GB | 8,704 | 1.71 GHz | 320W | $699 |
| RTX 3080 Ti | 12GB | 10,240 | 1.67 GHz | 350W | $1,199 |
| RTX 3090 | 24GB | 10,496 | 1.73 GHz | 350W | $1,499 |
As we noted earlier, the RTX 3070 Ti is simply a slightly more powerful version of the RTX 3070 and is priced right in between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080. The RTX 3080 Ti, on the other hand, has 2GB more VRAM than the RTX 3080 and is close to the same CUDA core count as the RTX 3090. Price-wise, it is $500 more than the RTX 3080, or $300 less than the RTX 3090. On paper, it looks to be a great card for those that need high GPU performance, but not necessarily the large 24GB of VRAM that is found on the RTX 3090.
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DaVinci Resolve Studio
Read the full article: DaVinci Resolve Studio – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: Overall, the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti GPUs are both solid choices for DaVinci Resolve. For the tasks that rely heavily on the GPU (primarily noise reduction and OpenFX), the RTX 3080 Ti can be 12% faster than the RTX 3080, while the RTX 3070 Ti is 21% faster than the RTX 3070. All-in-all, this means that the performance of these cards line up extremely well with their MSRP pricing in terms of performance.
The price of the RTX 3080 Ti is certainly not cheap, however, and many users may opt to pay the extra $300 to go straight up to the RTX 3090 which has twice the VRAM (24GB vs 12GB) and a more powerful cooler. 12GB of VRAM should be plenty for 4K workflows, but if you want to be able to go up to 8K, 12GB isn't going to cut it in DaVinci Resolve and you would need to upgrade to the RTX 3090 24GB. Because of this, going with the top-of-the-line RTX 3090 24GB in order to help future-proof your system is not a terrible idea if you have the budget for it.
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Adobe Premiere Pro
Read the full article: Adobe Premiere Pro – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: Overall, both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti are terrific GPUs for Premiere Pro. For only a small $100 higher MSRP, the RTX 3070 Ti is a solid 6% faster than the RTX 3070. The RTX 3080 Ti is a smaller 4% faster than the RTX 3080 – or roughly on par with the more expensive RTX 3090 – but the 12GB of VRAM also makes it a more comfortable choice over the RTX 3080 10GB if you work with 8K footage since 10GB can be a bit tight depending on what effects you will be using.
The price of the RTX 3080 Ti is certainly not cheap, however, and many users may opt to pay the extra $300 to go straight up to the RTX 3090 which has twice the VRAM (24GB vs 12GB). 12GB of VRAM should be plenty for even 8K workflows, but with cameras coming out that are able to record higher and higher resolutions every year, skipping the RTX 3080 Ti 12GB and going with the top-of-the-line RTX 3090 24GB in order to help future-proof your system is not a terrible idea if you have the budget for it.
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Adobe After Effects
Read the full article: Adobe After Effects – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: For most users, After Effects is going to be CPU bottlenecked long before the performance of your GPU comes into play. But, if your workflow includes heavy use of GPU accelerated effects, the RTX 3080 Ti ties with the RTX 3090 as the fastest GPU we have tested for After Effects. The RTX 3070 Ti, however, doesn't provide much of a benefit over the RTX 3070, or even the RTX 3060 Ti.
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Unreal Engine
Read the full article: Unreal Engine 4.26 – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: The RTX 3080 Ti offers nearly identical performance to the RTX 3090 for a lower price, as long as VRAM is not an issue. However, stability issues were seen in projects that require large amounts of VRAM, specifically those used for Virtual Production or ArchViz. Those that need less than 12GB of VRAM can get similar results to the existing RTX 3090 but at a lower cost. Hopefully, a new driver will fix the stability issues, but even so, users working with large scenes would be better off opting for the RTX 3090.
The 3070 Ti offers a modest 7% improvement on average. This isn't as much as would have been hoped for, especially when for a little bit more, the RTX 3080 is 14% faster with 2 extra gigs of VRAM.
