GeForce RTX 4080 Super vs Radeon RX 7600 XT

Winner:
GeForce RTX 4080 Super
Main Difference:
Higher memory bandwidth and significantly more shading units for high-end rendering and gaming
Page Summary:
GeForce RTX 4080 Super provides a massive performance leap over the Radeon RX 7600 XT due to its superior Ada Lovelace architecture and wider memory bus.
Last updated:
January 31, 2026

The Essentials

GeForce RTX 4080 Super

MSRP:
$999
See Current Price
Spec Sheet:
Core Count:
10240
Thread Count:
Base Clock:
2295 MHz
Boost Clock:
2550 MHz
Integrated Graphics:
VRAM:
16.0 GB
L3 Cache:
16.0 GB
TDP:
320 W
Socket:
256 bit
Bus Width:
256 bit
Release Date:
2024-01-08
Gaming Scores:
(Higher is better)
Resolution
Rasterization
Ray Tracing
1080p
83.2
83.5
1440p
74
68.8
4K
58.2
58.2
Gaming and Productivity Scores:
(Higher is better)
Gaming
Productivity

Radeon RX 7600 XT

MSRP:
$329
See Current Price
Spec Sheet:
Core Count:
2048
Thread Count:
Base Clock:
1980 MHz
Boost Clock:
2755 MHz
Integrated Graphics:
VRAM:
16.0 GB
L3 Cache:
16.0 GB
TDP:
190 W
Socket:
128 bit
Bus Width:
128 bit
Release Date:
2024-01-08
Gaming Scores:
(Higher is better)
Resolution
Rasterization
Ray Tracing
1080p
36.2
26.2
1440p
29.2
19.6
4K
21.4
14.8
Gaming and Productivity Scores:
(Higher is better)
Gaming
Productivity
Note about scores:
We measure this card's performance against the absolute best GPU currently available. The numbers show the percentage of performance you get compared to the market leader at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, with the leader at 100. These scores are aggregated from a wide range of different games to create a reliable average. However, keep in mind that performance in specific titles may deviate from this average depending on how that game is optimized.
Note about scores:
We measure this processor's performance against the absolute best CPU currently available. The numbers show the percentage of performance you get compared to the market leader in both gaming and workstation tasks, with the leader at 100. These scores are aggregated from a wide range of different games and applications to create a reliable average. However, keep in mind that performance in specific software may deviate from this average depending on how that program is optimized.

Performance Deep Dive

GeForce RTX 4080 Super
Gaming Analysis:

The GeForce RTX 4080 Super functions as a high-tier powerhouse that handles the most demanding resolutions with steady performance. It thrives at 1440p where frame rates remain exceptionally fluid even when every visual setting is pushed to the limit. At 4K, it delivers a high-fidelity experience that remains quite competent, though the heaviest titles may require toggling upscaling features to maintain a smooth feel during intense action. It occupies a space where it easily clears the requirements for standard displays while offering a path to enthusiast-grade 4K gaming for those who understand how to balance their settings.

The 16GB VRAM buffer provides a significant ceiling for high-resolution textures, essentially removing the memory bottlenecks that can cause stuttering on lesser hardware. You can comfortably load massive texture packs in demanding games like Alan Wake 2 or The Last of Us Part 1 without seeing the blurry assets or hitched movement associated with memory overflow. This capacity gives the architecture plenty of breathing room to manage the large datasets required by modern engines, ensuring the visual experience stays sharp and stable over long sessions.

  • Ray Tracing Performance. This hardware utilizes 80 dedicated 3rd Gen RT cores to handle complex lighting and sharp reflections. Even in titles with heavy path tracing, it maintains a playable pace without the sluggish feel of older generations.
  • High Resolution Targets. At 1440p, this card offers total dominance for those using panels with high-refresh capabilities. The responsiveness remains consistent, which is helpful for fast-paced titles where input timing is everything.
  • 4K Capability. While powerful, the card is not entirely immune to the demands of the highest resolution. In extreme scenarios like Cyberpunk 2077 with maximum settings, leveraging DLSS becomes a practical way to keep the motion fluid.
  • Memory Architecture. The 256-bit bus and GDDR6X memory provide the necessary bandwidth to prevent data from getting choked, which helps maintain a consistent rhythm even when the scene complexity spikes.

