Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RTX 3060 and its 7 other biggest rival GPUs

The RTX 4060 is the latest of the Nvidia’s range of Ada Lovelace graphics cards. So long as you don’t take the abortive RTX 4060 Ti 16GB edition into account, that is. It’s the most affordable of the current generation of GeForce GPUs, but how does it stack up against the previous generation of graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD, and what does it look like in comparison with the current generation? That’s what we’re here to show you.

In our Nvidia RTX 4060 review Chris calls it “a good graphics card with the wrong name.” And that’s entirely fair given that it’s sporting GPU silicon we would have expected to be powering the bottom of the stack, the RTX 4050. It’s a low-end graphics chip, with a small memory bus, low bandwidth, and a core config that puts it well below the RTX 3060 of the last gen.

But it definitely has redeeming features, mostly thanks to the twin boons of Nvidia’s DLSS 3 and Frame Generation technologies able to bolster frame rates in supporting games and give it a clear edge where they’re available. It’s also supremely efficient, runs very cool, and will actually fit in a mini-ITX chassis unlike a lot of the RTX 40-series before it.

We’re using our own independent benchmark analysis to highlight the differences between all the cards we’re talking about, and you can see the benchmarks in their raw form at the end of the article.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RTX 3060

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The RTX 4060 is the designated successor to the RTX 3060, at least if you go by name alone. Looking at the raw data alone, the RTX 4060 is the better card of the two, but not by every measure. 

An 18% lead at 1080p and 16% lead at 1440p aren’t bad, but we’d expect more from a generational upgrade.

The AD107 GPU powering the RTX 4060 is significantly smaller and uses much less power than the RTX 3060. It’s got a better feature set that includes DLSS 3 with Frame Generation capability. Together, they give the RTX 4060 a healthy FPS boost in games that support the tech. Leaving that aside, the RTX 4060 still outperforms the RTX 3060 by a fair enough margin, and considering the relative launch prices of the two, the RTX 4060 is absolutely the better card of the two.

However, the RTX 4060’s performance lead isn’t dramatic. An 18% lead at 1080p and 16% lead at 1440p aren’t bad, but we’d expect more from a generational upgrade. If you took away the much higher clock speeds of the RTX 4060, the tables would be turned. Essentially, if you have an RTX 3060 already, the incentive to upgrade is not there.

The RTX 3060 is still a good card. If you snagged one at its $329 launch price, you’d be a happy gamer. The RTX 3060 has 50% more VRAM and that may yet prove to be an untapped advantage over the next couple of years. Right now you can find it for well under $300. The RTX 4060 is still at its $299 launch price.

If its a case of the RTX 4060 vs RTX 3060 at current prices, the RTX 4060 is the clear winner, but if you’ve got an RTX 3060 already, you shouldn’t feel the need to rush out and buy an RTX 4060.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RTX 3060 Ti

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Prior to the launch of the RTX 40-series, it would have been a safe bet to assume the RTX 4060 would handily beat out a card just one tier higher from the previous generation. Sadly it does not. The RTX 3060 Ti holds a relatively small, but still notable lead at all resolutions. In fact, being unable to beat the RTX 3060 Ti may be the RTX 4060’s headline weakness.

Being unable to beat the RTX 3060 Ti may be the RTX 4060’s headline weakness.

But looking deeper, the RTX 4060’s AD107 GPU and the GA104 GPU of the RTX 3060 Ti are very different beasts, and apart from their name are not really comparable with one another. The RTX 3060 Ti is faster but it uses much more power and it cost $100 more at the time of its launch. That $399 price is all in the past though. Right now it can be found for around $350 which makes it an interesting competitor to the RTX 4060, even though it really shouldn’t be if you judge it by its hardware.

Which one should you go for? The RTX 4060 is cheaper, offers much better performance per watt and has the advantage of support for DLSS 3 and Frame Generation. Both have the same amount of VRAM. But the fact that we’re even considering the RTX 3060 Ti over the RTX 4060 is damning in and of itself. 

When it comes to the RTX 4060 vs RTX 3060 Ti, the former just does enough to earn the win, but if you already have an RTX 3060 Ti, do not buy an RTX 4060 unless you’re looking to downsize your rig, or you frequently play a game that utilizes DLSS 3.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RTX 3070

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The RTX 3070 is still a good card by most measures. It uses the AD104 GPU, like the RTX 3060 Ti, but it comes with more shaders unlocked giving it a bigger performance lead over the RTX 4060, at over 20%. The RTX 4060 reverses that when taking DLSS 3 and Frame Generation into account, but remember, they’re not universally supported technologies, and until they are, the raw performance of the RTX 3070 is still an advantage.

The RTX 3070 uses nearly double the power, at 220W vs 115W.

