The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Lineup: Which Graphics Card Is Right for You?

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, launched last week, is the company's first close-to-midrange entry in its RTX 3000 Series of graphics cards. Based on Nvidia's new "Ampere" graphics architecture and with a huge increase in core count, these cards run laps around their predecessors. They're actually so fast that the first one we reviewed, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition (Nvidia's own classy reference design), surpassed the company's formerly elite GeForce RTX 2080 in many of our tests. It even came close to matching the stratospheric GeForce RTX 2080 Ti in some instances.

Unfortunately it's 2020, and the popularity of PC gaming (particularly, I'm-stuck-at-home PC gaming) has seemingly hit an all-time high. All of Nvidia's new RTX 3000 Series graphics cards have seen initial stocks disappear in a flash, with subsequent availability spotty and scarce, like that of the newly released gaming consoles from Microsoft and Sony. Due to this, it's unlikely that you will be able to buy a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti anytime soon without some concerted hunting and a quick trigger finger on the Buy button, even though the cards are technically now available for purchase. Cards get hoovered up as quickly as they go on sale.

Let's look at all of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards that were released at launch and divvy up the pack for the time (and it will come) when there's a selection to choose among. The usual suspects certainly created quite a variety.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition, Nvidia's reference design, sets the standard for all of the other RTX 3060 Ti cards to follow. The card utilizes a partially disabled GA104 core that has 4,864 CUDA cores, 152 Tensor cores, and 38 ray-tracing cores. This hardware is able to handle modern features including ray-traced lighting. There's also 8GB of GDDR6 RAM on this card that connects to the core over a 256-bit interface, which gives the card a max memory bandwidth of 448GBps.

The RTX 3060 Ti also pulls 200 watts and requires either two six-pin power connectors or a single eight-pin connector via Nvidia's 12-pin adapter; this kind of adapter has been seen on the other RTX 3000 Series Founders Edition cards so far. Power will likely be a limiting factor in overclocking these cards, which is why most OEMs opted to add extra power connectors to give the card more power.

The Founders Edition version of the card employs a dual-fan thermal solution (some RTX 3060 Ti cards are triple-fan models) and it's priced at $399. If you prefer clean, minimalist designs, this will be the RTX 3060 Ti you want, and at 9.5 inches long, it's one of the most compact options.

Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Edition

Asus' ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Edition is one of the largest and most powerful RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards at launch. It has a thick triple-fan thermal solution that fills the better part of three PCI Express slot positions in terms of width. The card comes clocked at 1,890MHz, which makes it the highest-clocked RTX 3060 Ti at launch. And it makes use of two eight-pin power connectors to keep the card fed with power.

Asus also crafted a non-overclocked version of this card (the ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti Gaming) that runs at just 1,695MHz, but it's otherwise identical, so some amount of overclocking headroom on the non-OC card is likely. The OC version is priced at $499.99; no price has been set for the non-OC model at this time.

Asus TUF Strix RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Edition

Asus' next RTX 3060 Ti is a fairly substantial step down from the company's best (ROG Strix) model. It drops the second eight-pin power connector, which will likely limit the overclocking headroom. (The card comes clocked at "just" 1,785MHz.) The TUF does have a triple-fan cooler, but it's a bit smaller, at 2.7 slots across. This card is priced just slightly lower, too, at $489. That makes it, to our eyes, a poorer-value option than the ROG Strix edition, given the mere $10 difference.

Asus will offer a non-overclocked version of this card, as well: the TUF Strix RTX 3060 Ti Gaming. It will come clocked at 1,695MHz, but we again don't have the price for that card.

Asus KO RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Edition

The more compact Asus KO GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition utilizes a dual-fan thermal solution that fills most of three slots. The card has more elaborate lighting than the TUF Strix RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Edition, with addressable RGB (ARGB) lights both on its side and in several places on the card's front. The card is factory overclocked to 1,785MHz, and it's priced at $459.99.

It should come as no surprise, at this point, that there is a non-OC version of this card too, the KO RTX 3060 Ti Gaming, but details about this card are scarce. We don't know how it will be clocked, or its price.

Asus Dual RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition

If you'd rather a less flashy card but want to stick to the Asus brand, then the company's Dual RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition is worth taking a look at. It still has a few RGB LED lights on the side of the card (it's 2020, and not having any RGB LEDs just isn't going to happen), but the bling factor is minimal. As the "Dual" in the name suggests, the card relies on a two-fan thermal solution to prevent overheating; again, it fills 2.7 PCIe slot positions.

