Left · Nvidia
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
Spec score
Spec score 18
$348
typical price
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB against GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB leads on the overall index. The price beside each button is the Amazon US reading where ScoutPrices has one; the comparison below is worked on typical prices.
Right · Nvidia
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
Spec score
Spec score 26
$460
Amazon US, Oct 24
Which one for what
Office & everyday
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
22 vs 30 for snappy single-core speed, quiet running, and a card that drives two or three screens without fuss.
Coding & development
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
20 vs 28 for cores for builds and containers, plenty of memory, fast storage, and a card for several screens or a local model.
Light gaming
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
22 vs 30 for 1080p frame rates per dollar.
Gaming
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
18 vs 25 for 1440p frame rates, with a CPU that will not hold the card back.
Heavy gaming
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
11 vs 20 for the strongest graphics card the budget allows.
Content creation
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
20 vs 28 for export times: many cores, a card with good encoders, lots of memory.
3D & rendering
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
21 vs 29 for all-core throughput and render speed.
Gaming & streaming
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
19 vs 27 for frame rates with headroom for the encoder and the chat.
AI & local models
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBright
22 vs 31 for video memory first, then card speed, then system memory.
Head to head
Scores
Indices out of 100 on ScoutSpecs' own scale, one per kind of work. They are not frames per second and not a measurement of any one sample.
Spec score
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 18
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 26
8 ptsto the right
Games at 1080p
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 22
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 30
8 ptsto the right
Games at 1440p
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 18
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 25
7 ptsto the right
Games at 4K
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 11
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 20
9 ptsto the right
Rendering and video
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 22
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 30
8 ptsto the right
Price and value
Worked on typical prices, the figures the comparison is built on.
Value, points per $100
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 5.2
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 5.7
10%to the right
Typical price
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: $348
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: $458
$110to the left
From the spec sheets
Video memory
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 8 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 12 GB
50%to the right
Board power
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 130 W
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 170 W
31%to the left
Length
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: 200 mm
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 240 mm
20%to the left
The verdict
- The RTX 3060 12GB is 39% faster at 1440p.
- At 4K the gap is 82% in the RTX 3060 12GB's favour.
- RTX 3060 12GB carries 12 GB of video memory against 8 GB.
- The RTX 3050 8GB typically costs $110 less.
- Per dollar, the RTX 3060 12GB is the better buy: 5.7 points per $100 against 5.2.
Specifications
| Spec | GeForce RTX 3050 8GB | GeForce RTX 3060 12GB |
|---|---|---|
| Video memory | 8 GB | 12 GB (better) |
| Board power | 130 W (better) | 170 W |
| Length | 200 mm (better) | 240 mm |
| Power connector | PCIe 8-pin | PCIe 8-pin |
| Brand | Nvidia | Nvidia |
| Released | 2022 (better) | 2021 |
| Typical price | $348 (better) | $458 |
The better figure of each pair is in green, with a tick.