The RTX 4060’s superb power efficiency means it maintains a performance per watt advantage despite the RTX 3070’s significant performance lead. That’s because the RTX 3070 uses nearly double the power, at 220W vs 115W. Power consumption tends to rate lower among enthusiast gamers looking for higher frame rates, but power efficiency does matter, and there the RTX 4060 excels.

The RTX 3070 cost a lot more at the time of its launch, at $499 compared to the RTX 4060’s $299. With that kind of difference, it wouldn’t be a contest if both prices were current. Even now the RTX 3070 is still costs more than $400, though we’ve seen deals that push it under that level. In the RTX 4060 vs RTX 3070 debate, at under $400 the older card becomes a compelling option. Should you come across the RTX 3070 for $350 or so, the RTX 4060 becomes a tough sell.

Of course, if you already own an RTX 3070, you’re probably looking up at the RTX 4070 and 4070 Ti and not down to the RTX 4060.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RTX 4060 Ti

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Now let’s compare the RTX 4060 to its bigger brother, the RTX 4060 Ti. In spite of their outwardly similar names, the RTX 4060 and Ti make use of different GPUs. In my dream world, I’d prefer to think of the RTX 4060 as the RTX 4050 and the RTX 4060 Ti as the true RTX 4060, but alas, they are not.

The main advantage the RTX 4060 Ti has is a much greater shader count.

The main advantage the RTX 4060 Ti has is a much greater shader count, at 4352 vs the 3072 of the RTX 4060. That’s a big gap, and it shows up in the performance data, where the RTX 4060 Ti at least 19% faster than the RTX 4060.

The RTX 4060 loses a lot of its power efficiency advantage compared to the RTX 4060 Ti, which comes in at an impressive 160W. Though the RTX 4060’s 115W still gives it a performance per watt lead, it’s not large enough to really matter in the face of the RTX 4060 Ti’s overall performance advantage.

Then we come to the price. At $299 the RTX 4060 is a little on the expensive side for what it is, but the RTX 4060 Ti at $399 is definitely too expensive, especially since it includes 8GB of GDDR6 memory that’s only 1 Gbps faster than that of the RTX 4060. Let’s not even talk about the phantom RTX 4060 Ti 16GB at $499, Oh, I just did.

It’s a tie  when it comes to feature sets. Both the RTX 4060 and Ti are Ada Lovelace generation cards, which mean both come with support for DLSS 3, 3rd generation RT cores, 4th generation Tensor cores and an improved video engine.

The RTX 4060 vs RTX 4060 Ti debate all comes down to money. Which card you go for depends on whether you’re prepared to pay the extra money for an RTX 4060 Ti over an RTX 4060 for a 20% to 25% performance gain.

Both have their flaws, but that’s down to Nvidia’s arbitrary naming scheme and pricing. The latter can and surely will change over the lifetime of both cards.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RX 7600

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So how does the RTX 4060 fare against its nearest AMD competitor, the Radeon RX 7600? Both cards were set to launch at $299. While the RTX 4060 is still around that $299 mark, the RX 7600 actually received a pre launch RRP drop to $269, which helps it in the bang for buck stakes.

Until we see FSR 3 out in the real world, Nvidia holds the upscaling technology advantage.

The RTX 4060 is generally a match for the RX 7600 in traditionally rendered titles, but once you add ray tracing into the mix, the RTX 4060 pulls ahead, and that’s before the gains it will achieve if you enable DLSS 3 and Frame Generation. AMD has an answer to that in the works, but until we see FSR 3 out in the real world, Nvidia holds the upscaling technology advantage.

The RTX 4060 looks particularly strong at higher resolutions thanks to its superior ray tracing performance. Punishing titles like Cyberpunk 2077 are murderous on the RX 7600 with completely unplayable single digit FPS numbers. The RTX 4060 is well ahead in this kind of scenario, but while 2 FPS vs 11 FPS looks good in percentage terms, in the real world, it’s still pretty crappy either way. Neither card is really suitable for 4K gaming, though the RTX 4060 is the better option if your game supports DLSS.

The RTX 4060 holds a power efficiency advantage, and a substantial one at that. The RTX 4060’s efficiency is arguably the highlight of the card, while in the case of the RX 7600 it’s a lowlight. A clear win to the RTX 4060 here.

The whole RTX 4060 vs RX 7600 choice really depends on what games you play. If you’re into older or esport games or games without ray tracing support, the RX 7600 is a capable and good value option, but for newer games, the RTX 4060 gets the nod thanks to its superior feature set and power efficiency advantage.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RX 6700 XT

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Here’s an interesting competitor for the RTX 4060, it’s the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT. Though ostensibly a much more expensive GPU, such are the discounts on offer, the RX 6700 XT is AMD’s most formidable RTX 4060 competitor. The RX 6700 XT can be found for about $330 at the time of writing. That’s all too close to the $299 price of the RTX 4060.

