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We’re taking a look at the RTX 4060 Ti specs vs 3060 Ti to see how they shape up against each other.
The 4060 Ti release date has passed meaning you can now get your hands on the 8GB model. If you’re more interested in the 16GB model, then you’ll have to hold on for a specific date, though Nvidia has confirmed it will arrive some time in July. With the confirmation of both a new 40-series 16GB and 8GB GPU, we thought we’d compare how they will shape up to their predecessor, the RTX 3060 Ti.
The RTX 3060 Ti has enjoyed considerable popularity since its release several years ago on account of its stellar 1080p and respectable ray tracing performance. It can generally manage 60FPS in 1440p gaming too, ticking the box for most gamers. However, now that we’re in 2023, it’s understandable that our heads are being turned toward Nvdia’s 40-series. Their more powerful and efficient Lovelace architecture is definitely worthy of upgrading, but with everything else thrown into consideration, how do the 4060 Ti and 3060 Ti really compare?
Let’s get into it.
RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 3060 Ti – specs comparison
| RTX 4060 Ti 8GB specs | RTX 4060 Ti 16GB specs | RTX 3060 Ti 8GB specs | |
| Architecture | Ada (TSMC 4N) | Ada (TSMC 4N) | Ampere |
| CUDA Cores | 4352 | 4352 | 4864 |
| Base Clock (MHz) | 2310 | TBC | 1410 |
| Boost Clock (MHz) | 2535 | TBC | 1670 |
| Memory | 8GB GDDR6X | 16GB GDDR6X | 8GB GDDR6 / 8GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Bus | 128-bit | 128-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 288 GB/s | 288 GB/s | 448GB/s |
| TDP | 160W | 165W | 200W |
From the specs we’ve listed above, you’ll see that we’ve included the two variants for the RTX 4060 Ti. There’s one with 16GB VRAM and one with just 8GB. Impressively, the 16GB VRAM only bumps the card’s TDP to 5W more at 165W. You can see that Nvidia has dramatically improved its TDP compared to the previous gen, with the 3060 Ti boasting a considerably higher 200W.
It’s also worth paying attention to the differing base and boost clocks between the cards. In case you’re unfamiliar, base and boost clocks are indicators of the graphics card’s performance and what it can deliver under intense workloads. We’ll go into a little more depth later, but you can see that the 4060 Ti models outperform the 3060 Ti here by a considerable margin. This of course is also helped by the 4060 Ti’s Lovelace architecture.
RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 3060 Ti – architecture
Architecture is a hugely significant factor when researching a GPU. Since the RTX 4060 Ti belongs to Nvidia’s 40-series family it comes with Ada Lovelace.
Ada Lovelace’s architecture follows on from the Ampere architecture that Nvidia used for their 30-series, including the RTX 3060 Ti. The Ada chip is based on TSMC’s 4nm N4 technology, making it half the size of the Ampere chip based on Samsung’s 8nm process. This makes the 4060 Ti the more power efficient chip.
- Amazon US – RTX 4060 Ti
- Best Buy US – RTX 4060 Ti
- Newegg US – RTX 4060 Ti
The Ada architecture also features fourth generation Tensor Cores and third generation Ray Tracing Cores, and DLSS 3.0. There are plenty of games these days that offer ray tracing support, and an increasing number of games are getting DLSS 3.0 support.
There’s also been speculation that Nvidia might be discontinuing the RTX 3060 Ti according to a leak reported by TomsHardware.com. If the rumours are true, you may want a GPU with Ada architecture in the interest of future-proofing your system. However, this is unconfirmed, so take these rumours with a pinch of salt.
RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 3060 Ti – performance
Though rumoured specs can only tell us so much, let’s take a look at how all this could translate to performance.
If you value improved features like Ray Tracing and DLSS 3, then you’ll probably prefer the 4060 Ti’s performance. Though not all games have DLSS 3 enabled, it really is a game changer, especially if you’d like to experience 4K gaming without your FPS suffering. For a little more temptation, if you’ve got mid-tier CPU, the 4060 Ti will take some of the pressure off thanks to DLSS 3, meaning that question of whether your CPU will get bottlenecked by a new GPU becomes largely obsolete! Big news, right? We still expect the 4060 Ti to struggle a little with 4K, though we think it will be amongst the best 1440p graphics cards once it’s released.
Nvidia has also released the following performance chart for the 4060 Ti, and how it shapes up against its 3060 Ti predecessor:
RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 3060 Ti – price
The RTX 4060 Ti is available to buy right now with an MSRP of $399 and $499. It’s the first time a Nvidia 40-series graphics card will be available for less than $500 which is a pretty big deal. Against AMD’s rumoured RX 7950 XTX, it looks like the price could be pretty competitive.
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition
Base clock
2310MHz
Boost clock
2535MHz
VRAM
8GB
Dimensions
240 x 111 x 40mm
Recommended PSU
450W
Zotac GeForce RTX 4060Ti Twin Edge 8GB
Base clock
2,310MHz
Boost clock
2,535MHz
VRAM
8GB GDDR6
Dimensions
225.5 x 123.2 x 40.1mm
Recommended PSU
500W
Meanwhile, we’ve seen the RTX 3060 Ti available for considerably less for certain models, potentially in anticipation of the 4060 Ti. Here are a few of the best RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards here:
Zotac RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge
Base Clock (MHz)
1410
Boost Clock (MHz)
1665
VRAM
8GB GDDR6
Dimensions
222 x 116 x 38
Recommended PSU
550W
MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio
Base Clock (MHz)
1410
Boost Clock (MHz)
1830
VRAM
8GB GDDR6
Dimensions
323 x 140 x 56
Recommended PSU
600W
RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 3060 Ti – final word
From what we’ve seen, the 4060 Ti seems to offer a lot, and those looking to future-proof their gaming setup should probably got for the newer card. Potential buyers shouldn’t underestimate Nvidia Lovelace technology and what that can do for a card’s power efficiency and performance in games.
So, unless you’re seriously strapped for crash, your best bet is to go for the 4060 Ti over its predecessor, the 3060 Ti.