The Dual card comes clocked at 1,740MHz and is priced at $439.99. There will be a non-OC version of this card, as well, but we don't know the price for it, or its clock speed.

Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Vulcan OC-V

Colorful's top-of-the-line RTX 3060 Ti is labelled as the Vulcan OC-V, and it's possibly the largest RTX 3060 Ti graphics card on the market, at a whopping 12.7 inches long and three slots across. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as the extra-thick card has an enormous heatsink that should help to keep the card's components from overheating in serious gaming or when overclocked. It's also the only card to require an eye-bugging three eight-pin power connectors, and it has a robust 14+4 power phase design. Realistically, this card is overkill in many ways, but who's going to balk at having more power and cooling than they need?

The card comes clocked at 1,815MHz and has an unusual set-apart feature: an LCD screen on the side that can be flipped up 90 degrees, or laid flat against the side of the card. This screen can display custom images or a feed of system vital stats.

The only downsides of this card? U.S. availability is likely to be spotty (as with other Colorful cards), and it will probably be the most expensive RTX 3060 Ti, at $599 MSRP, thanks to the display panel.

Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Advanced OC 10G-V

Colorful's RTX 3060 Ti Advanced OC is less extreme than the company's Vulcan card, but it's still on par with many of the top cards from other companies. It has a triple-fan thermal solution that fills roughly 2.5 slots and two eight-pin power connectors. This card comes clocked at 1,800MHz, and it's priced at $519.

Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Ultra OC 10G-V

Now this card syncs up in theme with the "colorful" in the brand name. The iGame RTX 3060 Ti Ultra OC, like the above iGame models, comes with a large triple-fan cooler. That, plus two eight-pin power connectors, should give this big (12.2-inch) card plenty of power and thermal overhead for overclocking. This card ships clocked at 1,770MHz.

Colorful opted to make two variants of this card that have the same specs but different aesthetics. (The biggest difference between them is that one of the cards is white; the other is black.) These cards are priced at $479 MSRP.

EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FTW3 Ultra Gaming

EVGA's best RTX 3060 Ti graphics card comes clocked at 1,800MHz with two eight-pin power connectors and a large triple-fan thermal solution that fills just over two card slots across. This card isn't as, ahem, colorful as some competing options, but it does have the EVGA logo illuminated on the side in RGB LEDs.

The card is priced at $449.99, which sets it notably below some competing cards, such as Gigabyte's top GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.

EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti XC Gaming

EVGA's second RTX 3060 Ti graphics card uses a more compact dual-fan thermal solution that fits neatly inside of the dual-slot form factor. This card has a single eight-pin power connector, which will limit overclocking, but it comes factory overclocked to 1,710MHz, putting it slightly ahead of all of the reference-clocked cards. The big deal here, though, is that this card squeaks in at a trace under 8 inches long (7.94 inches, to be exact), way shorter than most, including the Founders Edition.

EVGA also set this card with a fairly low price of $409.99, which is just $10 above the reference cards. We expect this one will be popular.

Gigabyte Aorus GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Master 8G

Gigabyte took a slightly different approach with its RTX 3060 Ti flagship than the other major OEMs did with theirs. Instead of using two eight-pin power connectors, Gigabyte opted to use one eight-pin power connector and one six-pin connector. This gives the card a maximum power draw of 300 watts, whereas cards that have two eight-pin power connectors top out at 375 watts.

The reference version of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is rated to pull a maximum of just 200 watts, so having 300 to burn through still opens up the Aorus GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Master to some serious overclocking. But, as other cards have more power at their disposal, they may be able to clock even higher.

The 11.4-inch-long Master card comes equipped with a large triple-fan thermal solution that has RGB LEDs. It also has a solid copper mounting plate and several copper heatpipes, and the card should be well-cooled as a result. The card comes clocked at 1,800MHz right out of the box, and it has a unique, postage-stamp-size LCD screen on the side of the card that can display custom images and GIFs. (The screen on the Colorful Vulcan model above is far bigger.) Gigabyte set this card with an MSRP of $489.99.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Pro 8G

Just below Gigabyte's Aorus card is the company's Gaming OC Pro. It packs a similar triple-fan thermal solution, but with fewer RGB LEDs and without the solid-copper mounting plate. This card also comes with the unusual eight-pin/six-pin power-connector configuration, and it's clocked at 1,770MHz straight from the factory.

