Nvidia is going for the mid-level market segment with the upcoming RTX 3060 Ti GPU.
The chip-maker announced its upcoming $399 medium-tier graphics card as the latest entry of their RTX 3000 series.
Even though it sells as the most affordable card of the lineup, Nvidia claims it will outperform the RTX 2080 Super.
Moreover, it replaces the RTX 2060 Super, which has the same retail price – that is, if you can find it.
The Nvidia 3060 Ti is launching on December 2.
“The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, the first member of the RTX 3060 family, is coming December 2nd. Faster than the $699 RTX 2080 SUPER, and beating the RTX 2060 SUPER by an average of 40%, the new $399 RTX 3060 Ti is a tremendous addition to the GeForce RTX 30 Series.” – Nvidia.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti – Price and release date
The company is launching the RTX 3060 Ti on December 2. They are planning a worldwide launch, which means we’ll be seeing different price points.
USA’s price is $399 for the Founder’s Edition Card. If you’re lucky enough to get it with current supply issues. Moreover, as the stock is short, most cards won’t be selling for its retail price unless you find them on official stores like Best Buy, B&H Photo, or Newegg.
Let’s continue with the retail offer, though. The UK price will be £369; European users can buy the card for €348 (plus taxes).
I have to note some lucky customers got the RTX 3060 Ti card before its official premiere.
I also need to address that the Founder’s Editon card comes with a full year of membership of GeForce Now.
Ampere architecture specs
The RTX 3060 Ti features the same GPU architecture as the pricier editions of the series.
It comes with second-generation RT cores, delivering twice the ray tracing performance as the RTX 2000 series.
Then, it features third-generation Tensor cores, also with 2X times the performance as before.
On top of that, it comes with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM memory, making it the smallest care of the series. It also has a 1410Mhz base clock and a 1665Mhz boost clock.
Nvidia added its new 12-pin power connector to the card. That said, the RTX 3060 Ti draws 200 watts of power, and so Nvidia recommends a 600W power supply.
Before we move towards its performance, check the chart below:
Performance
As a $400 GPU, the RTX 3060 Ti can do a whole lot. Our previous benchmark studies of the card showcased its incredible performance on 4K and 1440p. As Nvidia claims, it can behave just as good -sometimes better- than the RTX 2080 Super, selling for twice its price.
4K
4K resolution is a bit of a struggle for the RTX 3060 Ti. Games run at less than 60fps on low settings. For example, Watch Dogs: Legon dips below 30fps at 4K without ray-tracing features.
It can handle less intensive games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, COD: Warzone, or Overwatch on 4K, with DLSS on.
I woulnd’t use it as part of a 4K workstation or gaming rig.
1440p
Yet, Nvidia is not selling the 3060 Ti card as a 4K unit. As the graphic below suggests, this is a 1400p card.
According to Nvidia, it can deliver about 90fps on Control, with ultra graphical settings, DLS, and RTX. Bear in mind that Control demands quite a lot of visual power.
On Borderlands 3, though, it can barely reach 60fps without RTX on.
I should note Nvidia worked closely with Microsoft to optimized Minecraft’s ray tracing with the 3060 Ti. That’s why it delivers a significant bump on RTX features on that particular game.
Similarly, they worked with CD Projekt Red to create Cyberpunk 2077‘s ray-tracing effects. Additional custom 1440 RTX optimization includes CoD: Black Ops Cold War and Watch Dogs Legion.
Here’s the chart:
1080p
The majority of users are still rocking 1080p screens for they are cheaper. Plus, you can topple max graphical settings on these screens easily, whereas $400 units and beyond are still struggling with 1440p and 4K.
That said, we expect the RTX 3060 Ti to be a 1080p killer. It could easily reach 144 fps with the highest graphical settings and RTX on most games.
Workstation
Lastly, we have to note the 3060 Ti would also be the right choice for medium-budget workstation rigs.
I have to clear that Nvidia’s cards are better than AMD’s GPUs for content production software. Adobe applications, CAD, 3D rendering, and such pair nicely with RTX cards.
That said, Nvidia clears the RTX 3060 Ti features about 40% better performance than the RTX 2080 on production work; and about 25 to 30% better performance than the RTX 2080 Super. That means faster rendering times and overall better performance as you work on the previews.
According to the charts, the most pronounced performance jump s found on video, photo, and 3D rendering.
Feature-heavy card for gamers and creators
Lastly, we need to add the RTX 3060 Ti comes with the same features as the other cards of the series.
First off, it carries the same real-time ray-tracing technology. More importantly, though, it has a set of advantages for creators.
These features include DLSS, Reflex, and Broadcast. These proprietary techs can improve your gaming experience, make your voice clearer, and improve your video call clarity.
Nvidia DLSS is a machine learning technology, currently present on 25 games. It’s a code that learns how to harness your computer’s power to make the game run as well as possible.
It delivers overall better performance, clarity, fidelity, and anti-aliasing. Notably, it gives you better framerates.
Nvidia Reflex reduces system latency as you play online. That can give you an edge over your opposition.
Nvidia Broadcast, an evolution of the Voice Beta app, is an audio & video AI tech you can use during any video call -Discord, Skype, Google Meet, etc.
Aside from noise removal, the AI can also remove your background and replace it with footage from the game, a subtle blur, or an image.
Furthermore, it can zoom and track you to keep you at the center of the action, even if you’re moving sideways or backward.
Nvidia also worked with some of its partners to add the same features on additional software. For example, the AI can apply noise removal to videos via Adobe Premiere. Or you can reduce noise per track in XSplit Broadcast; or make your computer’s camera to track your movement through Notch.
It would also allow you to capture your content on 4K without a second PC, a capture card, or an NDI.
In Summary
All in all, the $399 Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti seems like a powerful card for 1080p/1440p gaming, content production, and streaming.
It offers the same set of advanced features as the rest of the series, with the industry’s leading ray-tracing technology.
If you don’t care much about top-tier graphic prowess, you should be happy to know that the card is not only for gaming. Unlike AMD’s heavy gaming marketing for their GPUS, the upcoming RTX 3060 Ti features an impressive production performance.
As I said, the content production improvement is more significant than its gaming performance improvements over the RTX 2080 / 2080 Super.
Anyhow, Nvidia probably doesn’t have much stock on the card yet. We’ll have to wait until the dust settles to get our hands on 3060 Ti.
