RTX 5080 Benchmark Scores Are Not Impressive

A surprising first benchmark result for Nvidia’s RTX 5080 has surfaced in Blender, but the initial performance figures might not meet expectations. While the card outpaces its predecessor, the gains are relatively modest, especially when compared to the top-tier RTX 4090.

Early Performance Insights

Since the unveiling of Nvidia’s Blackwell cards at CES 2025 in early January, the specs for the RTX 5000 series GPUs have been officially publicized. However, detailed performance data is only now emerging. A key area of discussion so far has been the limited performance improvements when DLSS 4.0 is disabled.

As reported by ComputerBase, the first Blender 4.3.0 benchmark for the RTX 5080 sheds light on its capabilities. While the card does outperform its predecessor, it’s still far behind the flagship card of the previous generation, the RTX 4090.

RTX 5080: A Small Step Forward

In the benchmark, the RTX 5080 achieved a score of 9,063.77 points, marking a roughly 9% improvement over the RTX 4080 (8,279.66 points). Compared to the RTX 4080 Super (8,375.68 points), the gain is slightly smaller at around 8%. However, when stacked against the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 falls short by about 21%, as the older card scored an impressive 10,995.42 points.

While these numbers provide some insight, it’s important to note that they are based on a single test result. Additionally, performance in real-world gaming scenarios could differ significantly. Still, this benchmark offers an early glimpse of what to expect from the RTX 5080, currently the second-best card in Nvidia’s new generation lineup.

Awaiting More Benchmarks

Initial impressions of the RTX 5090, the flagship of the Blackwell series, suggest it’s an impressive product. However, reports indicate that the performance jump from the previous generation may not be as substantial as expected. The same could hold true for the RTX 5080, based on this initial Blender benchmark.

More benchmark results in the coming weeks should provide a clearer picture of the RTX 5080’s capabilities. Both the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 are slated for release on January 30th, with Nvidia’s Founders Edition priced at €1,169 for the RTX 5080 and €2,329 for the RTX 5090.

In the meantime, this early data suggests that while the RTX 5080 offers a slight improvement over its predecessor, it may not deliver the leap forward some had hoped for.