Conclusion
...really solid performance at FHD and generally decent numbers at QHD.GeForce RTX 3060 arrives in desktop form touting a shiny, new GPU and double the expected VRAM. The underlying GA106 is purpose built for the $250-$350 segment and we expect RTX 3050 Ti to follow on soon.
The sum of Nvidia's changes result in partner cards offering really solid performance at FHD and generally decent numbers at QHD. RTX 3060 is around 20 per cent faster than an RTX 2060 and twice the speed of the much older GTX 1060.
We do wonder at the benefit of a 12GB framebuffer that feels wasted on a card without the muscle to make the best use of it at higher resolutions and IQ, and we can't get away from the pervasive feeling that it's included more for marketing than real-world frame rate use. 12GB+ would make more sense on the RTX 3070/3080 right now.
Anyone rocking an RTX 20-series card will see it as a sideways move, and the same advice applies to owners of Radeon RX 5600/5700-class of GPUs. Yet those folk aren't Nvidia's target audience. Instead, given the ongoing optimisations for RTX and DLSS, it's for those who come from older hardware and want to play the newest games with all the smarts turned on. GeForce RTX 3060 can do that.
We can't finish the review without citing the dreadful stock situation afflicting all manner of electronic components from almost every company; it's anyone's guess when stock will be plentiful and anywhere near approaching RRP.
In particular to the review card, Gigabyte's Gaming OC carries on the good work by building a solid model around the GA106 GPU. Decent in design, generally quiet and overclocked to boot, it's a decent choice if you can find availability this side of Easter.
Great at FHD and good at QHD
RTX and DLSS continues to evolve
8-pin power connector
Quiet and very cool
Restrained in form factor
12GB framebuffer is overkill
No bundled games
Not much faster than RTX 2060
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming OC 12GB
HEXUS.where2buy
TBC.
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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
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