Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Nvidia ’s RTX 3060 is the most democratic GPU around , and it ’s not even close . harmonize to thelatest Steam computer hardware survey , the 2021 GPU is in close to 7 % of gaming personal computer . That ’s a Brobdingnagian slice of the pie . For reference , the second most popular GPU , the RTX 2060 , sit at just under 4 % . It ’s easy to see why the GPU is popular , too . you could plunk it up for between $ 250 and $ 300 — and for even less used — and it arrive with a vital 12 GB of VRAM .
It ’s the go - to GPU for maxed - out 1080p gaming in 2024 , but based on my examination , it in all likelihood should n’t be . The RTX 3060 is a workhorse , and for a gravid range of games , it ’s one of thebest nontextual matter cardsyou can buy . When it come to the latest , most demanding games , however , the RTX 3060 struggles to keep up .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
The litmus test
I put together a range of benchmark to exemplify the most recent , most popular , and most demanding game released in the past twelvemonth . Not every game is the most pop , and not every game is the most demanding , but the collection represents the titles from the retiring year that you might desire to play on a gage personal computer . Here ’s the list :
If you ’ve read any of our GPU reexamination , there ’s not a lot of crossing here . game likeCyberpunk 2077andRed Dead Redemption 2are demanding , but they ’re mature ; they bring home the bacon a unanimous fundament for comparing artwork cards . Here , I ’m taking a different approach . If you picked up an RTX 3060 in 2024 , you ’re probably proceed to want to act at least one of the game on the listing above , and in all probability a few of them .
I qualify the tests to 1080p with the high artwork preset available , minusray tracing . Ray tracing is by all odds possible on the RTX 3060 with the help of Nvidia’sDeep Learning Super Sampling ( DLSS ) , but the goal here was to focus on the peeled performance without upscaling . If the RTX 3060 can nail that , then upscaling is just gravy .
The mark is 60 frames per second ( fps ) . I ’m looking to see that level of carrying out in real gameplay — not scripted benchmarks — in the most demanding area of a game . And for a lot of the titles on this listing , the RTX 3060 is a little too close for solace .
you’re able to see my results above . You ’re have 60 Federal Protective Service in games likeDragon ’s Dogma 2 , Resident Evil 4,andHogwarts Legacy , but a hatful of title fall short of the mark . The wildly popularHelldivers 2is too demand for 60 fps at Ultra setting , as isStarfield , even outside of the take metropolis zones .
I included the 1 % low middling frame rate here , too . If you ’re unfamiliar , this is an norm among the 1 % low frames , and it ’s good for argue how stable the frame charge per unit was . It ’s important because some of these game have performance result across PCs , most notablyImmortals of Aveum , Hogwarts Legacy , andLords of the Fallen .
Still , there are several games that are stable here and still show performance issues . Helldivers 2is the good instance of that . The game is remarkably stable , with only a minor difference between the medium frame charge per unit and 1 % lows , but the RTX 3060 still is n’t able to rally 60 Federal Protective Service .
The RTX 3060 is equal to enough at 1080p . You could turn down some graphics options or enable upscaling and get above 60 fps . The problem is that there are far well options around the same monetary value in 2024 .
The GPU market in 2024
The RTX 3060 has n’t really devolve in price . you’re able to still discover it in ancestry , but you ’ll still spend around $ 300 on one — that ’s the same price it launched at more than three yr ago . Given the demands of advanced games , it ’s just not worth it to pick up the RTX 3060 when there are other more powerful options at around $ 300 .
For example , the RTX 4060 is around 19 % faster at 1080p , and it ’s available for around $ 300 . It should say a lot that the RTX 4060 is a better choice considering its lukewarm receipt ( read ourRTX 4060 reviewfor more on that ) . But the RTX 4060 has access toNvidia ’s DLSS 3.5 , adding frame generation into the mix , which can help a lot in these modern single - player game .
It ’s not just Nvidia . AMD ’s RX 7600is around 17 % faster than the RTX 3060 on mean , and it comes in at a lower price . you may pick one up , such as , for $ 260 . It does n’t have DLSS , but the performance advantage is hard to ignore , particularly when the bill of fare is so much cheaper .
Even the imperfect alternative is quite a bit quicker than the RTX 3060 . Intel ’s , and it ’s airless to 15 % quicker than the RTX 3060 base on our examination . It even comes with 16 GB of RAM , while both the RTX 4060 and RX 7600 are locked to 8 gilbert .
Hold on a little longer
Now , I do n’t want anyone to be amiss this revisit to the RTX 3060 . If you already have an RTX 3060 in your gaming personal computer , it ’s still a solid GPU . As shown through my examination , it can handle the demand of modernistic biz with a few compromise , and hopefully that holds lawful for a few more year . Even agame likeAlan Wake 2is playable if you turn down enough configurations .
Still , an RTX 3060 is n’t a corking investment if you ’re buying a GPU in 2024 . Even among themediocre options in budget art cardsright now , the RTX 3060 is behind . If you ’re look at making an upgrade to your PC , a current - gen GPU , be it from AMD , Nvidia , or Intel , is your upright stakes .
If you ’re using an RTX 3060 mighty now , I ’d hold off on upgrading to one of these GPUs , however . There are strong rumour that we could see raw GPUs this year . Intel is rumored to launch itsBattlemage GPUsin the fall , while some leakers say Nvidia will kick off itsRTX 50 - seriesin the last few calendar month of the twelvemonth . AMD , for its part , is rumored to establish itsRDNA 4 GPUsin the back half of the year , too . There will be a lot more options soon .
