Key Points
- The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti was once the most powerful GPU on the market, but it is now outdated for 1440p or 4K gaming with the latest titles.
- The RTX 3080, RTX 4070 Ti, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, and RTX 4080 are all great options to replace the GTX 1080 Ti.
- The RTX 4070 Ti is a good choice for 1440p gaming and can handle 4K gaming with some quality adjustments.
- The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX offers 24GB of VRAM and is a great value for its power.
- The RTX 4080 is a significant improvement over the GTX 1080 Ti and offers solid performance improvements.
What is the best upgrade from the GTX 1080 Ti? GPU prices have come down dramatically, so now is as good a time as any to upgrade aging components.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti once enjoyed the status of being the most powerful GPU on the market. Time has passed, and owners of the former flagship might be wondering what their options are in regard to today’s market.
If you’re looking to get something more powerful, you’re in the right place. Today’s guide will be covering five of the best GPUs that can readily replace your GTX 1080 Ti. If you’re looking for a powerful GPU, you might as well look for the best.
Now, most of these are higher-end GPUs, with some older models chosen throughout to keep things interesting. The RTX 4090 doesn’t feature in this guide, so don’t worry if you’re fretting over finding a case large enough to fit such a huge GPU.
NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti Overview
- Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16
- Base Clock: 1481 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1582 MHz
- 11,800 million transistors
The GTX 1080 Ti was the flagship GPU for the Pascal architecture from NVIDIA. It launched in 2017 and came bundled with 11GB of VRAM. The suggested retail price for the GPU was originally $699, and you can still find some new from old stock.
The GTX 1080 Ti was a significant performance improvement over the previous Maxwell generation. It can still do quite well with modern games but is not ready for 1440p or 4K gaming with the latest titles on the market today.
If you’re on a budget, the GTX 1080 Ti handles 1080p quite well still. However, if you’re looking for raytracing and DLSS, you’ll need a newer GPU.
Specs
| NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti | |
|---|---|
| Base Clock Speed | 1481 MHz |
| VRAM Type | GDDR5X |
| VRAM Amount | 11 GB |
| Memory Clock Speed | 1376 MHz |
| Interface | PCI-E 3.0 x16 |
| Process Size | 16 nm |
| Memory Bus | 352 bit |
NVIDIA RTX 3080
- Features 10GB of GDDR6X VRAM
- 320-bit memory interface
- GPU Clock Speed: 1710 MHz
- Triple Fan Thermal Design
The first upgrade from the GTX 1080 Ti is quite a bit more recent. The RTX 3080 is dressed to impress and comes with quite a bit of power on tap for most gaming needs. You get 10GB of VRAM, which is less than the GTX 1080 Ti.
However, the RTX 3080 benefits from having faster RAM and stronger clocks for the memory and core. You’ll notice quite a performance increase, despite the steps down in VRAM and memory bus size. The RTX 3080 is still highly competitive with today’s games.
You could potentially also look at the RTX 3080 Ti, but for those prices, you’d be better off just jumping to the latest from NVIDIA. The RTX 3080 is a great choice that can be found for well under $1,000, depending on sales and the pre-owned market.
NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti
- Exceptional performance
- Clock speed of 2535 MHz
- Great ray-tracing performance
- 12GB GDDR6X video memory
The RTX 4070 Ti isn’t a flagship GPU by any measure, but you’ll notice the improvements right away. NVIDIA’s latest is a great upgrade from the GTX 1080 Ti. It features 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, so you get more and it is certainly faster than the GDDR5X of 2017.
It does have a considerably smaller memory bus of 192-bit when compared to the GTX 1080 Ti’s 352-bit. However, the general improvements in tech over the last six years enable the RTX 4070 Ti to outpace the GTX 1080 Ti where it matters.
The RTX 4070 Ti is a great choice for 1440p gaming and can do 4K in a pinch. It isn’t going to max out games at 4K, so you’ll likely need to adjust some quality settings. However, given the price, this isn’t such a bad thing.
