Which One to Buy, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 or Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti?
Nvidia has always left its audience awestruck with new GPU launches. Its 30 series GPUs are also one of the best graphic cards on the market that can withstand extensive PC gaming. One of the popular competitions among Nvidia’s graphic cards is between the GeForce RTX 3060 and the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. They are individually the master GPUs in meeting the gaming needs of their users at appreciable frame rates. Graphics are imperative, and that’s why they are also included in the top 10 features of gaming laptops.
The RTX 3060 was launched in December 2020, one month after the launch of the RTX 3060 Ti. These two cards differ in performance at various gaming levels, like 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. The competition between the two is quite similar to that between the AMD RX 6600-XT vs. Nvidia RTX 3060.
In the article, we will compare the performance of these two graphic cards, the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti of the 30 series. Without any further ado, let’s begin with the specification table that will help trace the performance of the two graphic cards.
Specification Table of Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti
With the same Ampere architecture, both graphic cards differ in their real gaming performance and can turn your normal PC into a top gaming computer. Both mid-range cards are capable, but the 3060 Ti is more powerful and has a future-proofing performance. Wanna know the important details like memory, memory speed, and price? The specs table below contains all that information.
After going through the various graphic features above, it’s quite clear through the CUDA cores, tensor cores, and RT cores configuration that RTX 3060 Ti are much upgraded in the RTX 3060 Ti.
Gaming Performance Rivalry: Survival Of The Fittest
The two 30-series discrete graphics card ranges are powerful enough to provide outstanding graphic quality at various gaming qualities like 1080p and above. Let’s discuss these Apmere generation graphic cards.
1080p, 1440p, and 4k
For beginners with a need for 1080p gaming quality, the RTX 3060 is sufficient, and even with ultra settings, an awesome gaming experience can be tasted. Surprisingly, the users are charged $20 more on the other RTX 3060 Ti card, as both cards are equally capable of providing a 60fps refresh rate. Still, if the user demands an A-class experience with the highest frame rate possible, investing in the GeForce 3060 Ti is worth it.
For 1440p graphic settings, the RTX 3060 Ti runs amazingly well at 70 fps speed, ensuring a splendid and extensive game performance that is 30% better than the other graphic card. To have a satisfying gaming experience, gamers always demand 60fps. RTX 3060 fulfills those demands but with less assurance. The RTX 3060Ti is a GPU worth spending for, and if you are fascinated by high ultra-settings gaming energy, spending a few more dollars for it won’t hurt much.
4k game experience requires RTX 3070 or 3080 to get frame rates above 60fps, meanwhile, the 3060 Ti endeavors to bring 60fps for extensive modern games. Users with RTX 3060 graphic cards could struggle with the 40fps frame rate of intensive game titles.
Ray Tracing
Real-time ray tracing was made possible with the help of Nvidia RTX with real-time ray tracing GPU pioneering technology. With this feature, beauty with realism enters the graphic settings, and an unmatched experience starts to roll in. For example, to make the game more realistic by adding mirror images and shadows. The ray tracing performance delta in the RTX 3060 Ti is much quicker than the 3060 itself. Ray tracing is the resolution performance delta and 3060 Ti being a midrange card with 38 RT cores, does ray tracing with much greater processing power.
RT Cores, CUDA Cores, and Tensor Cores
The 3060 Ti card has almost 10 more RT cores than the RTX 3060 graphic card, which results in extended efficiency in ray tracing operations. The CUDA cores, which function as processors to carry the data processing easily in and out of the GPU, are 1000 more in the 3060 Ti leading to much more powerful processing. Tensor Cores are also 40 more in GPU RTX 3060 Ti model, helping in multiple precision training.
The primary reason for the expensive RTX Ti 3060 is the high-rated processing that is achieved with the help of these cores.
Price and Availability
With a global shortage of graphics cards, users and the market are suffering greatly. This major drawback leads to the exorbitant price of the graphic cards, with raised MSRP. Thankfully, Nvidia ensures its audience through a declaration that there will be no GPU shortage.
The current price of the GeForce RTX 3060 is around $379, and with the RTX 3060 Ti, it reaches $399. It might happen that their price gets exaggerated above the MSRP if the user is not lucky enough.
Feature Ratings: Nvidia RTX 3060Ti Vs. 3060
The table below rates the two graphic mid-range cards of Nvidia’s 30 series on the basis of their features. The 3060Ti and 3060 graphic cards are known to provide a decent mainstream offering for PC gaming.