A lower-clocked variant, which drops the "Pro" from the product name, comes clocked at 1,740MHz. The OC Pro model sells for $459.99, while the non-Pro model lists for $20 less.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Eagle OC 8G

Gigabyte's least-powerful RTX 3060 Ti cards are its Eagles, but they still look like they'll soar. The upper one of two is the RTX 3060 Ti Eagle OC. It has a dual-fan thermal solution with "EAGLE" inscribed on the front and back of the card, and RGB LEDs adorning the card's side. This card has a single eight-pin power connector, which will presumably keep it from overclocking as well as the other RTX 3060 Ti cards from Gigabyte, but it comes factory boosted to 1,695MHz.

Gigabyte also created a non-OC model of this card that doesn't come factory overclocked. We don't know the price of this card at this time, but the OC model lists for $419.99.

MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio

MSI's flagship RTX 3060 Ti graphics card packs a whopper of a triple-fan thermal solution with the company's Torx 4.0 fans and a thick aluminum heatsink. (It rivals the Colorful Vulcan card in size, at 12.72 inches long and 5.5 inches high.) The card has the potential to be among the fastest RTX 3060 Ti cards on the market, as it comes clocked at 1,830MHz. This card also has two eight-pin power connectors, which opens the door to additional overclocking.

MSI made a second variant of this card that drops the "X" from its name and comes clocked at a lower 1,755MHz, but it's otherwise identical. The Gaming X Trio model is priced at $469.99, and the lower-end model presumably will be list-priced somewhat lower, but MSI has not shared that pricing yet.

MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Ventus 3X OC

MSI's RTX 3060 Ti Ventus 3X OC also comes with a triple-fan thermal solution similar to MSI's RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio, but it doesn't have nearly as much power at its disposal. Where the Gaming X Trio pulls 240 watts straight out of the box, the Ventus 3X has a maximum power limit of 225 watts and has just a single eight-pin power connector. By default, it comes clocked at 1,695MHz.

MSI also touts a non-OC variant of this card that is identical but comes clocked lower, at 1,665MHz. The official list pricing on these two cards hasn't been disclosed yet.

MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Ventus 2X OC

The Ventus 2X OC, in many ways, is just a dual-fan version of MSI's larger RTX 3060 Ti Ventus 3X OC, but it has one key advantage: The Ventus 2X OC has two eight-pin power connectors that open the door to overclocking the card further than the Ventus 3X is capable of, assuming of course you get a high quality chip. The card comes clocked at 1,695MHz right out of the box.

MSI created a non-OC version of this card that doesn't come factory overclocked. As it also has the two eight-pin power connectors, it also should have some overclocking headroom. The Ventus 2X OC comes clocked at $429.99. We don't know the price on the Ventus 2X non-OC, but it will likely be priced just $10 or $20 lower.

PNY GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB XLR8 Gaming Revel Epic-X RGB Dual Fan Edition

PNY doesn't really have a flagship in its RTX 3060 Ti line, but it does have two of these cards on offer. PNY's RTX 3060 Ti Revel Epic-X has a dual-fan thermal solution and RGB LEDs on the side of the card. It comes clocked at 1,665MHz, and it has just one eight-pin power connector, which will limit manual overclocking. (The TDP is 200 watts.)

At 9.7 inches long, the Revel is average in size considering the two-fan design. PNY did not share list pricing at launch.

PNY GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB Uprising Dual Fan

PNY's second RTX 3060 Ti graphics card is also a dual-fan model, and this card also has a single eight-pin power connector. The card is clocked at 1,665MHz. The only difference between this card and PNY's other RTX 3060 Ti card appears to be just the cards' aesthetics. This model doesn't appear to have any RGB. No launch-day pricing on this one, either.

Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge OC

Zotac released two RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards under the name "Twin Edge." Practically speaking, they are close to the same card. One of the cards (the one highlighted above) includes "OC" in its title, and this one is the higher-clocked of the two, operating at 1,695MHz. (The other card matches Nvidia's reference card, at 1,665MHz.)

Other than the clocking difference, little else separates these cards, and both feature a dual-fan thermal solution that fits neatly inside of the dual-slot form factor, with a length of just under 9 inches. These cards employ a single eight-pin power connector that will limit how much overclocking headroom they have available, but there is still 25 watts of power left in the power budget that should make some overclocking technically possible.

The Twin Edge OC card is set with an MSRP of $449.99, while the less-powerful vanilla Twin Edge card is priced significantly lower, at Nvidia's reference-card price of $399.99. The latter card, realistically, looks to be a much better deal for the money.

Posted in: Hardware