GeForce RTX 5080 Faces ROP Shortage Issues

The GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card is now reportedly affected by a shortage of Raster Operation Pipelines (ROPs), a problem that has already been confirmed for other models in the RTX 5000 series by Nvidia. Although Nvidia has officially acknowledged this issue only for the RTX 5090, RTX 5070 Ti, and the China-exclusive RTX 5090D, new evidence suggests that the RTX 5080 is also experiencing similar discrepancies.

Recent discussions on forums such as Reddit have highlighted a case where a user shared a screenshot from the GPU-Z tool, revealing that their GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition contained only 104 ROPs instead of the expected 112. This revelation has been validated through accompanying evidence, indicating that the information is accurate and not fabricated.

ROPs are essential components in graphics cards, responsible for the final stages of pixel processing before the pixels are sent to the frame buffer. A deficit in ROPs can create a bottleneck that adversely affects frame rates, with estimations suggesting that the impact on the RTX 5080 could result in a performance drop of approximately seven percent.

According to Techpowerup, the developer behind GPU-Z, the tool reliably reads the actual number of ROPs available in the graphics card as soon as the Nvidia driver is active. This is achieved through the utilization of Nvidia's NVAPI. If the driver is not loaded, such as immediately after starting the computer, GPU-Z resorts to default values stored within the software.

Users who have acquired any RTX 5000 series graphics card are advised to install GPU-Z and verify the ROP count of their device. The expected ROP counts for various models are as follows: the RTX 5090 should have 176 ROPs, the RTX 5080 should have 112, the RTX 5070 Ti should have 88, and the upcoming RTX 5070 is anticipated to have 64.

Nvidia has characterized the ROP shortage as a manufacturing error. Unfortunately, there are no software solutions, such as driver or BIOS updates, that can rectify the missing ROPs in affected models. Nvidia recommends that customers experiencing this issue contact the manufacturer of their graphics card for a replacement. However, due to the ongoing supply shortages, it is anticipated that customers may face extended wait times for a resolution.