GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop vs GeForce GTX 1080

Speed and memory

In our performance index the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop scores 22 and the GeForce GTX 1080 scores 20, which makes the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop about 10% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

The GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop has 6 GB of video memory and the GeForce GTX 1080 has 8 GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (78 against 71 fps), and the smallest is in Call of Duty (55 against 51 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop is rated at 115 W and the GeForce GTX 1080 at 180 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 450 W for the first and 550 W for the second. A gap of 65 W shows up in heat and fan noise, and in your electricity use over a few years.

We do not have launch prices for both cards, so we cannot compare value. Check current listings for both.

Which one to buy

Choose the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop if you want the faster card, and you can accept 6 GB of memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the GeForce GTX 1080 if the price gap matters more than the 10% speed difference, and you value the extra video memory. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.