NVIDIA advertisement officially the GeForce RTX 4060, the new graphics card that aims to become the favorite of the average PC gamer. After months of waiting and some stumbles, the manufacturer presented a GPU that promises high performance in 1080p. The announcement stands out not only because it will replace the RTX 3060 Ti — Steam’s most popular card — but also because it is the most affordable of the 40 series.
The new family includes two models: GeForce RTX 4060 and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. Both are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture and have performance improvements compared to their predecessor. In addition to raytracing performance, the new graphics cards offer support for DLSS 3 and frame generation.
Although it is NVIDIA’s custom to leave the 60 range until the end of the announcements, the wait has been longer in the current generation. The exorbitant prices of the RTX 4090 and 4080, added to the 4070 fiasco, caused distrust among many users. With the announcement of the RTX 4060, the manufacturer seeks to calm the waters by offering a graphics card that costs less than $300.
This is the first time in a long time that users will be able to purchase a GPU in this range at the suggested price. Cryptocurrency mining and chip shortages caused older models to double in sales during the pandemic. Nevertheless, the GeForce RTX 4060 repeats some of the mistakes of the 4070mainly on hardware features.
How fast is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060?
In terms of specs, the new RTX 4060 is offered in two 8GB variants, though the RTX 4060 Ti model will have an option with 16GB of VRAM. The new cards are Designed for high detail gaming at 1080p, but that doesn’t mean they’re not 1440p competent. If we learned anything with the 2060 Super or 3060 Ti, it is that they can perform optimally in QHD with some games, yes, with their respective concessions.
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (16GB) | GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) | GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB) | |
Architecture | Ada Lovelace (TSMC 4N) | Ada Lovelace (TSMC 4N) | Ada Lovelace (TSMC 4N) |
Memory (VRAM) | 16GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
bus from memory | 128-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit |
memory bandwidth | 288GB/s | 288GB/s | 288GB/s |
Speed (Boost) | 2535MHz | 2535MHz | 2460MHz |
TDP | 160W | 160W | 115W |
Interface | PCIe Gen4 x8 | PCIe Gen4 x8 | PCIe Gen4 x8 |
Price | $499 USD | $399 USD | $299 USD |
Availability | July 2023 | May 2023 | July 2023 |
The idea of offering a graphics card of 8GB of VRAM is the first point against, especially if we consider that it is an investment in the future. games like Hogwarts Legacy, The Callisto Protocol either A Plague Tale: Requiem have performance issues at 1080p with 8 GB cards, so the only alternative is to reduce the quality of the textures. NVIDIA offers a 16GB variant for the Ti model, though you’ll have to shell out $499.
When talking about performance, NVIDIA ensures that the new GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is 2.6 times faster than an RTX 2060 Super and up to 1.7 times faster than the RTX 3060 Ti. In games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Hitman 3, F1 22 either The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt the jump is appreciated, although there is a slight detail. The table refers to games that support frame generationa feature of the new 40 series of graphics cards.
In games like The Last of Us Part 1, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla either farcry 6, where there is no frame generation, the performance gain is minimal over its predecessor. The RTX 4060 Ti is up to 1.6 times faster than the RTX 2060 Super in this section
Is it worth upgrading my graphics card?
Although performance testing in uncontrolled environments is necessary, the announcement of the GeForce RTX 4060 is due. For years, the GTX 1060 remained the top of Steam’s most used graphics card list. After the 20-series stumble, NVIDIA redeemed itself with the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti, two well-specced cards whose launch was slowed by external factors.
It is possible that this model does not suffer from the same problems as its predecessor in terms of price increases or shortages. Of the three variants announced, the most attractive in terms of price/performance is the RTX 4060 8 GB. The frame gain with DLSS 3 and other features of the new architecture might be enough for those coming from a GTX 1060 or 1660.
The difference in performance with the 30 series is not considerable and paying an extra 100 (or 200) dollars for the extra 8 GB seems like a typical play by NVIDIA. In these cases, it would be best to wait for the next generation or the intermediate update. The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti will be available at the end of May for $399while the $499 16GB variant and $299 RTX 4060 model will arrive in July.