GeForce RTX 3060
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is one of the most popular mid-range graphics cards introduced by NVIDIA under the Ampere architecture. In this article, we'll take a look at the development history, announcement and release dates, architecture details, specs, in-game performance at the time of release against the competition, and interesting facts about the RTX 3060 graphics card.
Development and announcement date
The Ampere architecture was announced by NVIDIA in September 2020, bringing many innovations such as an improved 8nm manufacturing process and new technologies such as RTX IO and DLSS 2.0. These technologies have made it possible to create more realistic graphic scenes and accelerate processes such as 4K resolution and artificial intelligence.
NVIDIA announced the RTX 3060 in January 2021 as an affordable and powerful desktop graphics card designed with gamers looking for a balance between value and performance.
release date
The GeForce RTX 3060 went on sale in February 2021. The price at the time of release was about $329, making it one of the most affordable graphics cards with ray tracing and DLSS 2.0 support on the market.
Detailed architecture and specifications
The RTX 3060 is based on the Ampere architecture and uses the GA106 GPU. The graphics card has 3584 CUDA cores, 112 tensor cores and 28 RT cores. The base clock is 1320 MHz and the boost clock is 1780 MHz.
The video card is equipped with 12 GB GDDR6 video memory with a bandwidth of 360 Gbps, and the video memory interface is 192 bits. The TDP of the video card is 170 W, which requires a sufficiently powerful power supply and an effective cooling system for stable operation.
Gaming performance at release vs. competitors
At launch, the RTX 3060 offered excellent gaming performance at 1080p and 1440p at high and ultra settings. Compared to the previous generation, RTX 2060, the graphics card showed a significant performance improvement thanks to the Ampere architecture and new technologies.
One of the main competitors of the RTX 3060 is the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, which also offers good performance in the mid-range segment. Depending on the game and graphics settings, these graphics cards may show similar performance, although the RTX 3060 has an advantage in games that support ray tracing and DLSS 2.0.
Interesting facts about the video card
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The RTX 3060 is the first mid-range card in the RTX 30 lineup to offer 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM, allowing for more textures and data to process, and boosting performance in today's games.
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The graphics card supports NVIDIA Reflex and NVIDIA Broadcast technologies that enhance gaming experience and provide useful tools for streamers and content creators. NVIDIA Reflex technology helps reduce system latency and makes gaming more responsive, while NVIDIA Broadcast improves audio and video for streaming and video conferencing.
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The RTX 3060 was available in a variety of flavors from NVIDIA partners, offering a variety of cooling options, clock speeds, and designs. This gave consumers the opportunity to choose the graphics card that best suits their requirements and preferences.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 marks a milestone in mid-range graphics cards, delivering an affordable and powerful product that strikes a great balance between value and performance. The Ampere architecture and support for new technologies such as ray tracing and DLSS 2.0 make the RTX 3060 an attractive choice for gamers and enthusiasts looking for high gaming performance at a reasonable cost.
Compared to competitors such as the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, the RTX 3060 delivered comparable performance in many games, especially those that support ray tracing and DLSS. This highlights NVIDIA's leadership in the GPU market and their commitment to continuous improvement and innovation.