Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 performance leak could be good news for AMD Big Navi

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 leak shows an underwhelming high-end performance gain

GeForce RTX 3080
(Image credit: dertpert88 via Reddit)

A new leak claims the rumored GeForce RTX 3080 will only deliver a 20 percent increase over the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, which could be a letdown for those expecting a major upgrade over Nvidia's current-generation graphics cards.

The leak comes courtesy of KatCorgi, a reasonably respected tech tipster, who tweeted the performance gains the RTX 3080 is expected to have. To some, a 20 percent hike in power might feel a little disappointing, especially given how much more powerful the Turing-based GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs were compared to their predecessors. 

But the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is Nvidia’s current top-of-the-line graphics card, sitting around the $1,000 mark and delivering huge amounts of performance. As such, a 20 percent hike in performance over such a graphics card is not to be sniffed at. 

Meanwhile, the GeForce RTX 3080 is likely to take over from the GeForce RTX 2080, which, while far from cheap, is much more affordable for PC gaming enthusiasts than its Ti suffixed sibling. We can speculate that for some $600 or $700, the RTX 3080 could deliver a decent hike in performance over a current $1,000 card.

That being said, KatCorgi didn’t reveal the source of such a performance claim, so we need to take it with a pinch of salt. Furthermore, given the next-generation GeForce GPUs have yet to be announced, Nvidia is likely still testing them. With that in mind,  such a performance leak may not be indicative of the final product. 

Arguably, the real performance test will be how the GeForce RTX 3080 measures up against the upcoming AMD Big Navi graphics card. Touted as an ‘Nvidia-killer’, Big Navi could be 40 to 50 percent faster than the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti based on a recent performance leak. As such, logic would dictate that it will be faster than the GeForce 3080.

However, a lot of performance is down to how well software and games interact with the latest GPU technology. With Big Navi set to use the RDNA 2 graphics architecture much like the GPUs in the PS5 and Xbox Series X, it could have the advantage in next-generation games.

But Nvidia is no slouch when it comes to optimizing its GeForce cards, so we suspect it will have a few performance tricks up its sleeve. The next-generation GeForce graphics cards are expected to launch sometime in August or September, and Big Navi could arrive in November, so we could see a proper high-end graphics showdown later this year.

Roland Moore-Colyer
Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.