Physically, this card requires a massive amount of space and a case with excellent thermal management. The large heatsink design is intended to move heat efficiently so fans do not have to roar at high speeds, but builders should verify clearance in compact cases before starting. To support the power requirements of the 2550 MHz boost clock and the rest of the system, an 800W power supply is the recommended baseline for a stable build. The performance is undeniable, positioning it as a premium option for enthusiasts who want flagship-level capabilities without moving to the very top of the stack.

Radeon RX 7600 XT
Gaming Analysis:

The Radeon RX 7600 XT is a specialized mid-range card that sacrifices raw speed to solve a very specific problem involving video memory. It serves the user who wants to max out texture sliders without the system hitching. While it functions for entry-level tasks at higher resolutions, the 128-bit memory bus acts like a limiter once the action gets heavy. You can push the card into demanding territory, but the hardware feels strained and the experience loses fluidity quickly. It is primarily a tool for high-fidelity 1080p gaming.

The standout feature is the 16GB GDDR6 VRAM buffer, which is remarkably large for a card at its launch MSRP of $329. Many cards in this bracket are limited to 8GB, which often leads to blurry textures or stuttering in modern ports. With the 7600 XT, you can crank texture settings to the highest levels. This extra breathing room ensures the game stays fluid and sharp, preventing the jerky feeling that happens when a GPU runs out of memory and forced data swapping occurs. It provides a level of peace of mind against upcoming titles that demand high video memory overhead.

Ray tracing represents a significant hurdle for this architecture. While the RDNA 3 hardware supports lighting and reflections, the 32 Ray Accelerators lack the raw muscle for heavy real-time calculations. Turning on complex Ray Tracing effects in demanding titles will likely turn a fluid game into a sluggish experience. You will have to rely on FSR upscaling to maintain a playable state with these effects active. For most users, it is more effective to leave Ray Tracing off and enjoy the native rasterization speed instead.

  • 1080p Performance: Excellent. This is the sweet spot where the card stays fluid and responsive even with high settings.
  • 1440p Performance: Acceptable. You will likely need to lower some settings or use upscaling to maintain a steady feel.
  • 4K Performance: Poor. The internal architecture cannot keep up with the high pixel count for modern gaming.
  • Texture Quality: Elite. The 16GB of VRAM is more than enough for any current game at its target resolution.
  • Ray Tracing: Poor. Expect a heavy performance penalty that makes most lighting-heavy games feel sluggish.
GeForce RTX 4080 Super
Productivity Analysis:

While the gaming capabilities of the GeForce RTX 4080 Super are well established, the shift to workstation tasks reveals a card that functions as a serious production tool for those managing demanding project loads. The 16GB of VRAM provides a generous buffer that helps prevent the slowdowns typically experienced on hardware with less memory, serving as a reliable ceiling for standard professional workflows. This capacity allows for the handling of complex 3D scenes and high-resolution video timelines without the constant threat of memory-related errors that disrupt the creative rhythm during tight deadlines.

The Ada Lovelace architecture brings specific advantages to the desk, notably through the inclusion of dual 8th Gen NVENC engines that enable faster video exports by splitting the encoding workload. In the professional world, the stability of the CUDA ecosystem remains a heavy influence, as many specialized plugins and software acceleration paths are built specifically to utilize this hardware. The card manages to keep the creative process feeling responsive even when scrubbing through large, high-bitrate footage files because the 256-bit memory bus provides a wide enough path to move data without causing a bottleneck in the system.

