RTX 5090 vs RTX 3080 Ti
Short answer: which is best?
RTX 5090 is 174.1 % stronger than RTX 3080 Ti. RTX 5090 ranks #1 of 67 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (28,389 GPU score over 6 verified runs). RTX 3080 Ti ranks #14 of 67 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (10,358 GPU score over 7 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 13 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | RTX 5090 | RTX 3080 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| GPU score (the card's own performance) | 28,389 | 10,358 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 21,848 | 11,289 |
| Earth II (Vulkan) | 134.1 FPS | 43 FPS |
| Mission to Earth II (DX12) | 174.4 FPS | 55.2 FPS |
| Earth II Landing (DX12 Ultimate) | 113.8 FPS | 49.8 FPS |
| Supernova (DX11) | 115.2 FPS | 107.7 FPS |
| Memory bandwidth | 698 GB/s | 291 GB/s |
| VRAM | 31 GB | 12 GB |
| Ray tracing | Yes | Yes |
Fragz' verdict
The RTX 5090 is the undisputed champion in this matchup, leading the RTX 3080 Ti by a staggering 178.9% in overall GPU score. This massive jump translates directly into gameplay, with the RTX 5090 delivering multiple times the frames per second across our Earth II Vulkan, Mission to Earth II DX12, and Earth II Landing DX12U benchmarks. Its superior performance is backed by significantly higher raw compute with an ALU index of 1020560, a huge 660 GB/s memory bandwidth, and a commanding 31 GB of VRAM, all driven by a peak clock of 3112 MHz. For gamers seeking the absolute pinnacle of performance and future-proofing, the RTX 5090 offers a generational leap. The RTX 3080 Ti, while still a capable card at its rank of 10 out of 44, would only be the right call if you're working with a much tighter budget and don't require top-tier framerates or the extra headroom for demanding titles.
Generated September 22, 2026 from the 13 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 5090 · All measurements for RTX 3080 Ti