Think You Need A 4090? I Game On A 3060 Ti And Have Absolutely No Issues

See full bio

Shehryar Khan

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

See full bio

Games are so demanding nowadays that you might start to think one can’t survive without having the best hardware out there. But that’s not true; I still own an RTX 3060 Ti, which I bought 2 years ago, and it’s providing me with satisfactory performance, which doesn’t make me want to upgrade my graphics card yet.

That also means you don’t necessarily need something like the RTX 4090 to play games if your target resolution isn’t 4K. 

The Pricing is Appealing 

First of all, let me tell you what the current situation is with the RTX 3060 Ti pricing. Being launched at an MSRP of $399, this mid-range graphics card is going for as low as around $320 via Newegg and other online sites.

Moreover, if you choose to find it in pre-owned condition, you can find this graphics card for well around the $200-$250 price tag on sites like eBay, which is appealing, especially to those on a budget.

Although I got it for $379 back in 2022, I have no regrets at all, as the card has served me well. Also, when I look at the current state of GPUs, I find myself one of the lucky ones who made the right decision back then. The RTX provides great value in comparison with the current-gen RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti graphics cards. 

Its Specs & Features 

The RTX 3060 Ti feels like a true successor to its predecessor, as it basically offers double the amount of CUDA cores (2,176 vs 4,864) while having the same 8 GB of GDDR6 video memory and much better 3rd generation Tensor cores. Not to mention the more improved RT Cores for better Ray-Tracing performance in games and other applications.

In terms of power, the card consumes 200W TDP and I used it with my good ol’ trusty EVGA 600GD power supply. Also, when we compare it with its bigger brother, the RTX 3070, the difference isn’t that huge as far as the specifications are concerned.

Despite the not-so-huge difference in specs, the RTX 3070 is significantly more expensive than the RTX 3060 Ti. This was also one of the reasons why I chose the RTX 3060 Ti instead.

Performance in Games

When it comes to my gaming experience, it hasn’t disappointed me at all. Being a 1080p graphics card, it works great and even has the margin to allow gaming at 1440p resolution, which I like the most as I have a 1440p monitor as my main. 

To better understand where the RTX 3060 Ti stands in performance, I hooked it up against some similar cards like the RTX 4060 Ti, RX 7600, and RX 6700 XT.

After testing several games at 1080p, the RTX 3060 Ti managed to produce 103 FPS on average, falling slightly behind the 113 FPS of the RTX 4060 Ti and 107 FPS of the RX 6700 XT. Do keep in mind that this was its raster performance. 

When we enable Ray Tracing, this is where it starts to shine more, as it manages to take the lead over the RX 6700 XT by 13 FPS but still falls short of the RTX 4060 Ti.

Moving over to 1440p resolution, the gap becomes much smaller this time around in the rasterized performance segment. The card averages 77 FPS, which is not too far behind the RX 6700 XT and RTX 4060 Ti.

Now, after enabling Ray Tracing, the RTX 3060 Ti still produces more frames than the similarly priced RX 6700 XT. To me personally, these results are great and enough to convince me not to upgrade any time soon. 

Performance in Productivity Applications

Most people don’t pick an Nvidia GPU just for the sake of gaming, they choose one because of its edge in productivity applications. While I was benchmarking all four graphics cards, the RTX 3060 Ti has maintained its edge over the others due to the balanced core specs. 

In Blender, the RTX 3060 Ti did very well and beat the RX 6700 XT by a substantial margin. However, it was still behind the RTX 4060 Ti, but considering the price difference between the both, the RTX 3060 Ti did great.

Switching to Adobe Suite, specifically Adobe Premiere Pro, the situation takes a big turn as we witness the RTX 4060 Ti get beaten by the RTX 3060 Ti thanks to its wider memory bus, unlike the RTX 4060 Ti.

The same happened when I tried Adobe After Effects; the RTX 3060 Ti managed to beat all three graphics cards and secured the highest score in the benchmark. 

The RTX 3060 Ti is Undoubtedly a Great Choice

All of this proves that you don’t actually need a high-end graphics card to play games or even do other productivity-related work. Not to forget, the 8 GB VRAM is going to be a problem in the future. But not anytime soon, so it’s still a decent pick on a budget.

Shehryar Khan

[How-To Guides Expert]

Laiba, our tech guru at HI Digital, simplifies and crafts How-To Guides with a Google IT Support Certificate. Beyond tech, she captures the city’s aesthetics through her lens. Join her journey where tech meets creativity!

Get In Touch: Laiba@hidgt.com