RTX 4090 too expensive? Nvidia resurrects another old favorite
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UK retailer scan.co.uk (opens in new tab) has listed (and then quickly removed) a new budget Nvidia GPU, but unfortunately it’s not the RTX 4060 we’ve been waiting to see. No, it’s a new version of the already excellent RTX 3060 Ti – now equipped with improved GDDR6X VRAM.
For reference, the original RTX 3060 Ti had 8GB of conventional GDDR6; the ‘X’ variant of the memory is essentially just faster and more efficient with slightly more power consumption overall. It’s also reportedly cheaper in the production backend, which could explain why Nvidia has now put this card into production.
We’ll wait until next year at the earliest for Nvidia’s more affordable RTX 4000 cards, but it’s been known for a while that Team Green has been working on at least three RTX 3000 series GPUs to keep things going. Considering the ridiculous price of the RTX 4090is not entirely surprising.
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It actually looks like the GPU was originally leaked on Nvidia’s own website, with a link to order (but no checkout option) on Scan. There is no longer any trace of the leak at either location. Before it was removed, the price was listed at £369 ($399, AU$699) – the original UK suggested retail price of the 3060 Ti.
In any case, we will probably see this card actually coming to market quickly. Whether it’s a viable choice with an RTX 4060 that may be on the way is another matter; if you’re looking for a solid 1080p gaming GPU, this isn’t a bad choice. However, the new GDDR6X memory probably won’t make a huge difference in most games – an increase to 12GB of VRAM would have made a bigger difference.
It’s good to see that Nvidia hasn’t completely left the budget gaming space, if nothing else. Of Intel’s New Arc GPUs landing this week and offering AMD some serious competition at the more affordable end of the market, Nvidia really needs to keep pace if it doesn’t plan to launch cheaper Lovelace graphics cards shortly.
There is a little trap not to fall into this; of black friday and Cyber Monday fast approaching, it’s almost certain we’ll see some RTX 3060 Ti discounts. The 3060 Ti is a great GPU choice for 1080p gaming, but keep in mind that these sales will likely only include the older GDDR6 models. When you shop for a graphics card deal over the next few weeks, be sure to check the specs.