Today, the first independent reviews of the RTX 3060 have been released. With this graphics card, Nvidia has already targeted mid-range gamers in advance. We present to you how Nvidia’s new graphics card performs in the tests.
The most important points:
- The GeForce RTX 3060 has been available since February 25, 2021.
- The graphics card delivers high performance and triple-digit FPS for Full HD. With reduced details, WQHD (1440p) is also possible with more than 100 FPS. The graphics card is conditionally suitable for 4K.
- 329 Euros is a fair price, but availability is likely to be an issue.
Since February 25, 2021, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 has been officially available. In our article, we want to present to you how Nvidia’s new mid-range graphics card performs in the tests and for whom the price is actually worthwhile.
What is the GeForce RTX 3060?
Who is the graphics card aimed at? Nvidia targets its new mid-range graphics card mainly at gamers who want to play in full details on Full HD. With the competitive price of 329 Euros, it aims to attract gamers who are currently using a GeForce GTX 1060, RX 480, or equivalent.
This is what the RTX 3060 offers: With the GeForce RTX 3060, Nvidia aims to offer ray tracing at a relatively low price. Until now, ray tracing was reserved for the expensive RTX models. With the RTX 3060, the entry barrier for ray tracing is lower than ever.
GeForce RTX 3060 at a glance
| GeForce RTX 3060 | |
|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 |
| Base Clock | 1320 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1670 MHz |
| Memory Size | 12 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Interface Width | 192-bit |
| TDP (Power Consumption) | 170 Watts |
What do reviewers say about the GeForce RTX 3060?
At this point, we want to introduce you to the most important tests of the RTX 3060. We will go through the individual tests and explain to you in the end for whom the graphics card is worthwhile.
| Reviewer | Reviewer Statements/Quotes |
|---|---|
| GameStar.de | “This is a good mid-range graphics card that offers enough performance for Full HD and also for WQHD.” |
| ComputerBase.de | “The GeForce RTX 3060 is well suited for gaming in Full HD with all graphics details, while WQHD does not always run smoothly at maximum details.” |
| PCGamesHardware.de | “The GeForce RTX 3060 12GB can be regarded as the overall best Ampere graphics card. For the intended purpose of Full HD gaming, even with ray tracing, the RTX 3060 12GB is very suitable.” |
| PCWelt.de | “The Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge proves to be the ideal graphics card for Full HD gamers with a RRP of 329 Euros. (…) Therefore, there is no such massive performance leap as from 3070 and 3080 to their predecessor models.” |
| Golem.de | “The GeForce RTX 3060 is the ideal graphics card for everyone wanting to upgrade from a more than four-year-old GeForce GTX 1060 or a Radeon RX 480/570.” |
| HardwareLuxx.de | “The GeForce RTX 3060 should be considered an inexpensive 1440p gaming card, and it fulfills this claim excellently. (…) Anyone needing 144 Hz in Full HD will also be satisfied with a GeForce RTX 3060 in most games.” |
What are the strengths? Essentially, the testers agree that it is a good graphics card for Full HD. If you mostly play in Full HD and desire frame rates beyond 100 FPS, then the graphics card is well suited.
While WQHD is generally possible, some details must be sacrificed. Overall, however, the RTX 3060 meets its intended goal and is considered a recommendable graphics card for gamers.
Importantly, you can get a fast graphics card with DLSS and ray tracing support starting from 329 Euros. This is especially important for the future, as more games want to support these technologies.
What are the weaknesses? Here too, the reviewers are fundamentally in agreement that the biggest problem for the RTX 3060 will be the poor availability. While the graphics card is a good offer for 329 Euros, if it is hardly available, no one can buy it.
There are also better alternatives for gamers who prefer to play in WQHD with the highest details. However, those who can forgo details can still achieve over 100 FPS in WQHD.
RTX 3060 – How does the graphics card perform in Full HD, WQHD, and 4K?
Where do the data come from? The images and benchmark values you find in this section have been taken from the RTX 3060 test by GameStar. It is a performance rating: This means that the average FPS of all games is calculated. The graphics card is tested with Anno 1800, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Battlefield 5, Metro: Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Wolfenstein Youngblood. You can find more details and information in the linked article.
How does the graphics card perform? In Full HD, the graphics card achieves 120 FPS without any problems. In higher resolutions such as WQHD, high FPS numbers over 60 can still be measured, but they are already significantly lower than in Full HD. Without full details, more than 100 FPS are also possible here.
4K is also possible with the RTX 3060; however, the Nvidia graphics card does not reach 60 FPS anymore – unless you forgo the highest details.
Where does the graphics card rank? In terms of performance, the RTX 3060 ranks just above the RX 5700 XT from AMD and between the RTX 2060 Super and the 2070 Super. Above the RT
What advantages does DLSS bring to the RTX 3060?
What is DLSS? With DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), low textures are scaled to higher resolutions using AI. This can further improve performance at high resolutions, especially when the graphics card is already under load.
What does DLSS bring to the RTX 3060? Performance boosts from DLSS can be observed in both Full HD and WQHD. ComputerBase explains in its test that performance in WQHD with enabled DLSS increases by around 30%. Gamestar also shows that FPS can rise by up to 44% with enabled DLSS.
With DLSS enabled, the FPS numbers in supported games increase. Source: ComputerBase.de 
DLSS provides a performance boost. Source: GameStar.de
For whom is the RTX 3060 worthwhile?
The graphics card is primarily interesting for gamers who want to play at Full HD with high FPS. If you play fast shooters at Full HD and need high frame rates, then the RTX 3060 is definitely a good choice. In WQHD, you can also play with more than 100 FPS, but here you have to forgo graphical details.
With ray tracing and DLSS, the RTX 3060 definitely offers technology that should also be exciting for future games. We currently advise you, however, not to pay more than 700 Euros for an RTX 3060.
What alternatives are there? Alternatives would currently only be the RTX 2060 or the RX 5700, but both graphics cards are currently only available used for more than 500 Euros, which is too expensive.
The Radeon RX 6700 XT, which follows in the footsteps of the RX 5700 (XT), currently costs at least 700 Euros and more, making it only conditionally recommendable. For more ray tracing performance, you could also go directly for the RTX 3070. However, the 3070 offers 8 GB VRAM, which is less graphics memory than the RTX 3060.
In general, we recommend that if you can wait, to wait until the graphics card market settles down a bit.
What about the RTX 3060 Ti? If you are interested in the direct differences between the RTX 3060 and the RTX 3060 Ti, then take a look at this article. Here we explain to you where exactly the differences between the two models lie:
RTX 3060: Release, Price, and Where to Buy?
When does the sale of the RTX 3060 start? The graphics card is officially available from February 25, 2021, at 6:00 PM in various shops. We will also list where you can buy the graphics card.
Where can you buy the RTX 3060?
Buy ASUS Dual RTX 3060 at Notebooksbilliger.de* Buy Gigabyte RTX 3060 at Notebooksbilliger.de* Buy Inno3D RTX 3060 at Notebooksbilliger.de* Buy Inno3D RTX 3060 at Computeruniverse.net*Further information and what you need to know at the launch of the RTX 3060 can also be found in this article. We also explain why the launch of the RTX 3060 will not be any less difficult than previous graphics card releases:
Where does the information come from? Nvidia had already informed GameStar in advance about where you can buy the RTX 3060 at the recommended retail price from the sales start.
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