A new twist in the saga of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX series has come to light, as more instances of missing ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines) have been discovered, this time affecting the GeForce RTX 5080. This revelation adds to the growing concern over similar issues with previous models, including the RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti.
The GeForce RTX 5080, launched on January 30 alongside the RTX 5090, holds the title of the second fastest GPU in the RTX 50 series, coming with a price tag of $999 for the Founders Edition. However, despite its hefty price, a recent Reddit post by user u/gingeraffe90 has confirmed that not all is as expected. Through the GPU-Z program, this user has discovered that their RTX 5080 houses only 104 ROPs instead of the specified 112.
This issue couldn’t stay hidden for long, as variances like missing ROPs significantly impact raster performance and the pixel fillrate, translating to a potential 4% average drop in performance—an unwelcome surprise for full-price-paying consumers.
NVIDIA has previously made statements indicating that the problem primarily affects the RTX 5090/5090D and RTX 5070 Ti, claiming the issue is present in less than 0.5% of total units produced. However, the emergence of this first-known instance with the RTX 5080 raises questions about the scope of the problem. It’s a concerning development for consumers and warrants further investigation.
As more users dive into their tech specs, we may very well see more reports surfacing, turning what was initially thought to be an isolated issue into a significant topic of debate in the GPU industry. This growing issue deserves close attention as each discovery could indicate a broader problem affecting performance and value for consumers worldwide.
