Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super review: the 4K GPU shoot-out

RT/DLSS/FSR2/XeSS benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Dying Light 2, Forza Horizon 5.

Review by Richard Leadbetter Technology Editor, Digital Foundry

Published on 31 Jan 2024

Raw ray tracing performance is one thing, but the truth is that RT is usually used in combination with image reconstruction technology for a better balance of visual features and performance. This page seeks to show how these GPUs compare with both technologies in play, with the same (or very close) base resolutions engaged. It's not factoring in image quality - where Nvidia enjoys a noticeable advantage against AMD - and neither are we considering overall support, where DLSS enjoys wider uptake amongst game developers. Here, we're just looking at raw performance - without factoring in DLSS 3 frame generation on 40-class cards, given AMD's FSR3 alternative is still in its early stages of take-up.

Once again, if you're jumping straight to this page without looking at prior results, we should stress that our benchmarking system offers a number of ways to get to the data you want, the presentation varying according to the device you're using. You'll get a basic overview of our findings on mobile, with metadata from the video capture of each GPU being translated into simple bar charts with average frame-rate and lowest one per cent measurements for easy comparisons.

On a desktop-class browser, you'll get the full-fat DF experience with embedded YouTube videos of each test scene and live performance metrics. Play the video, and you'll see exactly how each card handled the scene as it progresses. Below the real-time metrics is an interactive bar chart, which you can mouse over to see different measurements and click to switch between actual frame-rates and percentage differences. All the data here is derived from video captured directly from each GPU, ensuring an accurate replay of real performance.

Cyberpunk 2077

Upscaling technologies can have the effect of compressing performance differentials between GPUs - which can be a good thing bearing in mind that due to the heavy computational cost of RT, reconstruction is likely to be used by gamers. So at native 4K, a 43 percent lead for RTX 4090 over the new Super drops to 'just' 30 points with DLSS quality mode enabled.

At just over three percent, the 4080 Super's advantage is minimal, but up against Cyberpunk 2077 running on AMD's RX 7900 XTX, it still carves out an impressive 37 percentage point lead.

Cyberpunk 2077, Ultra RT, DLSS/FSR2/XeSS Quality

Dying Light 2

Dying Light 2 is another heavy game running at native 4K with all of its RT bells and whistles enabled, with DLSS and FSR2 providing a transformative boost to performance. Even so, the 'compression' effect we saw with Cyberpunk 2077 is lessened here, but the RTX 4090 flagship is still 37 points to the better overall.

The RX 7900 XTX is more comfortable at lower resolutions, or with more aggressive FSR2 upscaling factors, but here at reconstructed 4K, RTX 4080 Super is noticeably faster - to the tune of 22 percent.

Dying Light 2, Ultra RT, DLSS/FSR2/XeSS Quality

Forza Horizon 5

Here in Forza Horizon 5, we're set up at extreme settings, delivering a visual feature set in excess of Series X running in its 30fps quality mode, but we've disabled ray tracing completely on this run. Even without it, RTX 4090 remains in a league of its own, but the lead is cut to just 20 percent - but on the flipside, RTX 4080 vs 4080 Super shows barely any difference at all.

As we're looking at non-RT performance here, it's no surprise to see AMD start to make itself known, with the RX 7900 XTX carving out a six percentage point lead - with more impressive results to come on the following pages. It's worth pointing out that while we're using DLSS and FSR2 here, the quality isn't the same, but more to the point, elements were built around MSAA and even on quality presets, FSR2 and DLSS don't look as good as native.

Forza Horizon 5, Extreme, DLSS/FSR2/XeSS Quality

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

With Spider-Man back in the benchmarking line-up, it's interesting to see how Nixxes' code measures up with reconstruction enabled and all the RT bells and whistles active... because for 4K gaming, native can be very, very heavy. A 17 point lead for the RTX 4090 is its worst result yet - but the Super outperforms the non-Super 4080 by three to four percent. Insignificant, but better than many other results.

FSR2 does not look quite as good as DLSS in this game, and RTX 4080 Super has a 21 to 22 point lead in addition to the more defined image offered up Nvidia's upscaling solution.