When it comes to straight raster performance, the RX 6700 XT is ahead.

The 6700 XT has a few key advantages. Most notably, it has 12GB of memory and a 192-bit memory bus which means it’s got more memory and more bandwidth. One of the key concerns over the RTX 4060 is how it will stack up in future games with its underwhelming 8GB and 128-bit bus. That’s of little concern with the RX 6700 XT.

The RX 6700 XT cannot match the ray tracing performance of the RTX 4060 and this shows up in titles like Cyberpunk 2077. That’s the only reason the RTX 4060 posts a 4K performance lead—take that ray tracing heavy title out of the equation and the RX 6700 XT is 10% faster on average at that resolution. And when it comes to straight raster performance, the RX 6700 XT is ahead, and in some games that include RT but aren’t as punishing, like Metro Exodus Enhanced or Far Cry 6, the superior shader performance of the 6700 XT is enough to to match, if not beat the RTX 4060.

The RTX 4060 retains its key advantages, including a massive power efficiency lead. The RX 6700 XT’s nearly 100% higher TDP counts against it. The RTX 4060 also has a superior feature set including DLSS 3 and Frame Generation which – if supported by the game, will vault it ahead of the RX 6700 XT.

Which one should you choose? That’s tough. I’d go for the RX 6700 XT but only if you can snag it for a great price. The extra memory, bandwidth and shading power give it the edge, particularly at 1440p. But then there’s ray tracing, DLSS 3 and Frame Generation. They can easily put the RTX 4060 ahead of the RX 6700 XT. 

The RTX 4060 vs RX 6700 XT argument comes down to this: If you must have ray tracing support, the RTX 4060 is the card for you, but if you view ray tracing as just a bit of eye candy, and raw FPS matters above all, then RX 6700 XT is a very compelling option, but perhaps not for long as it’s nearing the end of its life.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs RX 6600 XT

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The RTX 4060 and the RX 6600 XT are competitive on price more than anything else. At $299, the RTX 4060 looks like an automatic winner against the launch pricing of the $379 RX 6600 XT, but the RX 6600 XT can be found for under $250 now. It is getting harder to find now that the RX 7600 has taken its place though.

Once you factor ray tracing in, the RTX 4060 pulls well ahead.

We’ll also consider the RX 6650 XT here too. It can be considered an overclocked RX 6600 XT with a little higher TDP. It’s more widely available and it can be found for under $250 too. At that price it becomes an interesting option, though mostly so if you play titles without ray tracing. Once you factor ray tracing in, the RTX 4060 pulls well ahead.

Leaving the RX 6600 XT and RX 6650 XT’s runout pricing aside, the RTX 4060 is superior by every important measure. Its performance is better, particularly when factoring in DLSS 3. The differences aren’t as dramatic when looking at raster performance, but the RTX 4060 is still ahead there too.

The RTX 4060’s excellent power efficiency and performance per watt see it take a healthy lead here too. So, if you’re considering it as a question of RTX 4060 vs RX 6600 XT, then unless you come across a 6600 XT or RX 6650 XT for a really good price under $250 and you have no interest in modern ray traced titles, the RTX 4060 is the better buy.

Nvidia RTX 4060 vs Arc A750

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A year back, who’d have thought we’d be talking about the Intel Arc A750 and RTX 4060 in the same sentence? The Arc A750’s driver has come a long way since it was released, and yes, it’s a perfectly viable competitor to the RTX 4060. In fact, that might be underselling it. The Arc A750 can be found for less than $200 and at that price, you can’t ignore it, even with its flaws.

The Arc A750 can be found for less than $200 and at that price, you can’t ignore it.

The core advantages of the RTX 4060 remain. It’s fantastic power efficiency and 115W TDP is light years ahead of the A750 and that means its performance per watt is well ahead too.

Our benchmark suite is pretty taxing, with lots of ray traced titles represented. This should prove beneficial to the RTX 4060, but the A750’s ray tracing performance is actually quite good. DLSS 3 is Nvidia’s golden goose this generation, but Intel’s XeSS is maturing nicely and if you play games that support it, it can be a tremendous value add.

The RTX 4060 is the better card, but it all comes down to pricing. If you can snare an Arc A750 for $200, you’ll have done well. There’s every chance that you’ll get driver improvements for some time to come, further elevating the A750. But the extra $100 for the RTX 4060 will give you a more polished gaming experience and superior performance per watt which in time will wipe off the extra money it will cost you over the A750.

Even considering the RTX 4060 vs Arc A750 as a potential comparison would have seemed ludicrous a year ago. It’s a mark of how well Intel’s driver team has done to shore up its software efforts. Still, the RTX 4060 is the wiser buy, but if you’re on a tight budget, the Arc A750 is a much better proposition than it was at the time of its launch.

Nvidia RTX 4060 benchmarks

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