  • Memory Headroom. Having 16GB available means you can keep several resource-heavy applications open simultaneously without the system gasping for resources or forcing you to close your browser tabs just to maintain a stable render.
  • Accelerated Rendering. The 80 dedicated Ray Tracing cores handle the heavy mathematical lifting for light bounces and intersections in software like Blender, which significantly reduces the time spent waiting for a frame to resolve compared to using a processor alone.
  • Compute and AI Tasks. The 10240 CUDA cores and 4th Gen Tensor cores are utilized for modern software features like neural filters or AI-based noise reduction, processing these complex operations in a fraction of the time required by older hardware generations.
  • Power and Cooling Needs. This hardware is physically substantial and generates significant heat during long render sessions, requiring a high-quality 800W power supply and a case with enough internal volume to ensure the fans can move air effectively.

The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s ensures that data flows into the cores at a pace that keeps the hardware active rather than waiting for assets to load. This consistency is what defines the experience for content creators who need to move massive texture sets or heavy geometry through their workspace without experiencing the stutters of a saturated bus. While it does not offer the same massive pool of memory found on the absolute flagship, this model hits a sweet spot for many freelancers who need a predictable workhorse that pays for its launch MSRP of $999 through saved time and improved reliability.

Radeon RX 7600 XT
Productivity Analysis:

While the Radeon RX 7600 XT targets high fidelity 1080p gaming, its usefulness for creative work depends entirely on whether your specific software requires massive data capacity or high speed throughput. This card occupies a unique position in the hardware landscape because of its 16GB VRAM buffer. Most hardware in this performance tier is limited to half that amount, which creates a hard ceiling for complexity in 3D modeling or video work. If you are building a dense scene in Blender with high resolution textures, having 16GB of room prevents the sudden slowdowns or software failures that occur when your project exceeds the physical memory on the card. You are essentially paying for stability and headroom that typically costs much more to acquire.

The trade off for such a large capacity is the narrow 128 bit memory bus. Even though the bucket is large, the path to fill it is relatively slim, which impacts tasks that require massive amounts of data to move instantly. In video editing suites like DaVinci Resolve, you will find that 4K timelines and high quality AV1 encoding stay stable, though scrubbing through layers of effects might not feel as snappy as it does on wider bus architectures. The card is less about raw processing speed and more about ensuring that a project actually finishes without a memory error. For hobbyists working on local AI and large language models, the 16GB capacity is a significant advantage as it allows for larger context windows and more complex image generation without relying on slower system memory.

Support for professional workflows can vary because some creative tools are still heavily optimized for different hardware standards. The 32 Ray Accelerators provide hardware support for ray traced rendering, but the relative youth of the ecosystem means you might encounter less polished drivers or slower update cycles for specific plugins. It is a calculated choice where you favor vertical headroom over the industry standard ecosystem. This card effectively bridges the gap between consumer hardware and the memory requirements of entry level professional suites, providing an affordable path for creators who prioritize project scale over raw export speed.

  • 3D Modeling Performance: The 16GB capacity allows for massive scenes and high resolution textures that would be impossible on 8GB hardware, even if the final render speed is slower than higher tier cards.
  • Video Production: Integrated AV1 support and a large memory buffer make for a stable 4K editing experience, though the 128 bit bus limits the card during heavy multi layer scrubbing.
  • AI and Machine Learning: This is a standout option for hobbyist AI workloads because the memory overhead supports larger datasets and more complex local models.
  • Platform Stability: While the hardware is capable, users should expect a slightly different software experience compared to the industry standard focus of competing platforms.
  • Power Requirements: To ensure consistent performance and system stability across heavy workloads, a 550W power supply is recommended.
GeForce RTX 4080 Super
Feature Analysis:

Managing the 320W thermal output of this hardware requires a build strategy focused on high-volume airflow and internal clearance to prevent heat from saturating surrounding components. While the 16.0 GB of VRAM provides a comfortable ceiling for high-resolution textures, the physical footprint and power demands of the Ada Lovelace architecture introduce specific logistical hurdles that builders must navigate to ensure long-term stability. It is not just about raw power but rather about providing the right environment for a high-tier piece of silicon that will be pushed to its limits during long gaming sessions or complex rendering tasks.

