NVIDIA Announces Affordable RTX 4060 GPUs: Starting at $299!

Introduction

In an exciting announcement for the world of PC gaming, NVIDIA has unveiled its new RTX 4060 family of GPUs, which includes the RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4060. The launch marks the first time NVIDIA’s RTX 40-series cards have been available under the $500 price point, let alone under $300. The GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture and built on TSMC’s 4N node, providing power efficiency improvements and increased performance over the previous generation.

Detailed Overview of the RTX 4060

The RTX 4060, priced at $299, is slated to launch in July. This is a 15 teraflop card with 8GB of VRAM, a downgrade from the 12GB found on the RTX 3060. NVIDIA has highlighted energy-efficiency improvements with the RTX 4060, with the total graphics power at 115 watts and claimed average power usage at 110 watts. This is in contrast to the RTX 3060, which was a 170-watt card, and NVIDIA states it averaged 170 watts during gameplay.

NVIDIA: RTX 4060 Ti, graphic from NVIDIA website

Detailed Overview of the RTX 4060 Ti

The RTX 4060 Ti will be the first to debut, with the 8GB model launching on May 24th for $399. A 16GB model is due in July and will be priced at $499. Specs-wise, the RTX 4060 Ti is a 22 teraflop card with AV1 encoder support and efficient energy usage. The total graphics power is 160 watts on both the 8GB and 16GB models, with NVIDIA claiming the average gaming power usage will be around 140 watts. This is a decrease from the RTX 3060 Ti, which had a total graphics power of 200 watts and an average game power usage of 197 watts. The RTX 4060 model (6GB/114W), which is also said to be released in July will be starting at $299.

ModelPriceRelease DateVRAMTeraflopsPower Consumption
RTX 4060 Ti (8GB)$399May 24, 20238GB22160W
RTX 4060 Ti (16GB)$499July, 202316GB22160W
RTX 4060$299July, 20238GB15115W

Final Thoughts

Interestingly, NVIDIA’s announcement included the reveal of a 16GB RTX 4060 Ti, which seems to be in response to an ongoing debate over the value of 8GB cards in the PC gaming community. As more demanding games are released, the need for increased GPU memory becomes apparent, even at 1080p resolutions, especially if you want to enable all the max settings.

While NVIDIA has only shared performance data at 1080p for now, the previous RTX 3060 Ti was more than capable at 1440p a few years ago. It suggests that we may not see a massive leap in performance from an RTX 3060 Ti to 4060 Ti unless DLSS 3 is involved.

AI-GENERATED Image of a GPU for illustration purposes by Zirako

The 8GB of VRAM on both the RTX 4060 Ti and 4060 may raise questions over these cards’ potential performance. Despite this, the anticipation for full reviews and real-world performance data of the new GPUs remains high, and NVIDIA’s aggressive pricing certainly indicates its determination to remain a strong player in the mainstream PC gaming market. With the introduction of the RTX 4060 family, Nvidia not only offers a range of performance options to meet different gaming needs but also aims to cater to a broader audience with varying budgetary constraints. The power efficiency improvements and the addition of features like AV1 encoder support in this new series show Nvidia’s commitment to innovation and user experience. However, the true measure of these cards’ success will depend on how well they perform in real-world gaming situations, especially given the growing demands of modern games.