RTX 2080 or RX 6700? Picking the Right GPU

The RX 6700 and RTX 2080 deliver nearly identical rasterized gaming performance, usually within a few percent of each other. Choose the RX 6700 if you value its extra 2 GB of VRAM, lower 175 W power draw and newer architecture. Choose the RTX 2080 if ray tracing and DLSS upscaling matter more to you. At equal used prices, the RTX 2080 is slightly better for 1440p gamers who rely on upscaling, and the RX 6700 is the cooler, more efficient choice for everyone else.

These two cards were built three years apart. The RTX 2080 launched in September 2018 as Nvidia’s upper-tier Turing card at $699. The RX 6700 arrived in June 2021 as a quiet, partner-only cut-down version of the RDNA 2 Navi 22 chip used in the RX 6700 XT. Today both sit well behind the current RTX 50 and Radeon RX 9000 lineups, but they remain capable 1080p and 1440p cards on the used market.

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#1 Pick

msi Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 8GB GDRR6 256-bit HDMI/DP/USB Ray Tracing Turing Architecture Graphics Card (RTX 2080 Ventus 8G)

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#2 Pick

XFX SPEEDSTER SWFT309 RADEON RX 6700 Gaming Graphics Card with 10GB GDDR6 HDMI 3xDP, AMD RDNA 2 RX-67XLKWFDV (Renewed)

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Specs at a Glance

The RX 6700 makes up for having fewer shaders and less raw bandwidth with much higher clocks and an 80 MB Infinity Cache, which keeps a large share of memory traffic on the chip. The RTX 2080 has the wider 256-bit bus and dedicated RT and Tensor cores. The two designs take different paths to very similar results.

Raster Performance: Practically a Draw

The RX 6700 got little launch coverage because AMD released it mainly through partners. Available review data still places it clearly. Figures attributed to TechPowerUp’s database put the RX 6700 roughly 7% behind the RX 6700 XT and within about 3% of the RTX 2080 Super in rasterized games. The plain RTX 2080 is a few percent slower than the 2080 Super. Aggregated benchmark data likewise puts the RX 6700 and RTX 2080 within about 2% overall. Tom’s Hardware’s testing of a Sapphire RX 6700 10GB showed it averaging in the high 60s FPS at 1440p ultra across its standard suite, which is RTX 2080-class territory.

Individual games swing more than the averages. Newer DirectX 12 and Vulkan engines tend to favor RDNA 2’s high clocks and cache. Some older DirectX 11 titles and games tuned for Nvidia lean toward the RTX 2080, whose wider bus helps more at 4K. A fair summary is a tie at 1080p and 1440p, with the RTX 2080 marginally better at 4K in some titles. In demanding recent games, expect around 60-90 FPS at 1080p high and roughly 45-70 FPS at 1440p high on either card. These ranges vary with settings, CPU and game patch.

Ray Tracing and DLSS vs FSR

Here the RTX 2080 has a clear edge. Turing’s first-generation RT cores are dated, but they generally outperform RDNA 2’s ray accelerators in heavier ray-traced workloads. In Tom’s Hardware’s ray tracing suite, the RX 6700 landed about 10% behind an RTX 3060. The RTX 2080 typically sits at or above RTX 3060 level in RT, so the GeForce should hold a meaningful lead with ray tracing on.

Upscaling widens that lead. The RTX 2080 supports DLSS Super Resolution, including the DLSS 4 transformer model that Nvidia made available on RTX 20 series cards. DLSS generally gives cleaner image quality than FSR 2/3 at the same internal resolution, especially at 1080p and 1440p output where upscalers have the least data to work with. The RTX 2080 cannot use DLSS Frame Generation, which requires RTX 40 or newer.

The RX 6700 uses FSR 3.1, including frame generation in supported titles, and AMD Fluid Motion Frames 2 at the driver level. FSR 4 is officially limited to RDNA 4 cards. So the Radeon has an AMD frame generation path, while the GeForce has better upscaling image quality. In games that support FSR 3 frame generation, the RTX 2080 can use that too, since FSR 3 runs on any vendor’s GPU.

