Home / NVIDIA / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB: Performance and Specs

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB: Power in Mobile Format

April 2025

Introduction

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB is a top-tier mobile graphics card that remains relevant for gamers and professionals years after its release. It combines high performance with support for cutting-edge technologies such as ray tracing and DLSS. In this article, we will explore who this GPU is suitable for, how it handles modern tasks, and what to consider when choosing a laptop with such a graphics card.

1. Architecture and Key Features

Ampere Architecture:

The RTX 3080 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture, which debuted in 2020. Despite the emergence of newer solutions (like Ada Lovelace), Ampere remains relevant due to optimizations and improved energy efficiency.

- Manufacturing Process: 8 nm process from Samsung (NVIDIA Custom).

- CUDA Cores: 6144 (the mobile version has fewer than the desktop version, but optimizations for laptops compensate for the difference).

- RTX and DLSS:

- 3rd Generation RT Cores accelerate ray tracing, reducing the load on the GPU.

- DLSS 3.0 (with Frame Generation support) increases FPS in games through neural network upscaling.

- FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR): Although FSR is an AMD technology, NVIDIA cards also support it, which is useful in games without DLSS.

Unique Features:

- NVIDIA Reflex: Reduces input lag in esports games (e.g., Valorant, CS:2).

- Broadcast Suite: AI filters for streaming (noise cancellation, virtual background).

2. Memory: Speed and Efficiency

- Memory Type: GDDR6 (not GDDR6X like in the desktop RTX 3080).

- Memory Size: 16 GB — sufficient for rendering 4K textures and handling heavy projects.

- Bus and Bandwidth: 256-bit bus + 512 GB/s. In comparison, the desktop RTX 3080 has 760 GB/s (GDDR6X), but in mobile conditions, GDDR6 is the optimal choice for balancing speed and heat generation.

Impact on Performance:

- In games with Ultra textures (e.g., Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty), 16 GB allows for avoiding data loading from the SSD, reducing FPS drops.

- For 3D rendering in Blender or Unreal Engine 5, a large memory capacity is critical when working with complex scenes.

3. Gaming Performance

Average FPS in Popular Titles (2024–2025):

- Cyberpunk 2077 (4K, Ultra, RT Ultra, DLSS Balanced): ~58-63 FPS.

- Alan Wake 2 (1440p, RT High, DLSS Quality): ~75 FPS.

- Starfield (1440p, Ultra, FSR 2.2): ~90 FPS.

- Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile (4K, Ultra): ~120 FPS (without RT).

Supported Resolutions:

- 1080p: Maximum settings + RT in any game.

- 1440p: Optimal choice for a balance between quality and FPS.

- 4K: Requires DLSS/FSR, but playability on high settings is possible.

Ray Tracing:

Activating RT lowers FPS by 30–40%, but DLSS 3.0 compensates for losses. For example, in Cyberpunk 2077, with DLSS 3.0, the gain can reach up to 50% compared to DLSS 2.0.

4. Professional Tasks

- Video Editing (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve):

Rendering acceleration through CUDA. Exporting a 4K project is reduced by 30% compared to the RTX 3070 Mobile.

- 3D Modeling (Blender, Maya):

In the BMW Blender test (Cycles), rendering completes in ~4.5 minutes (compared to ~6 minutes with the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile).

- Scientific Calculations (CUDA/OpenCL):

Suitable for machine learning and simulations (e.g., in MATLAB or TensorFlow).

Tip: For working with professional software, update to NVIDIA Studio Drivers — they are more stable than gaming ones.

5. Power Consumption and Heat Generation

- TDP: 150–200 W (depends on laptop manufacturer).

- Cooling:

- Minimum requirements: 4-pipe system + fans with anti-vibration mounts.

- Recommended laptop models: ASUS ROG Zephyrus (liquid metal thermal paste), Lenovo Legion Pro (paired turbine).

- Noise: Under load — up to 45 dB, in Office mode — 30 dB.

Important: Avoid ultrathin chassis (e.g., MSI Stealth) — they handle cooling poorly.

6. Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Radeon RX 7800M XT:

- Pros: Cheaper (~$1400 vs. $1800 for RTX 3080 laptop), FSR 3.1.

- Cons: Weaker in RT (by 25–30%), lacks equivalent to DLSS 3.0.

- NVIDIA RTX 4070 Mobile:

- Pros: Newer, supports DLSS 3.5, lower power consumption.

- Cons: 12 GB of memory, which limits in 4K tasks.

Conclusion: The RTX 3080 Mobile outperforms competitors in RT scenarios and professional applications.

7. Practical Tips

- Power Supply: At least 280 W (for overclocked models — 330 W).

- Compatibility:

- Requires CPU at minimum Intel Core i7-12700H or AMD Ryzen 7 6800H.

- Thunderbolt 4 is not mandatory, but useful for connecting external GPUs.

- Drivers:

- Gaming: Update through GeForce Experience.

- Studio: Download manually from the NVIDIA website.

