AMD · RX 7000
Performance index, 1440p23
CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card tracked
- VRAM
- 8 GB
- Power
- 165 W
- MSRP
- $269
NVIDIARTX 30AmpereOut of production
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
Probably the most widely owned card in this database, and the one most upgrade questions start from. Its 12 GB memory pool was unusually generous for the tier and is the reason it has aged better than the 8 GB cards above it.
- Performance index, 1440p
- 23
- Entry-level
- VRAM
- 12 GB
- GDDR6
- Board power
- 170 W
- 550 W PSU recommended
- Launch MSRP
- $329
- No verified current price
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB graphics card
Where to buy
$329MSRP
Launch MSRP. CompareYourGPU has no verified street price for this card, so this is a reference point rather than what it sells for today.
This card is out of production, so street prices are especially unpredictable.
No retailer links are configured for this card yet. CompareYourGPU does not publish purchase links it cannot stand behind, so nothing is shown here rather than a button that goes nowhere.
Should you buy it?
The RTX 3060 12GB in one screen
Generated from this card's own specifications and its standing against every other card CompareYourGPU tracks. Every line below is backed by a figure on this page.
Should you buy it?
Niche recommendation
This card is out of production. New stock is scarce and priced unpredictably, so it only makes sense at a genuine discount against a current-generation equivalent.
1080p gaming at 60+ FPS
Why
- Estimated performance index of 27 at 1080p, where 100 is the fastest card CompareYourGPU tracks.
- 12 GB of memory is comfortable for 1080p, so texture settings stay out of the conversation.
- Supports FSR 3.1 Frame Generation (vendor-agnostic, game-dependent).
- At 1080p the RTX 3060 12GB is level with the RTX 5050 while costing $80 more, which makes it the weaker buy of the two on price alone. Based on launch MSRP.
Derived from this card's specifications, CompareYourGPU's estimated performance indices and launch MSRP. No verified current price is on record.
Watch out for
This card is out of production, so new stock is scarce and pricing is unpredictable. It is only worth considering at a genuine discount.
Consider instead
- RTX 5060 Ti 16GB if ray tracing is your priority. Its ray tracing index is 34 against 19, at $429.
- RX 9060 XT 8GB if you want more performance for the money. It returns 12.7 index points per $100 against 8.2.
Estimated
RTX 3060 12GB gaming performance
How the card is expected to hold up at each resolution, and how it sits against the cards closest to it.
1080p
27- Entry-level
65-90 FPS
Estimated, typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling.
60+ FPS class12 GB gives real headroom at 1080p, including with ray tracing and high-resolution texture packs.
1440p
23- Entry-level
40-60 FPS
Estimated, typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling.
Below 60 FPS natively12 GB is enough for 1440p today, but it is below the 16 GB that removes texture settings from the conversation entirely.
4K
18- Entry-level
20-25 FPS
Estimated, typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling.
Below 60 FPS natively12 GB is enough for 4K today, but it is below the 16 GB that removes texture settings from the conversation entirely.
CompareYourGPU estimate
Performance indices are aggregated from public review coverage, not measured by CompareYourGPU. Frame-rate ranges are modelled from those indices. How this is calculated.
CompareYourGPU estimate. 100 = the fastest card tracked.
Measured
Gaming benchmarks
Frame-rate figures transcribed from named third-party measurements, grouped so that two different test methodologies are never mixed in one table.
Third-party suite rating
No third-party measured rating for this card
The published rankings CompareYourGPU transcribes do not include the RTX 3060 12GB. The estimated performance index above is the alternative, and it is labelled as an estimate.
Per-game measured results
No verified benchmark data yet
CompareYourGPU only publishes frame-rate figures it can attribute to a named, linkable measurement, and none have been transcribed for the RTX 3060 12GB yet. The estimated performance indices above are clearly labelled as estimates and are the honest alternative until measured runs are recorded here.
In the meantime, the game pages set out what makes each title demanding and which resolutions this class of card suits. Heavy titles worth checking: Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Hogwarts Legacy.
Reserved advertising space. No advertising network is connected yet, so nothing is served here.
Manufacturer figures
RTX 3060 12GB specifications
Published by the manufacturer. Terms with a dotted underline can be expanded for a plain-English explanation.
Graphics processor
- Architecture
- Ampere
- GPU die
- GA106
- 3,584NVIDIA calls these CUDA cores
- Data unavailable
- 28
- 112
- 1,320 MHz
- 1,780 MHz
Memory
- 12 GB
- GDDR6
- 192-bit
- 360 GB/s
- Memory speed
- 15 Gbps
Power and cooling
- 170 W
- 550 W
- Power connectors
- 1x 8-pin
Physical
- Length
- Data unavailable
- Height from bracket
- Data unavailable
- Data unavailableNo Founders Edition. Dimensions depend on the partner board. An 8 GB variant with a 128-bit bus also exists and is slower.
Display outputs
- Outputs
- 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1
- Display support
- Up to 4 simultaneous displays; 8K 60 Hz with DSC
Release and availability
- Launch date
- February 25, 2021
- Generation
- RTX 30
- $329
- Availability
- Out of production
Technologies and features
What this card supports, and what each feature actually does for you.
Supported. This card uses 2nd-generation RT cores.
DLSS 4 Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, FSR 3.1, XeSS. Availability in any individual game depends on the developer implementing it.
