Nvidia RTX 3060 vs 3060Ti – which to choose?

If you are looking for a lower-end best GPU, we line up the Nvidia RTX 3060 vs 3060Ti to decide. Choosing an Nvidia GeForce model is a great place to start. They feature some great specifications and help to significantly improve gaming performance.

While these two GPUs do seem as though they have similar features, there are some significant differences you should consider before purchasing either option. To help you with this decision, we have benchmarked and analyzed both models to find the better option of the two. We have focused on specifics such as the resolution, architecture, FPS, and cooling systems.

Before choosing a graphics card or any other PC component, it is important to have some background knowledge about the company. When looking at Nvidia, they entered the gaming industry fairly late in the 1990s.

While they have not been established for as long as other companies such as AMD, they have secured their place in the gaming world. The release of their first GPU took gaming to a whole new level. Since then, Nvidia has continued to grow and impress gamers with its components.

Though Nvidia is best known for their impressive high-end GPUs, they create great quality mid to entry-level components too. While AMD has begun to close the gap between them and Nvidia, the GeForce GPUs continue to impress year after year.

Comparing the 3060 vs 3060Ti we start with their brand new type of architecture. As this is the 2nd generation RTX architecture, we expect the performance to be second to none.

The architecture used by both of these GPUs is Nvidia Ampere architecture. The RT cores are the second generation and have a 2X better throughput in comparison to the first-gen RT cores. The tensor cores featured are third generation and have a 2X better throughput. The new SM has a 2X FP32 throughput. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate.

Both GPUs use DLSS AI Acceleration that provides maximum fps and features AI rendering. The Nvidia Reflex features are great if you are gaming competitively and they greatly improve speed, latency, and performance.

Though these graphics cards use the same architecture, the main differences lie in the engine specifications. The number of cores is far higher for the 3060 Ti. When looking at the raw specifications, it should benchmark better than the 3060 even though it has a slightly lower boost clock speed.

A good cooling system is essential for your GPU. As heat is generated by this component when in use, it should feature sufficient heat dissipation, through fans and heatsink. And if not there are plenty of ways to lower your GPU temperatures.

With a new series of GPUs comes a remodeled cooling system and the design of these models does not disappoint. They both feature twin fans to maximize cooling. They have a slight curve of the blades to improve heat dissipation and airflow.

Both GPU dies have 6mm copper heat pipes that are particularly efficient and help with heatsink and transfer. The baseplate helps to remove any heat created to keep the card running as cool as possible.

When discussing cooling systems, it is important to keep the temperature and power specifications in mind as these determine the amount of heat generated overall. These specifications are:

3060

Maximum GPU Temperature – 93℃
Graphics Card Power – 170W
Recommended Power System – 550W

3060Ti

Maximum GPU Temperature – 93℃
Graphics Card Power – 200W
Recommended Power System – 600W

While they both have the same max temperature, the 3060Ti is more power-hungry in comparison to the 3060. Given this, it will not be as power-efficient.

We compare the 3060 vs 3060Ti dimensions as they are important to ensure that they will fit your build and PC case. Graphics cards are a component that can vary significantly in size.

The dimensions for both graphics card is the same:

Height: 4.4”
Length: 9.5”
Width: 2-slot

As they both have the same dimensions, it does not matter which you choose and they should suit the majority of standard PC cases. They both use a 2-slot which is suitable for the majority of motherboards.

What is interesting about these two GPUs is that Nvidia has made the jump from using the older PCIe 3.0 interface to PCIe 4.0. This is significant as this gives these newer GPUs the edge of futureproofing. They are also backward compatible with PCIe 3.0 motherboards so you will not need to upgrade the motherboard when purchasing this GPU.

The most significant specifications to consider are the fps and resolution of a graphics card. These are what will determine how well your graphics card can perform in-game. Without sufficient specifications for these, your gameplay will be affected.

The resolution for both GPUs is 7680 x 4320. This is 8K Ultra HD. You can play games at even a 4K resolution with no issues. As the majority of gamers use a 1080p resolution, these GPUs are more than capable of this.

When looking at the benchmarking scores, it was no surprise that the effective speed of the 3060Ti was 34% better overall. In addition to this, the average score of the 3060Ti was 36% better than the 3060. When looking at the MRender score, the 3060Ti has an impressive 182 fps, in comparison to the 3060’s 140 fps.

The overclocking score of the 3060Ti was 40% better than the 3060. The MRender of the 3060Ti was 203 fps, and for the 3060 it was 149 fps, which is a significant difference.

While the 3060 is a slightly newer model, it does not compare to the 3060Ti when benchmarked. Though, they are both impressive when it comes to fps performance.

Ray tracing being integrated into the GPU is a fairly new concept that has been developed for use with Nvidia’s new RTX models. The ray-tracing cores allow for real-time ray tracing in-game that does not affect the quality or speed of gameplay.

Both GPUs feature 2nd generation ray-tracing cores, which are an improvement from the previous generation. The shading and lighting improvements made by ray tracing are significant and worthwhile if you play many next-gen AAA games.

The frame buffer is stored in the VRAM, which is important for gaming. You will need a substantial amount of VRAM in your GPU in order to run games with little to no issues. The more VRAM the better, and for gaming, you want to avoid purchasing a GPU with anything below 4GB of VRAM.

The VRAM of the 3060 was significantly improved from the release of the 3060Ti. The 3060 features 12GB which is fantastic. The 3060Ti has 8GB of VRAM which is still great but is significantly lower.

When looking at the memory configuration, they both use GDDR6 which is currently the highest specification available. The memory interface width of the 3060Ti is slightly better, at 256-bit. The 3060 has a memory interface width of 192-bit. As the 3060Ti has a higher amount, it will be slightly faster when loading overall.

To conclude, while the 3060 is the newer model overall, it does not fully match the specifications of the 3060Ti. However, the difference is not hugely significant, and if you are looking for the least expensive option, we would recommend the 3060.

Overall, the 3060Ti is the better option of the two, it features more cores, it has far better-benchmarking scores, and would be the better option for gameplay. However, the 3060 does feature more VRAM GB overall.

Both of these are very new GPUs and feature brand new architecture and ray-tracing capabilities. In addition to this, they both use PCIe 4.0 which is backward compatible, and they are fantastic options.