The Nvidia RTX 3060 is the latest graphics card from Nvidia, and it is designed to offer good gaming performance at a lower price point. So is this graphics card good enough for gaming in 2022? Let’s take a closer look!
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Is the Nvidia RTX 3060 Good For Gaming?
Yes, the Nvidia RTX 3060 is good for gaming. It’s one of the most cost-efficient cards for high-end 1080p gaming. It’s even capable of 1440p gaming and can run most games at high or ultra settings with smooth frame rates.
Pros and Cons of the Nvidia RTX 3060
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Ray tracing and DLSS brings games to life with more realistic lighting and shadows | Some games need some visual tweaks to run at stable frame rates on 1440p resolution |
| 12GB of GDDR is the sweet spot for high-end gaming | Not as future-proof as the RTX 3070 or the Nvidia RTX 3080 |
| Compact, quiet, and stays cool | Owners of the 20-series cards might not see enough of an upgrade to warrant the purchase |
Design and architecture
The Nvidia RTX 3060 (mobile) is built on the Ampere architecture and is manufactured with a modern 8nm process. It has a die size of 276mm² and a transistor count of 12 billion. The laptop version of the Nvidia RTX 3060 has 3584 CUDA cores, which is 1664 more than the RTX 2060 that it replaces in Nvidia’s lineup. It also features 30 RT cores and 120 Tensor cores for ray tracing and AI-accelerated features.
The desktop version is not as power-hungry as its RTX 2060 predecessor and has a TGP (total graphics power) of 170W. On the other hand, the mobile version is even more frugal, with a TGP of 115W.
Performance and Benchmarks
The RTX 3060 is a very fast graphics card and is capable of playing games at 1440p with high/ultra settings at 60+ FPS. It is also worth noting that the RTX 3060 is able to maintain its performance consistency better than the RTX 2060, which is likely because it has more CUDA cores.
The RTX 3060 is 18% faster than the RTX 2060 and is only behind the RTX 3070 by 13%. Regarding ray tracing, the RTX 3060 is also very impressive and can deliver playable framerates in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Control.
Version 1.5 of Cyberpunk 2077 ran at an average of 63 FPS on the RTX 3060 with the game’s highest graphics settings. In Elden Ring, the RTX 3060 can maintain an average framerate of 58 fps running on ultra settings. Red Dead Redemptions II saw an average of 48fps @ ultra settings on the RTX 3060, while Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at an average of 84 fps.
If you come from a system with a GTX 10 series or lower graphics card, the RTX 3060 is a massive upgrade. It has 72% higher performance than the Nvidia GTX 1060 and offers features like ray tracing and DLSS that were not available on previous-generation cards.
Who Is It For?
The Nvidia RTX 3060 is an excellent choice for gamers who are looking to upgrade their graphics card from an older card, such as the GTX 1070 or GTX 1080. It offers significant performance improvements over those cards, especially in games that are optimized for ray tracing and DLSS. However, it is not as future-proof as the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080, which offer even more performance.
Does It Support VR?
The RTX 3060 is VR-ready, meaning it is powerful enough to run virtual reality games and experiences. However, you will need a good processor and a lot of rams in order to take advantage of its VR capabilities.
Does It Support 4K Gaming?
The RTX 3060 is capable of gaming at resolutions up to and including 7680 x 4320. However, just because it is capable of gaming at these resolutions does not mean that it will be able to do so at high frame rates. For example, the RTX 3060 can only achieve an average of 26fps in Control and 42 FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider when set to 3820 x 2160 resolution.
It’s not as powerful as the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080, so you will have to lower your settings in some games to maintain smooth framerates at 4K.
Bottom Line
The Nvidia RTX 3060 is a great graphics card for gamers who are looking to upgrade from an older card, such as the GTX 1070 or GTX 1080. It offers significant performance improvements over those cards, especially in games that are optimized for ray tracing and DLSS. It’s a great entry point into the world of ray tracing and DLSS, but it’s not powerful enough to be considered a true flagship graphics card.
If you’re looking to game at 1440p or lower resolutions, the RTX 3060 is a great option. However, if you’re looking to game at higher resolutions like 3820 x 2160, you’ll need to look elsewhere. The RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 are better choices for running games with smooth frame rates at 4K.
There are many ways you can improve your gaming performance. Getting the right graphics card is essential, but for Linux users, you must also get the right Linux distro for gaming. Another key consideration is having a fast internet connection for online play; read more here about whether 5G is good for gamers.
We hope this article helped you answer the question: Is Nvidia RTX 3060 good for gaming?