Features | RTX 3060 Ti | RTX 3060 |
Ray Tracing | 4.4★ | 3★ |
FPS performance for extensive games | 4.1★ | 3.3★ |
VRAM Capacity | 4★ | 4.5★ |
4k Gaming | 4.5★ | 3.5★ |
RT Cores | 4.8★ | 4★ |
Price | 4.1★ | 4★ |
After comparing all the basic features of these graphic cards, their respective prices have just a minor difference of $20. Therefore, if RTX 3060 Ti GPU, with all its decent quality, costs only $20 more, it’s a worthy deal. Now, let’s head toward the customer reviews of the two mid-range graphic cards.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and GeForce 3060: Customer Reviews
Nvidia cards ranging from the 30 series to the 40 series have improved with mind-blowing changes. With every new launch, the ray tracing capabilities, RT cores, and Cuda cores, VRAM are enhanced to meet modern game settings. Customer reviews below will help users get real-life performance and reviews of the card.
“RTX 3060 Ti is not worth being $100 over MSRP anymore, just get one from best buy. The card works fine, and my only issue was that the supposedly “included” 12-pin to dual 8-pin connector just wasn’t in the box.“ ~ Mathew Dean |
“Don’t buy RTX 3060 GPUs right now. Don’t feed the scalpers. They’ll eventually come out empty-handed someday & even sell them below their MSRPs.“ ~ Prem Mahendarkar |
“GeForce RTX 3060 Ti was my very first GPU that a friend talked me into getting. I never owned one before because I am not a gamer, and all my builds are done with Intel’s K CPUs which come with integrated UHD graphics. The performance is absolutely great. I really like the length of it because it does not extend past the width of my Z590 AORUS Master motherboard. I really enjoy watching my 6-year-old son playing his games on my system.“ ~ Mervyn Jordan |
“Got this without a bot thanks to an amazingly helpful employee and he was very helpful checking on this card for me every day I came in, finally got the card and haven’t been happier. The card runs great and doesn’t ever overheat. All games run very nicely and everything I would highly recommend this card over most of the others. Even though it’s not the ti version it still runs great and everything.“ ~ Gamerchangers23 |
After going through the customer reviews, users can easily decide which card to choose. Otherwise, the coming pros and cons table can help you figure out this query.
Pros and Cons Table
The table below represents the strengths and weaknesses of GPUs to arrive at an answer to the question, Which one should you get?
- RTX3060 – Ample VRAM to play in HD resolution<br><br>Less power churning with 170W TDP<br><br>Gaming performance at 1080p is applaudable<br><br>Surpasses ray tracing quality of 20 series
- RTX 3060 Ti – Runs swiftly at 1440p, with more than 70fps<br><br>More RT cores ensure, maximum ray tracing, thus realism in gaming
- RTX3060 -Cannot be trusted for 1440p and 4k gaming quality, due to fewer fps
- RTX 3060 Ti-Charges more power i.e. <br>200W <br><br>The expensive price of $200
Our Verdict: Which One to Buy?
With Ampere architecture, the GeForce 3060 Ti was launched in December 2020, two months before the launch of the RTX 3060. Both of them differ in their gaming performance, with the Geforce RTX 3060 Ti able to hold extensive game titles with appreciable frame rates. The price of both graphic cards is almost the same, differing only by $20.
Beginners who are willing to play at 4K gaming quality can choose the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, as paying extra bucks is worth it; otherwise, the other video card within a pocket-friendly price range has amazing fps in 1080p too. Even the VRAM support with the old graphic card, i.e., the RTX 3060 Ti, is more than the RTX 3060.
Closing Thoughts
The article provided a brief description of the various features of Nvidia’s mid-range GPU. Through the specs table, pros and cons chart, and customer reviews, we came to the conclusion that both cards have their maximum capacity to even play highly extensive titles. The only thing to worry about is the GPU shortage, which might lead to an exaggerated MSRP price.
FAQ
What is the minimum fps required to run highly extensive games?
The fps rate of 60 fps or above is enough to provide to run extensive game titles.
What does TDP in graphic card stand for?
TDP stands for thermal design power, which means how much heat energy the parts of the GPU will dissipate into the environment after cooling.
What is the role of RT cores with respect to ray tracing?
RT cores are dedicated to providing ray tracing accelerated gaming. Along with the RTX software from Nvidia, RT cores ensure a realistic gaming environment for a breathtaking experience.
Which one is the better option among the Nvidia RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti?
RTX 3060 Ti is worth spending for users who want to play 4k gaming. The 3060 video cards support only 1080p properly and try to reach 60fps in the gaming quality of 1440p.
hat is global chip shortage? Do 3060 and 3060 Ti cards suffer from it?
It means the graphic cards have been produced short, leading to a global chip shortage. This simultaneously increases the real value of the graphics card. Nvidia has announced the end of GPU shortage in its 30series, though.