8. Pros and Cons

Pros:

- High performance in 4K and with RT.

- 16 GB of memory for future projects.

- Support for DLSS 3.0 and Reflex.

Cons:

- Heating under load (up to 85°C in thin chassis).

- Price: Laptops with this card start at $1800.

- Limited upgrade options: The GPU cannot be replaced in laptops.

9. Final Conclusion: Who is the RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB For?

This graphics card is a choice for those who need mobility without compromises:

- Gamers: For gaming at 1440p/4K with maximum settings.

- Professionals: Video editors, 3D designers, engineers.

- Streamers: Thanks to NVENC and the Broadcast Suite.

Alternative: If the budget is limited, consider the RTX 4070 Mobile, but be prepared for less memory.

Price in 2025: Laptops with the RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB start at $1800 (e.g., ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17) and go up to $2500 (for branded solutions from Razer or Alienware).

Final Advice: Choose models with a warranty of at least 2 years — high TDP increases the risk of cooling system wear.

Basic

Label Name

NVIDIA

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

January 2021

Model Name

GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB

Generation

GeForce 30 Mobile

Base Clock

1110 MHz

Boost Clock

1545 MHz

Bus Interface

PCIe 4.0 x16

Transistors

17.4 billion

RT Cores

Tensor Cores

Tensor Cores are specialized processing units designed specifically for deep learning, providing higher training and inference performance compared to FP32 training. They enable rapid computations in areas such as computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition, text-to-speech conversion, and personalized recommendations. The two most notable applications of Tensor Cores are DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and AI Denoiser for noise reduction.

192

TMUs

Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) serve as components of the GPU, which are capable of rotating, scaling, and distorting binary images, and then placing them as textures onto any plane of a given 3D model. This process is called texture mapping.

192

Foundry

Samsung

Process Size

8 nm

Architecture

Ampere

Memory Specifications

Memory Size

16GB

Memory Type

GDDR6

Memory Bus

The memory bus width refers to the number of bits of data that the video memory can transfer within a single clock cycle. The larger the bus width, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted instantaneously, making it one of the crucial parameters of video memory. The memory bandwidth is calculated as: Memory Bandwidth = Memory Frequency x Memory Bus Width / 8. Therefore, when the memory frequencies are similar, the memory bus width will determine the size of the memory bandwidth.

256bit

Memory Clock

1750 MHz

Bandwidth

Memory bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate between the graphics chip and the video memory. It is measured in bytes per second, and the formula to calculate it is: memory bandwidth = working frequency × memory bus width / 8 bits.

448.0GB/s

Theoretical Performance

Pixel Rate

Pixel fill rate refers to the number of pixels a graphics processing unit (GPU) can render per second, measured in MPixels/s (million pixels per second) or GPixels/s (billion pixels per second). It is the most commonly used metric to evaluate the pixel processing performance of a graphics card.

148.3 GPixel/s

Texture Rate

Texture fill rate refers to the number of texture map elements (texels) that a GPU can map to pixels in a single second.

296.6 GTexel/s

FP16 (half)

An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy.

18.98 TFLOPS

FP64 (double)

An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy, while single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.

296.6 GFLOPS

FP32 (float)

An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.

18.6 TFLOPS

Miscellaneous

SM Count

Multiple Streaming Processors (SPs), along with other resources, form a Streaming Multiprocessor (SM), which is also referred to as a GPU's major core. These additional resources include components such as warp schedulers, registers, and shared memory. The SM can be considered the heart of the GPU, similar to a CPU core, with registers and shared memory being scarce resources within the SM.

Shading Units

The most fundamental processing unit is the Streaming Processor (SP), where specific instructions and tasks are executed. GPUs perform parallel computing, which means multiple SPs work simultaneously to process tasks.

6144

L1 Cache

128 KB (per SM)

L2 Cache

4 MB

TDP

115W

Vulkan Version

Vulkan is a cross-platform graphics and compute API by Khronos Group, offering high performance and low CPU overhead. It lets developers control the GPU directly, reduces rendering overhead, and supports multi-threading and multi-core processors.

1.3

OpenCL Version

3.0

OpenGL

4.6

DirectX

12 Ultimate (12_2)

CUDA

8.6

Power Connectors

None

Shader Model

6.8

ROPs

The Raster Operations Pipeline (ROPs) is primarily responsible for handling lighting and reflection calculations in games, as well as managing effects like anti-aliasing (AA), high resolution, smoke, and fire. The more demanding the anti-aliasing and lighting effects in a game, the higher the performance requirements for the ROPs; otherwise, it may result in a sharp drop in frame rate.

Benchmarks

FP32 (float)

Score

18.6 TFLOPS

Compared to Other GPU

FP32 (float) / TFLOPS

Radeon RX 6800 XT

20.325 +9.3%

A100 PCIe

19.1 +2.7%

GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16 GB

18.6

CMP 70HX

16.797 -9.7%

Quadro RTX 6000

15.984 -14.1%