The RTX 4090 obviously has set a gold standard for modern GPUs, but it is considerably more expensive than other contemporary offerings from NVIDIA.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- 24 GB of VRAM
- Vapor chamber for taming heat build-up
- One of the fastest GPUs for under $1,000 new
Imagine getting a GPU with 24GB of VRAM, a 384-bit memory bus, and a clock speed of 2.5 GHz. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a stellar upgrade from the GTX 1080 Ti and comes packed to the brim with raw power.
Sure, it can’t take advantage of DLSS and other modern NVIDIA-only features. But, it does have RTX 4080 Ti power while retailing for around $1,000. You can honestly find it for less during sales events.
The Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a sleeper buy and one of the best values in current GPUs. If you don’t mind swinging toward AMD, it is a great choice for any modern game. You can readily do VR, 1440p, and 4K gaming with this beast of a GPU.
Raytracing might suffer a little bit, but there are games out there with AMD FSR support as well.
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- 16 GB GDDR6
- 2065 MHz clock speed
- 7680 × 4320 maximum resolution
- PCI Express, HDMI, and DisplayPort video output interface
The Radeon RX 6800 XT is an older GPU, but you can find newly made ones for well under $600. What you get for the money is pretty stellar as well. The 6800 XT is another great upgrade from the GTX 1080 Ti. It has more VRAM, coming in at 16GB.
You’ve also got access to maximum supported display resolutions of 7680 x 4320, not quite 8K, but still plenty large for multiple monitors. The 6800 XT is showing its age a bit when it comes to modern games, but it is more than capable of maxing out games at 1080p and 1440p.
Performance might suffer a bit when moving up to 4K, but the GTX 1080 Ti isn’t capable of maxing out modern games at 4K, either.
NVIDIA RTX 4080
- 16 GB of GDDR6X VRAM
- 2.51 GHz GPU clock speed
- PCI Express 4.0 support
- Great for AI work
- 9,728 NVIDIA CUDA Cores
The final entry on this list, and a true successor to the GTX 1080 Ti. The RTX 4080 is not the flagship model from NVIDIA, but it’s pretty close all things said. You’ve got access to 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM, PCI-E 4.0 compatibility, and solid performance improvements all around.
It is certainly far more expensive than what the GTX 1080 Ti originally retailed for, but that’s PC components across the board. If you’re wanting top performance without spending RTX 4090 prices, the RTX 4080 is a great place to look.
It has ample horsepower for handling most of today’s games, with some notable standouts like Starfield but every GPU is on edge with that release. If you’re looking for a straight upgrade from the GTX 1080 Ti, this is part of the same general line and is a significant improvement.
Closing Thoughts
The GTX 1080 Ti had a long time in the sun, especially when considering the relatively short lifespan of most GPUs. It is still a perfectly adequate graphics card for most purposes today, and can still handle demanding games.
However, for those gamers looking for a GPU capable of driving larger high-resolution monitors, the GTX 1080 Ti simply isn’t up to the task. If you don’t mind staying at 1080p, you could likely eke out a few more years of entertainment with it before upgrading.
If you’re itching to upgrade because it’s time to build a new PC, hopefully, the five choices covered today help give you some leads to go on.
As with any substantially expensive purchase, make sure you read up on the capabilities of these GPUs before purchasing. You may find one of them better suits your needs than others.
Or you could just splash out and get the RTX 4090, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish.
Summary Table
| Upgrade Option | Key Features |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA RTX 3080 | 10GB of VRAM, faster RAM and stronger clocks for the memory and core |
| NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti | 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, great for 1440p gaming and can do 4K in a pinch |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | 24GB of VRAM, a 384-bit memory bus, and a clock speed of 2.5 GHz |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | 16GB of VRAM, maximum supported display resolutions of 7680Ã4320 |
| NVIDIA RTX 4080 | 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM, PCI-E 4.0 compatibility, and solid performance improvements |
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Ralf Liebhold/Shutterstock.com.
