Hi guys, we've just reviewed the latest GEFORCE RTX 2080 and compared its mining performance against the GTX 1080 on 4 different algos. Just wanted to share what we've found as the results are pretty interesting.
The setupOur desktop mining rig is based around an Intel Core i7-5930K CPU and 32GB of memory. We’re running Windows 10 build 1083 and made use of NVIDIA’s release-day GeForce drivers (version 411.63) for the RTX 2080. These drivers seemed stable on our setup and we saw no unusual errors under the hood on our mining software.
All tests were conducted with beta version 0.5.1 of the CudoMiner multi-coin crypto mining software. We focused on the proof-of-work algorithms Ethash, CryptoNight variant 1, Equihash, and Lyra2RE v2. Cudo Miner supports concurrent CPU+GPU mining, but we turned off CPU mining for these tests to ensure it didn’t interfere with our results for each GPU.
https://imgur.com/a/MHUxtn0Analysing the resultsAlthough both cards consume essentially the same amount of power when idle, the RTX 2080 draws a significantly larger amount of power under full load, with the worst case scenario of a 27% increase over the GTX 1080 when running Equihash.
The RTX 2080 boasts an average of 60% hashrate increase over the GTX 1080 across the four tested algorithms.
HashrateEthash NVidia GTX 1080 Founders OC: 20.2 Mh/s (28.7 with Ethpill)
Gigabyte RTX 2080 OC: 35.3 Mh/s (+75%)
Cryptonight Variant 1NVidia GTX 1080 Founders OC: 507 h/s
Gigabyte RTX 2080 OC: 769 h/s (+50%)
Lyra2REv2NVidia GTX 1080 Founders OC: 42.1 Mh/s
Gigabyte RTX 2080 OC: 72.1 Mh/s (+70%)
EquihashNVidia GTX 1080 Founders OC: 391 Sol/s
Gigabyte RTX 2080 OC: 566 Sol/s (+45%)
See the following images for tables and graphs:
Based on launch-day market conditions, we found the Ethash-based Ethereum to be the best coin to mine on both cards. Over a projected month of mining, the RTX 2080 delivers $0.12 per watt, with the GTX 1080 coming in at $0.09 per watt. This translates to a monthly revenue of $17.91 for the RTX 2080 versus $10.23 for the GTX 1080, before electricity costs.
Other considerationsWe also trialled the free ETHlargement Pill tool, which optimises memory structures on GDDR5X memory-based GPUs such as the GTX 1080 and claims to boost mining performance for Ethash-based coins like Ethereum. This gave our GTX 1080 setup a roughly 40% increase in output. We don’t know right now if similar tools may be released in the future that will similarly optimise newer generation cards such as the RTX 2080, but if so, this could result in further revenue boosts.
Both cards were tested in our rig with their factory settings unchanged for core clock, memory clock and supply voltages. Overclocking or voltage modding could change the performance for one or both cards, in which case the performance and efficiency gaps between the two may be different.
Wrapping upThe RTX 2080 shows an increase in power and efficiency over the previous generation of cards, but is it worth putting down the extra cash? Right now, if you’re looking to get one just to boost your mining revenues, the answer would seem to be no.
Our tests have shown that although there is a slight increase in revenue, the incremental improvement over last-generation’s tech is far outweighed by the high retail cost of the RTX 2080. In the future, it’s possible that new algorithms may take advantage of the new generation of AI-driven computational abilities, but right now there’s nothing in the crypto mining world that takes advantage of the full potential of NVIDIA’s new offering.
If you’re looking for a quick return on your investment, at the moment your best bet is still to try and get a good deal on the second-hand market for previous-generation cards such as the GTX 1080.
What are your thoughts about the results? Has anyone tested the 2080 on their rig?
You can view the review video here
https://www.cudominer.com/rtx2080benchmark/ 