  • Power Supply Requirements. Although the base specification suggests a lower threshold, integrating an 800W power supply provides the necessary stability to handle the transient power spikes inherent to this level of enthusiast hardware.
  • Cable Management Dynamics. The single 16-pin power connector utilizes a design that can be relatively stiff, making it important to plan your cable routing carefully to avoid putting excessive stress on the GPU socket or the connector itself.
  • Case Airflow Pressure. With a typical TDP of 320W, the internal air temperature inside a cramped chassis will rise rapidly, meaning a case with a mesh front panel and multiple intake fans is practically a requirement for maintaining optimal clock speeds.
  • PCIe Slot Integrity. The PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures full bandwidth on modern motherboards, yet the sheer physical mass of the cooling solution often necessitates the use of a support bracket to prevent the PCB from sagging over time.
  • Ecosystem Reliability. Choosing this hardware is often a decision based on the reliability of the software drivers and the predictability of the CUDA platform, which remains the standard for users who cannot afford system crashes during a critical project.

The 256-bit memory bus and the high-speed GDDR6X memory modules generate their own heat localized near the core, which further underscores the need for a cooling solution that can move air across the entire surface of the board. This model represents a specific point of diminishing returns where the performance is high enough to handle almost anything thrown at it, yet it still requires a level of builder expertise to manage the physical and electrical demands. It is a substantial investment that pays off in a consistent experience for those who have the chassis space and the power overhead to support such a large and capable piece of hardware. Focusing on these build realities ensures that the GeForce RTX 4080 Super remains a silent and steady workhorse rather than a source of thermal noise or system instability in a poorly ventilated room.

Radeon RX 7600 XT
Feature Analysis:

A typical 190W power draw means this card pulls more energy and generates more heat than the standard model, requiring a case with decent airflow to prevent fans from spinning up to loud or distracting levels. Because it produces a noticeable thermal load for a mid-range part, you should avoid stuffing it into tiny enclosures that lack intake fans. The physical installation is straightforward because it uses a single standard 8-pin power connector instead of the newer, stiffer adapters that some modern cards require. This allows you to use the power cables already attached to your current power supply without dealing with brittle dongles or clearance issues against the side panel. For a stable build that handles sudden power spikes during heavy gaming sessions, you should pair this card with a 550W power supply.

The hardware utilizes a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, which is a specific detail that matters if you are rebuilding an older computer. On a modern motherboard, this connection is fast and transparent, but on older systems that only support PCIe 3.0, the available bandwidth to the processor is reduced. This bottleneck can become noticeable in games that constantly swap data between the 16GB VRAM buffer and your system memory. While the large memory capacity is the primary reason to choose this card for long-term texture headroom, the narrow lane count means it performs most reliably in a modern PCIe 4.0 environment. It is a specialized trade where you get massive memory capacity for high-resolution textures at the cost of higher power consumption compared to the entry-level version.

  • Power Connection: The standard 8-pin connector ensures compatibility with existing power supplies without the need for specialized 12VHPWR adapters.
  • PSU Guidance: A 550W power supply provides the necessary stability to manage the 190W TDP and transient power demands.
  • System Compatibility: Users on PCIe 3.0 platforms should weigh the potential bandwidth limitations of the x8 interface before upgrading.
  • Thermal Management: The increased power draw over the base model necessitates at least two active case fans to maintain a quiet and stable environment.
  • Memory Strategy: The 16GB buffer is designed to prevent memory-related hitching and errors in titles with extremely high texture demands.
GeForce RTX 4080 Super
Full Tech Specs:
Feature Specification
Name GeForce RTX 4080 Super
MSRP $999
Release Date 2024-01-08
Chipset Manufacturer NVIDIA
Memory Size 16 GB
Memory Type GDDR6X
Memory Bus 256 bit
Memory Clock 1438 MHz
Memory Bandwidth 736.3 GB/s
Base Clock 2295 MHz
Boost Clock 2550 MHz
Shading Units 10240
Ray Tracing Cores 80
TMUs 320
ROPs 112
Pixel Rate 285.6 GPixel/s
Texture Rate 816 GTexel/s
Compute Power (FP16) 52.2 TFLOPS
Compute Power (FP32) 52.2 TFLOPS
Compute Power (FP64) 816.0 GFLOPS
Architecture Ada Lovelace
Process Size 5 nm
Interface PCIe 4.0 x16
Power Connectors 1x 16-pin
TDP 320 W
Suggested PSU 800 W
Radeon RX 7600 XT
Full Tech Specs:
Feature Specification
Name Radeon RX 7600 XT
MSRP $329
Release Date 2024-01-08
Chipset Manufacturer AMD
Memory Size 16 GB
Memory Type GDDR6
Memory Bus 128 bit
Memory Clock 2250 MHz
Memory Bandwidth 288.0 GB/s
Base Clock 1980 MHz
Boost Clock 2755 MHz
Shading Units 2048
Ray Tracing Cores 32
TMUs 128
ROPs 64
Pixel Rate 176.3 GPixel/s
Texture Rate 352.6 GTexel/s
Compute Power (FP16) 45.1 TFLOPS
Compute Power (FP32) 22.6 TFLOPS
Compute Power (FP64) 705.3 GFLOPS
Architecture RDNA 3.0
Process Size 6 nm
Interface PCIe 4.0 x8
Power Connectors 1x 8-pin
TDP 190 W
Suggested PSU 550 W

