RTX 3060 vs GTX 1080 Ti
Short answer: which is best?
RTX 3060 is 17.5 % stronger than GTX 1080 Ti. RTX 3060 ranks #24 of 43 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (3,915 GPU score over 14 verified runs). GTX 1080 Ti ranks #26 of 43 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (3,332 GPU score over 5 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 19 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | RTX 3060 | GTX 1080 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| GPU score (the card's own performance) | 3,915 | 3,332 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 5,740 | 4,948 |
| Earth II (Vulkan) | 15.8 FPS | 19.7 FPS |
| Mission to Earth II (DX12) | 20.5 FPS | 23.6 FPS |
| Earth II Landing (DX12 Ultimate) | 19.6 FPS | 21.5 FPS |
| Supernova (DX11) | 65.1 FPS | 82.1 FPS |
| Memory bandwidth | 122 GB/s | 80 GB/s |
| VRAM | 12 GB | 11 GB |
| Ray tracing | Yes | Not supported |
Fragz' verdict
The RTX 3060 emerges as the stronger card in our benchmarks, leading the GTX 1080 Ti by 19.1% in overall GPU score. While the GTX 1080 Ti showed higher raw compute with an ALU index of 212160, the RTX 3060 pushes ahead with superior memory bandwidth at 123 GB/s, 12 GB of VRAM, and a higher peak clock speed of 2047 MHz. Interestingly, the GTX 1080 Ti delivered higher frame rates across our Earth II Vulkan, Mission to Earth II DX12, and Earth II Landing DX12 Ultimate scene tests, suggesting it still excels in certain workloads. However, the RTX 3060 also offers vital support for modern rendering features like ray tracing, mesh shaders, and VRS, which are not reflected in the raw score but are crucial for experiencing the latest visual technologies. Ultimately, if maximizing pure frame rates in current titles is your only concern and you're not bothered by next-gen visual effects, the GTX 1080 Ti might still be a contender.
Generated July 19, 2026 from the 19 verified runs available then. The verdict is never silently rewritten — new numbers get a new verdict.
What the numbers mean
The GPU score is the graphics card's own performance — that is what we rank on. GAMING is the whole rig's score in the best PC we measured the card in, and depends on processor, memory and storage. We show both and never mix them.
All numbers come from our benchmark suite: four hand-built 3D scenes written directly against the graphics APIs in Rust, the same load on every PC. The methodology is open at https://whatfps.com/metodik
All measurements for RTX 3060 · All measurements for GTX 1080 Ti