VRAM: Why the Extra 2 GB Matters

The RX 6700’s 10 GB is a real long-term advantage. More 2025-2026 releases use more than 8 GB at high texture settings, even at 1080p. When an 8 GB card runs out, the usual results are stutter, textures loading late, or the game quietly lowering texture quality. A rough VRAM guide:

• 1080p high: 8 GB usually works, and 10 GB gives a margin
• 1440p high: 10-12 GB recommended, so the RX 6700 is adequate and the RTX 2080 often needs lower textures
• 4K: 12 GB or more, which neither card covers well

If you keep cards for several years, the 10 GB buffer is the RX 6700’s best argument.

Power, PSU and Connectors

The RX 6700 draws 40 W less on paper and needs only one 8-pin connector. The RTX 2080 needs a 6-pin plus an 8-pin. PSU sizing with the formula GPU + CPU + 150 W headroom:

• RTX 2080 + 125 W CPU: 215 + 125 + 150 = 490 W, so use a quality 550-650 W unit
• RX 6700 + 125 W CPU: 175 + 125 + 150 = 450 W, so a quality 550 W unit is enough

Over a year of gaming, the 40 W difference adds up to only a few dollars of electricity for most players. Lower power does mean less heat in the case and usually quieter fans. Both cards are listed at 267 mm and dual-slot. Partner coolers vary, but either should fit most mid-tower cases. Older RTX 2080 Founders Edition cards use a dual-axial cooler that exhausts heat into the case, so make sure there is decent front intake airflow.

On outputs, the RX 6700 has HDMI 2.1, which supports 4K 120 Hz TVs over HDMI. The RTX 2080’s HDMI 2.0 tops out at 4K 60 Hz on that port. Both include a USB-C output on the listed configurations, but partner boards differ, so check the exact model.

Used-Market Notes

Neither card is sold new in meaningful volume anymore. Used RTX 2080 cards typically sell for about $170-$240 depending on cooler and condition. RX 6700 10GB cards often land in a similar or slightly higher $180-$240 band, since they are newer and less common. When comparing listings:

• Check the age and fan condition. Many RTX 2080 cards have more than six years of use.
• Ask for a short load test showing temperatures. Hotspot temperatures well above core temperature suggest old thermal paste.
• Confirm the exact RX 6700 model. It is easily confused with the RX 6700 XT (12 GB) in listings.

Driver support is fine for both today. Nvidia continues to support Turing in current drivers, and AMD continues to support RDNA 2, with new feature work focused on RDNA 4.

Decision Table by Resolution and Priority

Overall, this is one of the closest cross-brand matchups among used cards. The RX 6700 is the more balanced pick for most buyers in 2026 because of its VRAM, efficiency and HDMI 2.1. The RTX 2080 is the better pick for people who want DLSS and ray tracing and will tune textures to stay inside 8 GB.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the RX 6700 faster than the RTX 2080?

In rasterized games the two are essentially tied, usually within 2-5% depending on the game. Data attributed to TechPowerUp puts the RX 6700 within a few percent of the RTX 2080 Super, which is slightly faster than the RTX 2080. With ray tracing enabled, the RTX 2080 is generally ahead.

Does the RTX 2080 support DLSS 4?

The RTX 2080 supports DLSS 4 Super Resolution with the transformer model, which improves upscaling image quality. It does not support DLSS Frame Generation or Multi Frame Generation, which need RTX 40 and RTX 50 series GPUs. It can still use FSR 3 frame generation in games that offer it.

Is 8 GB on the RTX 2080 a problem in 2026?

At 1080p it is usually workable, though some new games need textures lowered to avoid stutter. At 1440p, 8 GB runs into limits more often, and that is where the RX 6700’s 10 GB helps. Turning down texture quality one step is the usual fix.

What power supply do these cards need?

A quality 550 W unit is enough for the RX 6700, and 550-650 W suits the RTX 2080 with a typical gaming CPU. The RX 6700 needs a single 8-pin connector, while the RTX 2080 needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin. Make sure the PSU has the right PCIe cables before buying.

Is the RX 6700 the same as the RX 6700 XT?

No. The RX 6700 has 2304 stream processors, 10 GB of VRAM on a 160-bit bus and 80 MB of Infinity Cache. The RX 6700 XT has more shaders, 12 GB on a 192-bit bus and 96 MB of cache, and is roughly 7-10% faster. Listings sometimes mix them up, so check the memory size.