Final Verdict

The GeForce RTX 4080 Super stands in a completely different performance bracket compared to the Radeon RX 7600 XT. While both cards surprisingly share a 16GB VRAM capacity, the implementation is where the similarities end. The GeForce RTX 4080 Super utilizes high-speed GDDR6X on a wide 256-bit bus, which provides substantially more memory bandwidth than the 128-bit interface found on the Radeon RX 7600 XT. This bandwidth discrepancy means the GeForce card can move data fast enough to support high-resolution textures and complex calculations that would cause the Radeon card to struggle under heavy loads.

Architecturally, the gap is just as wide. The GeForce RTX 4080 Super features the Ada Lovelace design with a high number of dedicated RT cores and tensor cores for AI-driven tasks and advanced lighting effects. The Radeon RX 7600 XT uses the RDNA 3 architecture, which is efficient for entry-level tasks but lacks the raw compute power and specialized hardware to compete in high-end scenarios. Furthermore, the GeForce card benefits from dual NVENC encoders with AV1 support, making it a much more capable choice for video editing and high-quality streaming compared to the more limited encoding capabilities of the mid-range Radeon part.

  • Throughput Advantage: The 256-bit bus on the GeForce RTX 4080 Super ensures that the 16GB of VRAM is never a bottleneck, allowing for high-fidelity assets without stuttering.
  • System Compatibility: The GeForce RTX 4080 Super utilizes a full PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas the Radeon RX 7600 XT is limited to an x8 connection which can impact performance on older motherboards.
  • Thermal and Power Needs: While much faster, the GeForce RTX 4080 Super requires a significantly beefier power supply and more robust cooling to manage its higher TDP.
  • Architecture Features: Advanced frame generation technologies and superior ray tracing hardware give the NVIDIA part a clear lead in visual fidelity and overall smoothness in modern software.

Buy GeForce RTX 4080 Super if you want a top-tier experience for demanding high-resolution gaming, professional 3D rendering, or intensive AI workloads. Buy Radeon RX 7600 XT if you need a large VRAM buffer for specialized budget applications like texture-heavy modding or basic video editing and cannot stretch your budget to the higher MSRP of the flagship-tier cards.

Not sure which part is right for you?

Every gamer is unique. Stop guessing and let our smart engine build a custom rig tailored exactly to your budget and the games you actually play.

Take the PCBuildQuiz!

A Note on Market Volatility

Our mission at PCBuildQuiz is to help you get maximum performance for every dollar by scanning for the best new retail prices 24/7. However, the hardware market can be unpredictable, and specific components like RAM or GPUs may experience temporary price spikes due to shortages. If a price seems unusually high, we recommend checking reputable used marketplaces or waiting for the volatility to settle because we would rather you save money than overpay for a brand new box.

Affiliate Disclaimer

Transparency is key. Some links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This supports our servers and keeps our build engine free for everyone.