Left · Nvidia
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
Spec score
Spec score 26
$460
Amazon US, Oct 24
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB against GeForce RTX 4060
GeForce RTX 4060 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 4060
Spec score
Spec score 28
$539
Amazon US, Oct 24
Which one for what
Office & everyday
GeForce RTX 4060right
30 vs 34 for snappy single-core speed, quiet running, and a card that drives two or three screens without fuss.
Coding & development
GeForce RTX 4060right
28 vs 30 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 4060right
30 vs 35 for 1080p frame rates per dollar.
Gaming
GeForce RTX 4060right
25 vs 28 for 1440p frame rates, with a CPU that will not hold the card back.
Heavy gaming
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBleft
20 vs 16 for the strongest graphics card the budget allows.
Content creation
GeForce RTX 4060right
28 vs 30 for export times: many cores, a card with good encoders, lots of memory.
3D & rendering
GeForce RTX 4060right
29 vs 31 for all-core throughput and render speed.
Gaming & streaming
GeForce RTX 4060right
27 vs 29 for frame rates with headroom for the encoder and the chat.
AI & local models
GeForce RTX 3060 12GBleft
31 vs 29 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 3060 12GB: 26
GeForce RTX 4060: 28
2 ptsto the right
Games at 1080p
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 30
GeForce RTX 4060: 35
5 ptsto the right
Games at 1440p
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 25
GeForce RTX 4060: 28
3 ptsto the right
Games at 4K
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 20
GeForce RTX 4060: 16
4 ptsto the left
Rendering and video
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 30
GeForce RTX 4060: 32
2 ptsto the right
Price and value
Worked on typical prices, the figures the comparison is built on.
Value, points per $100
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 5.7
GeForce RTX 4060: 7.6
33%to the right
Typical price
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: $458
GeForce RTX 4060: $370
$88to the right
From the spec sheets
Video memory
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 12 GB
GeForce RTX 4060: 8 GB
50%to the left
Board power
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 170 W
GeForce RTX 4060: 115 W
48%to the right
Length
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB: 240 mm
GeForce RTX 4060: 230 mm
4%to the right
The verdict
- The RTX 4060 is 12% faster at 1440p.
- At 4K the gap is 25% in the RTX 3060 12GB's favour.
- RTX 3060 12GB carries 12 GB of video memory against 8 GB.
- The RTX 4060 typically costs $88 less.
- Per dollar, the RTX 4060 is the better buy: 7.6 points per $100 against 5.7.
Specifications
| Spec | GeForce RTX 3060 12GB | GeForce RTX 4060 |
|---|---|---|
| Video memory | 12 GB (better) | 8 GB |
| Board power | 170 W | 115 W (better) |
| Length | 240 mm | 230 mm (better) |
| Power connector | PCIe 8-pin | PCIe 8-pin |
| Brand | Nvidia | Nvidia |
| Released | 2021 | 2023 (better) |
| Typical price | $458 | $370 (better) |
The better figure of each pair is in green, with a tick.