FSR 3.1 Frame Generation (vendor-agnostic, game-dependent). Frame generation raises the displayed frame rate without improving responsiveness, so it works best on top of an already playable frame rate.
No AV1 encode. 7th-generation NVENC with HEVC and H.264 encode. No AV1 encode.. 5th-generation NVDEC with AV1, HEVC and H.264 decode.
Strengths, weaknesses and who it suits
CompareYourGPU's assessment, grounded in the specifications above rather than in marketing material.
Strengths
- 12 GB of VRAM, more than several cards that outperform it
- 170 W on a single 8-pin connector
- Enormous installed base, so second-hand supply is good
Weaknesses
- 192-bit bus and 360 GB/s limit it at higher resolutions
- Entry-level performance by current standards
- No DLSS Frame Generation or AV1 encode
Best for
- 1080p gaming at medium to high settings
- Builds where 12 GB matters more than frame rate
Not ideal for
- 1440p at high refresh rates
- Ray-traced AAA titles
- 4K gaming
Price, value and efficiency
What the card costs, what that price should be for the performance, and what it returns per dollar and per watt.
$329MSRP
Launch MSRP. CompareYourGPU has no verified street price for this card, so this is a reference point rather than what it sells for today.
ExpensiveFair price for this performance: $244
Good buy below $224 · expensive above $273
The fair price is where this card’s performance index falls on the price-to-performance line fitted across every card CompareYourGPU tracks. It describes the current market, it is not a recommendation, and it moves when prices do. Calculated from launch MSRP across the database, because no verified street prices are on record.
Performance per dollar
7.0
Performance index points per $100 at 1440p, calculated from launch MSRP.
That places it in the upper half of the database on value.
Performance per watt
13.5
Performance index points per 100 W of board power at 1440p.
That places it in the bottom quarter of the database on efficiency.
RTX 3060 12GB frequently asked questions
Is the RTX 3060 12GB good for 1080p gaming?
CompareYourGPU's model estimates roughly 65-90 FPS in a typical modern AAA game at High settings with no upscaling, which is a modelled estimate rather than a measurement. That puts it in the 60+ FPS class at this resolution before upscaling is considered. 12 GB gives real headroom at 1080p, including with ray tracing and high-resolution texture packs.
Is the RTX 3060 12GB good for 1440p gaming?
CompareYourGPU's model estimates roughly 40-60 FPS in a typical modern AAA game at High settings with no upscaling, which is a modelled estimate rather than a measurement. That is below a sustained 60 FPS at this resolution without upscaling. 12 GB is enough for 1440p today, but it is below the 16 GB that removes texture settings from the conversation entirely.
Is the RTX 3060 12GB good for 4K gaming?
CompareYourGPU's model estimates roughly 20-25 FPS in a typical modern AAA game at High settings with no upscaling, which is a modelled estimate rather than a measurement. That is below a sustained 60 FPS at this resolution without upscaling. 12 GB is enough for 4K today, but it is below the 16 GB that removes texture settings from the conversation entirely.
How much VRAM does the RTX 3060 12GB have?
The RTX 3060 12GB has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, giving 360 GB/s of bandwidth. 12 GB is enough for 1440p today, but it is below the 16 GB that removes texture settings from the conversation entirely.
What power supply does the RTX 3060 12GB need?
NVIDIA recommends a 550 W power supply for a complete system built around the RTX 3060 12GB, which draws 170 W of board power. It uses 1x 8-pin.
Which upscaling technologies does the RTX 3060 12GB support?
It supports DLSS 4 Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, FSR 3.1, XeSS. For frame generation it supports FSR 3.1 Frame Generation (vendor-agnostic, game-dependent). Support for any individual upscaler also depends on the game implementing it, so availability varies title by title.
Is the RTX 3060 12GB good for ray tracing?
Its ray tracing index is 19 at 1440p, against a rasterisation index of 23, so it retains about 83% of its standing once ray tracing is enabled. That is a moderate result: ray tracing costs it somewhat more than average. Both figures are CompareYourGPU estimates, not measurements.
How much does the RTX 3060 12GB cost?
It launched at $329 MSRP and is now out of production. CompareYourGPU does not publish a current street price because it does not yet carry a verified price feed, so check a retailer for what it actually sells for today.
What competes with the RTX 3060 12GB?
Its closest competitor from another manufacturer is the RX 7600 at $269. On CompareYourGPU's estimated 1440p index the RTX 3060 12GB is level with it, before ray tracing, memory capacity and upscaling support are taken into account.
Sources and last updated
Sources
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 family product pageCUDA cores, clocks, memory, board power and PSU requirement
- NVIDIAGeForce specifications, launch pricing and feature support
- TechPowerUp GPU DatabaseDie codename, memory bandwidth and reference board dimensions
- NVIDIADLSS 4 availability and per-generation feature support
Record last edited . Specifications last checked against the manufacturer’s own page on .
How to read this page
- Specifications are the manufacturer’s own published figures, cited on the left.
- Performance indices and frame-rate ranges are CompareYourGPU estimates and are labelled as such wherever they appear.
- Prices are launch MSRP unless a verified current price is on record. CompareYourGPU publishes no price it has not checked.
- Strengths, weaknesses and suitability are editorial judgements derived from the specifications above.