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OctaneRender
Read the full article: OctaneRender 2020 – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: The RTX 3080 Ti offers nearly identical performance to the RTX 3090 for a lower price, as long as VRAM is not an issue. With half the VRAM of the RTX 3090, this new card may not be for everyone, especially those with large and complex scenes. In those instances, the RTX 3090's massive 24GB VRAM is still unmatched. However, for those that only need the 12GB offered by the new RTX 3080 Ti, this new card offers top-of-the-line performance at a lower price.
The RTX 3070 Ti renders about 10% faster than the base RTX 3070, and 19% slower than the RTX 3080. It also has less VRAM than the RTX 3080. There are several much faster options available, but it still offers good performance for the money.
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V-Ray GPU Rendering
Read the full article: V-Ray – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: The RTX 3080 Ti offers nearly identical performance to the RTX 3090 for a lower price, as long as VRAM is not an issue. With half the VRAM of the RTX 3090, this new card may not be for everyone, especially those with large and complex scenes. In those instances, the RTX 3090's massive 24GB VRAM is still unmatched. However, for those that only need the 12GB offered by the new RTX 3080 Ti, this new card offers top-of-the-line performance at a lower price.
The RTX 3070 Ti renders about 15% faster than the base RTX 3070, and only 7% slower than the RTX 3080. It does have less VRAM than the RTX 3080, but still offers a good value for users with smaller scenes. There are several much faster options available, but it still offers good performance for the money.
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RedShift
Read the full article: Redshift – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & 3080 Ti Performance
Summary: The RTX 3080 Ti offers nearly identical performance to the RTX 3090 for a lower price, as long as VRAM is not an issue. With half the VRAM of the RTX 3090, this new card may not be for everyone, especially those with large and complex scenes. In those instances, the RTX 3090's massive 24GB VRAM is still unmatched. However, for those that only need the 12GB offered by the new RTX 3080 Ti, this new card offers top-of-the-line performance at a lower price.
The RTX 3070 Ti renders about 11% faster than the base RTX 3070, and 17% slower than the RTX 3080. It does also have less VRAM than the RTX 3080. There are several much faster options available, but it still offers good performance for the money.
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How well do the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti & RTX 3080 Ti perform overall?
In most cases, the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB and RTX 3080 Ti 12GB perform right in line with their MSRP – providing a very fair return on investment.
The RTX 3070 Ti in particular is priced exactly in between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080, and in most cases also perfectly splits the difference in terms of performance. This is great if your budget allows for a bit more than the $499 RTX 3070, but you can't quite afford the $699 RTX 3080. It nothing else, the RTX 3070 Ti provides more granularity in NVIDIA's GeForce lineup, making it easier to get the best possible performance for your budget.
For the RTX 3080 Ti, the performance is also typically a good chunk better than the RTX 3080, and actually often matches the more expensive RTX 3090. In fact, we have come to think of the RTX 3080 Ti 12GB as more of an alternate to the RTX 3090 24GB rather than a straight upgrade to the RTX 3080. For those that need top-of-the-line performance, but don't have a need for more than 12GB of VRAM, the RTX 3080 Ti is a terrific option rather than spending the additional cost for an RTX 3090. Some users will likely opt to spend the extra $300 (MSRP) in order to get twice the VRAM with the RTX 3090 (24GB vs 12GB), but there are plenty of workflows where VRAM is not a concern so you might as well save the money and spend it on other aspects of your system.
If you are looking for a workstation with one of these new RTX 3000-series GPUs, you can visit our solutions page to view our recommended workstations for various software packages, our custom configuration page, or contact one of our technology consultants for help configuring a workstation that meets the specific needs of your unique workflow.
Puget Systems offers a range of powerful and reliable systems that are tailor-made for your unique workflow.
Our Labs team is available to provide in-depth hardware recommendations based on your workflow.