Nvidia presented the GeForce RTX 3060, a mid-range graphics card, at CES 2021. But who is this graphics card aimed at? And what about Nvidia’s RTX 3060 Ti, which has already been released?
This is what it’s about: At CES 2021, Nvidia also introduced the smallest RTX 3000 graphics card alongside mobile RTX 3000 graphics cards, which are installed in Razer’s introduced gaming laptops.
This is the GeForce RTX 3060, which is positioned below the RTX 3060 Ti and is set to launch in February 2021. By the way, our title image features Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which is already available. The RTX 3060 is expected to be produced as a Founders Edition with only one fan.
Who is this graphics card aimed at? Nvidia is targeting its new mid-range graphics card primarily at gamers who want to play in full detail at Full HD.
With the RTX 3060, the target audience includes owners of a GeForce GTX 1060 or a comparable Radeon RX 480.
This is also evident in the direct comparison from Nvidia. While the RTX 3060 and RTX 2060 are relatively close together, the difference between the RTX 3060 and GTX 1060 is very large.
This is what the RTX 3060 offers: With the GeForce RTX 3060, Nvidia also wants to offer ray tracing at a comparatively low price. Until now, ray tracing has been reserved for the expensive RTX models.
The actual competition for the RTX 3060 is its sibling, the RTX 3060 Ti, which is priced slightly above the RTX 3060 at an MSRP of 400 Euros and is already available.
When will the RTX 3060 be released? According to Nvidia, the GeForce RTX 3060 is expected to be available starting at the end of February. A specific date has not yet been announced.
How much will the RTX 3060 cost? Nvidia’s Founders Edition is expected to cost 319 dollars officially. The Euro price is expected to be similar. Custom models from Nvidia partners are likely to be slightly more expensive.
For whom is the RTX 3060 worthwhile? Especially for owners of older graphics card series such as the GeForce GTX 1060 or owners of older Polaris graphics cards from AMD (RX 400 series and RX 500 series), Nvidia’s RTX 3060 should mean a significant performance boost.
Owners of an RTX 2060 only benefit to a limited extent from an upgrade.
RTX 3060 12GB vs 3060 Ti: What are the differences?
Both graphics cards rely on the new Ampere architecture and offer you ray tracing. But there are also some differences:
- The base clock of the RTX 3060 is slightly lower, but it boosts higher than the RTX 3060 Ti
- The theoretical computing power is lower than that of the Ti model
- The RTX 3060 uses a slower interface (192 bit vs 256 bit)
- The RTX 3060 has 12 GB of video memory, while the RTX 3060 Ti offers only 8 GB.
Where does the RTX 3060 Ti stand? According to Igorslab.de, the RTX 3060 Ti is indeed on par with an RTX 2080 Super, which is suitable for all gaming resolutions with ray tracing and DLSS.
According to theoretical numbers, the RTX 3060 is slightly below the RTX 3060 Ti but is future-proof with 12 GB of video memory.
RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti compared: We have set the two graphics cards side by side for you here:
| Model | GeForce RTX 3060 | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | Ampere | Ampere |
| FP32 shader cores | 3584 | 4864 |
| Base clock / Boost | 1320 / 1780 MHz | 1410 / 1665 MHz |
| Theoretical computing power | 12.7 TFlops | 16.1 TFlops |
| Memory type | 12 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 |
| Interface | 192 bit | 256 bit |
| Ray tracing / Tensor cores | unknown | 38 / 152 |
| Power consumption (TBP) | 170 Watts | 200 Watts |
RTX 3060 Price and Availability – little hope for interested buyers
This is the current situation: According to Nvidia, the prices of the Founders Edition are set to be 319 US dollars, but it wouldn’t be surprising if customers end up paying significantly more:
The slightly faster model, the RTX 3060 Ti, was supposed to launch at 399 Euros. However, these prices are dramatically exceeded everywhere. On Geizhals.de, the prices for “RTX 3060 Ti” models are currently around 700 Euros, making them nearly twice as expensive as the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
Further presentations at CES 2021: At CES 2021, in addition to graphics cards, other exciting tech highlights were introduced. For example, Razer introduced a special gaming chair that is said to offer many unique features such as haptic feedback.
