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RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 4060

A very common question: the RTX 3060 has 12 GB of VRAM and a 192-bit bus; the newer RTX 4060 has 8 GB and a 128-bit bus, but more performance and lower power draw.

RTX 3060 12GB

Pick it if…

You need VRAM above all else: local AI models, very high textures or large 3D projects.

RTX 4060

Pick it if…

You want more performance in games and Blender, lower power draw (115 W vs 170 W) and DLSS 3 with Frame Generation.

Note. MSRP is the recommended launch price, not the current price. There are no GPU benchmarks on the site yet: the table compares specifications.

Specifications

SpecificationRTX 3060 12GBRTX 4060
Memory
VRAM12 GB (best value in this row)8 GB
Memory typeGDDR6GDDR6
Memory bus192 bits (best value in this row)128 bits
Memory bandwidth360 GB/s (best value in this row)272 GB/s
Compute
CUDA cores (NVIDIA)3,5843,072
Stream processors (AMD)Data not availableData not available
Compute units (AMD)Data not availableData not available
Boost clock1,777 MHz2,460 MHz (best value in this row)
Measured performance
Blender (3D render, samples/min)1,9892,965 (best value in this row)
Power
Power draw (TDP)170 W115 W (best value in this row)
Features
Ray tracingYesYes
RT generationGen 2Gen 3
AI hardwareTensor CoresTensor Cores
Image upscalingDLSS 2DLSS 3
Frame generationNoYes
General
ArchitectureAmpereAda Lovelace
Release year20212023
Launch price (MSRP)$329.00$299.00 (best value in this row)
Best current price$471.88Data not available

Chart

  • RTX 3060 12GB
  • RTX 4060

VRAM

RTX 3060 12GB12 GB
RTX 40608 GB

Memory bandwidth

RTX 3060 12GB360 GB/s
RTX 4060272 GB/s

Blender (3D render)

RTX 3060 12GB1,989 samples/min
RTX 40602,965 samples/min

Power draw (TDP)

RTX 3060 12GB170 W
RTX 4060115 W

Launch price (MSRP)

RTX 3060 12GB329 USD
RTX 4060299 USD

Blender: source Blender Open Data (Dominio público (datos abiertos de la Blender Foundation)), Blender 5.2.0 LTS, data from 06/10/2026. It measures 3D rendering with Cycles, not gaming performance.

Videos for this comparison

Video tests of this combination. FPS depends on the GPU, the games and the settings of each test.

Related videos

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Buscar "RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 4060" en YouTube (opens in a new tab)Buscar "RTX 3060 12GB" (opens in a new tab)Buscar "RTX 4060" (opens in a new tab)

Comparison breakdown

Performance

The 4060 is faster in most games, and in Blender it performs almost 50% better (Blender Open Data results), despite its narrower bus: its bandwidth is 272 GB/s vs 360 GB/s on the 3060, but Ada's much larger L2 cache largely makes up for it.

VRAM

The 3060's 12 GB helps in games that go beyond 8 GB with high textures and, above all, in local AI, where the amount of memory limits which models you can load.

Technologies and power

The 4060 supports DLSS 3 with Frame Generation; the 3060 is limited to DLSS upscaling. The 4060 draws 115 W and the 3060, 170 W.

Based on official catalog specifications. Prices change: check the table, which shows the date of each price.

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