RTX 5080 laptop to suffer big core count deficit vs RTX 5080 desktop while enjoying more VRAM vs RTX 4080 laptop
We reported back in May, via Moore’s Law Is Dead, that Nvidia could outfit the RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 laptop editions with more memory than their RTX 40 counterparts. The RTX 5080 laptop was rumored to come with 16 GB of VRAM, while the RTX 5070 laptop was alleged to enjoy 12 GB.
MLID has now doubled down on his RTX 5080 laptop VRAM leak and has revealed the possible CUDA count of the GB203 GPU that is expected to power the board.
RTX 5080 laptop specifications
The RTX 5080 laptop is reportedly based around a GB203 GPU, a chip that also powers the RTX 5090 laptop and RTX 5080 desktop boards. Naturally, it is likely that the RTX 5080 laptop’s GB203 will be a cut-down version and feature fewer CUDA cores than the RTX 5080 desktop. MLID reveals a possible RTX 5080 laptop configuration of 8,192 CUDA cores and 16 GB GDDR7 memory. This is quite a big reduction in the number of available cores on the GB203.
According to previous leaks, the desktop RTX 5080 and its GB203-400-A1 has a total of 10,752 CUDA cores and 16 GB of memory running at 28 Gbps over a 256-bit wide bus. So, the RTX 5080 laptop is taking a heavy 24% hit to the CUDA core count.
However, even with such a significant pairing back of the specs, MLID has some ambitious estimates for the RTX 5080 laptop performance.
RTX 5080 laptop performance
MLID estimates that, with 16 GB of 28 Gbps VRAM and the resulting bandwidth, the RTX 5080 laptop might be 45 to 65% faster than the RTX 4080 laptop. This advantage would allow the mobile GPU to perform on par with the desktop RTX 4070 Ti Super and even an RTX 4080 (Buy the RTX 4070 Ti Super on Amazon).
That said, these performance figures are just the products of the leaker’s “napkin math”. So, take it as just an informed guess and not a leak.
Suffice it to say, the RTX 5080 laptop is shaping up to be a 1440p/4K gaming beast with a huge upgrade over the RTX 4080 laptop GPU. Fingers crossed, we’ll get to see the board in action at CES 2025.
Source(s)
Moore's Law Is Dead, Teaser image: Gigabyte, Sean Sinclair on Unsplash, edited
