Although it has been 4 years since Nvidia released the RTX 20xx series and today’s subject Nvidia RTX 2080 itself, there aren’t that many newer and better graphics cards on the market.
As expected the RTX 2080 isn’t the flagship anymore because the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 were released, but this GPU is still one of the best you can buy and still good in 2023.
Today, I will try to revisit this graphics card and test it myself, because there is a lack of quality sources for this model specifically. Have in mind that only the important things will be included in this article, so if you are looking for information such as how many “tensor cores” this GPU has, we are not the place for that.
Now let’s jump into some testing!
Is Nvidia RTX 2080 Still Good? Short Topic Answer
Although its fourth anniversary was in September 2022, and this graphics card is getting older, Nvidia RTX 2080 is still one of the best GPUs on the market. With 8GB of GDDR6 memory, RTX 2080 is capable of running any program, video game, or task. For the best results, pair it with a good processor.
This is only the short answer. If you want to find out how good this graphics card is in most popular games when paired with a processor good enough to keep up with it, keep reading!
Nvidia RTX 2080 Specifications
| Memory Size | 8 GB |
| Bus Width | 256 bit |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 |
| Cores | 2944 cores |
| TMUs | 184 TMUs |
| ROPs | 64 ROPs |
| Graphics Processor | TU104 |
Best Nvidia RTX 2080 Offer
Is Nvidia RTX 2080 Good For Gaming?
Since a lot of people are interested in how well this graphics card is in gaming, I decided to test it in all 3 important resolutions: 1080p, 1440p and 4k.
Considering that this graphics card needs strong processor support in order to perform at the highest level, I paired it with the powerful Intel I9 10900k. These two were tested in 5 popular games in all 3 resolutions. Let’s take a look at the results of the benchmarks.
Is Nvidia RTX 2080 Good For Gaming in 1080p?
The first benchmark that I did was, of course, in 10980p resolution. Considering that the 1080p is the most played resolution, I wanted to test RTX 2080 in it, even tho this graphics card can easily be used for better resolutions.
As you can see in the table below, I paired Nvidia RTX 2080 with the Intel I9 10900k in order to get the most out of it. Esspessialy in the 1080p, it’s important to have a strong processor, because, unlike the higher resolutions, 1080p is both CPU and GPU heavy.
I tested them both in 5 different games and every game had increased graphics settings, so the load on the RTX 2080 is higher.
I tried several games that were more difficult to run, and on top of that, I also tested them at Ultra graphics settings. Although you might think the frame rate is a little bit low in Microsoft Simulator, the RTX 2080 is still more than capable of handling 1080p gaming no matter the game. Every other gameplay was more than good.
Take a look at the table yourself.
| SPECS: Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB, Intel Core I9 10900k, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD | AVERAGE FPS | 1% LOW FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 49 fps | 42 fps |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (High settings - 1080p) | 91 fps | 76 fps |
| PUBG (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 153 fps | 117 fps |
| Fortnite (Epic settings - 1080p) | 162 fps | 127 fps |
| Apex Legends (High settings - 1080p) | 193 fps | 151 fps |
Is Nvidia RTX 2080 Good For Gaming in 1440p?
Naturally, the second benchmark I ran with an Nvidia RTX 2080 was at 1440p, or more often known as 2K.
Despite the fact that games are getting harder and harder as time goes on, I believe the Nvidia RTX 2080 is still capable of producing outstanding results at 1440p resolution. As you can see, I again paired the Nvidia RTX 2080 with the Intel Core I9 10900k for the support.
The graphics card will do the majority of the work, and we probably don’t need that powerful processor for 1440p resolution.
If you take a look at the table below, you will see that once again, every game except the Microsoft Simulator has averaged more than 60 fps. That tells us a lot about Nvidia RTX 2080 and its ability for the gaming in 2k resolution.
Every game felth smooth and fluid, and even the higher fps is achievable if settings are adjusted the right way.
To shorten the story, look at the table below.
| SPECS: Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB, Intel Core I9 10900k, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD | AVERAGE FPS | 1% LOW FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator (Ultra settings - 1440p) | 43 fps | 36 fps |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (High settings - 1440p) | 76 fps | 66 fps |
| PUBG (Ultra settings - 1440p) | 124 fps | 102 fps |
| Fortnite (Epic settings - 1440p) | 137 fps | 108 fps |
| Apex Legends (High settings - 1440p) | 144 fps | 118 fps |
Is Nvidia RTX 2080 Good For Gaming in 4k?
For the last benchmark, I once again paired Nvidia RTX 2080 with the Intel i9 10900k and tested them in 4k resolution. Although you can play 4k with the much worse processor, its still good to have a strong one as the support.
This time, 3 out of 5 games averaged more than 60 fps, which is pretty solid considering that graphics settings were increased a lot.
As you can see, there was not that big of a drop in the performances from 2k resolution to 4k. That is a good example that this graphics card still has a lot to show us even a few years after its released.
To cut the story, you should take a look at the table yourself.
| SPECS: Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB, Intel Core I9 10900k, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD | AVERAGE FPS | 1% LOW FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator (Ultra settings - 4k) | 29 fps | 22 fps |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (High settings - 4k) | 38 fps | 32 fps |
| PUBG (Ultra settings - 4k) | 73 fps | 51 fps |
| Fortnite (Epic settings - 4k) | 72 fps | 55 fps |
| Apex Legends (High settings - 4k) | 76 fps | 66 fps |
Best Processor To Pair With Nvidia RTX 2080
The best processor that you should pair with Nvidia RTX 2080 is AMD Ryzen 5 5600x. Although it’s not the strongest processor on the market, AMD Ryzen 5 5600x is still one of the best CPUs for the money. It will work very well when paired with RTX 2080 and you can expect very good results overall.
Best AMD Ryzen 5 5600x Offer At The Moment
Is Nvidia RTX 2080 Future-Proof?
Although it’s more than 4 years old, RTX 2080 is still a future-proof graphics card, and it will be for some more time. This term depends on your personal opinion. Using the RTX 2080 won’t be a problem for at least 2-3 more years, and after that, you will need to decide if it’s time for an upgrade.
