The NVIDIA RTX 4090 is the objective winner of this comparison, securing victories in eleven out of thirteen measured specifications. Its most significant advantage over the NVIDIA GTX 1080 is its FP16 performance, which is 58886% higher. This massive disparity in computational capability establishes the newer card as the superior option for high-performance tasks, while the older model fails to keep pace across the vast majority of technical categories.

Users prioritizing raw computational power should select the NVIDIA RTX 4090 to leverage its substantial lead in FP16 performance. Conversely, the NVIDIA GTX 1080 remains the logical choice for buyers who prioritize the initial MSRP, as it holds a 63% advantage in that specific category. Choosing between these components depends entirely on whether the user requires the extreme performance gains of the newer architecture or the cost-focused benefit of the older hardware.