G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

2019

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 45.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design across 34 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on Upscaling support instead.
❌50% higher power demand at 120W vs 80W.

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

2019

Why buy it

✅16.0% more average FPS across 34 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).
✅Draws 80W instead of 120W, a 40W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 45.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $279 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

2019

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

2019

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 45.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Why buy it

✅16.0% more average FPS across 34 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).
✅Draws 80W instead of 120W, a 40W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design across 34 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on Upscaling support instead.
❌50% higher power demand at 120W vs 80W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 45.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $279 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design better than GeForce GTX 1660 Ti?

Yes. GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is the better GPU overall here. You are getting 16.0% more average FPS across 34 tracked games in our benchmark data, 0.1% higher PassMark G3D performance, DLSS 2 Super Resolution, and 8 GB vs 6 GB of VRAM.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting more VRAM at 8 GB instead of 6 GB and better upscaling support with DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack. That extra memory headroom makes it the safer pick for newer games, heavier textures, and higher settings over time.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus $279 MSRP, and you are getting 16.0% more estimated average FPS across 34 tracked games in our benchmark data and 0.1% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GTX 1660 Ti still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium. If you are comfortable paying the premium for the stronger gaming result, GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is the one to buy. If staying closer to budget matters more, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti still makes more sense on price alone and remains capable enough for modern gaming.

Is GeForce GTX 1660 Ti still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is still a strong gaming GPU in 2026: it is very strong for 1080p, good for 1440p, and more limited at 4K. This mostly comes down to price. If you want to stay closer to $279 MSRP, it remains a strong choice; if you are comfortable paying more, GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design earns that extra money with a clearly stronger gaming result and a more complete overall package.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Benchmark Check

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
1080p
low	98 FPS	156 FPS
medium	88 FPS	136 FPS
high	76 FPS	110 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	68 FPS
1440p
low	90 FPS	125 FPS
medium	77 FPS	106 FPS
high	66 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	54 FPS	49 FPS
4K
low	45 FPS	45 FPS
medium	41 FPS	40 FPS
high	30 FPS	25 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	21 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Open GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
1080p
low	269 FPS	195 FPS
medium	227 FPS	162 FPS
high	170 FPS	137 FPS
ultra	136 FPS	119 FPS
1440p
low	183 FPS	148 FPS
medium	156 FPS	120 FPS
high	124 FPS	103 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	84 FPS
4K
low	106 FPS	81 FPS
medium	89 FPS	67 FPS
high	72 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	56 FPS	43 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Open GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
1080p
low	532 FPS	574 FPS
medium	443 FPS	460 FPS
high	347 FPS	383 FPS
ultra	287 FPS	287 FPS
1440p
low	430 FPS	431 FPS
medium	344 FPS	345 FPS
high	287 FPS	287 FPS
ultra	215 FPS	215 FPS
4K
low	287 FPS	287 FPS
medium	229 FPS	230 FPS
high	166 FPS	191 FPS
ultra	126 FPS	144 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Open GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
1080p
low	401 FPS	245 FPS
medium	326 FPS	212 FPS
high	263 FPS	172 FPS
ultra	221 FPS	146 FPS
1440p
low	330 FPS	188 FPS
medium	268 FPS	166 FPS
high	206 FPS	131 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	108 FPS
4K
low	158 FPS	112 FPS
medium	119 FPS	94 FPS
high	107 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	85 FPS	58 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Open GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 22 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1500 MHz to 1770 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 120W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,747 points. Launch price was $279.

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 29 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 735 MHz to 1095 MHz. It has 2944 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 46 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,766 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti scores 12,747 and the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design reaches 12,766 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is built on Turing while the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design uses Turing, both on a 12 nm process. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs 2,944 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design). Raw compute: 5.437 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs 6.447 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design). Boost clocks: 1770 MHz vs 1095 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
G3D Mark Score	12,747	12,766
Architecture	Turing	Turing
Process Node	12 nm	12 nm
Shading Units	1536	2944+92%
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.437 TFLOPS	6.447 TFLOPS+19%
Boost Clock	1770 MHz+62%	1095 MHz
ROPs	48	64+33%
TMUs	96	184+92%
L1 Cache	1.5 MB	2.9 MB+93%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	4 MB+167%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design supports the newer DLSS 2 Super Resolution, whereas the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is capped at Upscaling support.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	DLSS 2 Super Resolution
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti comes with 6 GB of VRAM, while the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design has 8 GB. The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design offers 33.3% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 288 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs 384 GB/s (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) — a 33.3% advantage for the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design. Bus width: 192-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs 4 MB (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) — the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	8 GB+33%
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	288 GB/s	384 GB/s+33%
Bus Width	192-bit	256-bit+33%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	4 MB+167%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs 12 (12_2) (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design). Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
DirectX	12	12 (12_2)
Vulkan	1.4+8%	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 7th gen (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs NVENC 6 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design). Decoder: NVDEC 4th gen vs NVDEC 4. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC,VP8,VP9 (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design
Encoder	NVENC 7th gen	NVENC 6
Decoder	NVDEC 4th gen	NVDEC 4
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC,VP8,VP9	H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti draws 120W versus the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design's 80W — a 40% difference. The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 450W (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) vs 0W (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design). Power connectors: 8-pin vs None. Card length: 229mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 80.