Best Nvidia Graphics Card Under $500?
By
Kyle Encina
Updated
The GeForce RTX 3060 and 3070 are two of Nvidia’s most affordable yet capable GPUs available, but which gives the best value for money?
The GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 3070 are two of Nvidia’s most affordable, but still highly capable GPUs. Choosing between the two comes down to what users plan on using them for, with better performance inevitably coming at a higher price. In 2020, the RTX 3070 showed why there were many reasons to choose it over other GPUs in the lineup, aside from being the least expensive option at the time.
The RTX 3070 came with all of the advantages that the latest Ampere architecture has to offer, and was even able to beat Nvidia’s previous flagship, all at a lower price. It didn’t take long before Nvidia released a cheaper $399 alternative that was also just as capable — with that card being the RTX 3060 Ti. However, Nvidia later announced that it was expanding its budget lineup even more with the launch of the RTX 3060.
Related: Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti Vs. RTX 2080 Ti: Is It Time For A Ti GPU Upgrade?
That then begs a burning question: Is the RTX 3060 the better option over the RTX 3070 just because it’s the cheaper one? According to Nvidia, the RTX 3060 is equipped with 12GB of GDDR6 memory, which is considerably bigger than the RTX 3070’s 8GB. The RTX 3060 also has the boost clock advantage at 1.78GHz compared to the RTX 3070’s 1.73GHz. That said, the RTX 3070 does have a monumental difference in the number of its CUDA Cores, which amount to 5888, surpassing the RTX 3060’s 3584 by a huge margin.
Comparing Specs & Benchmarks
Besides the differences mentioned above, the rest of the spec sheets for the RTX 3060 and 3070 are remarkably similar. Both GPUs use Nvidia’s Ampere architecture, work with DirectX 12 Ultimate, and support all of Nvidia’s exclusive features — including Nvidia Reflex, Nvidia Broadcast, and DLSS.
Display support is also identical. Both cards support display resolutions up to 7680 x 4320, can work with up to four monitors, and have one HDMI port with three DisplayPort outputs.
While the spec sheets are similar, the RTX 3070 does have the edge in gaming performance. Per Nvidia’s own testing, the RTX 3070 achieves around 90 fps while playing Control in 1440p with the ‘highest’ game settings and RTX enabled. The RTX 3060 achieves more than 140 fps in Control with RTX, but that’s playing at a lower 1080p resolution. It’s a similar situation for Minecraft with RTX enabled. Playing in 1440p, the RTX 3070 kicks out 80 fps. The RTX 3060 goes up to nearly 140 fps, but that’s only possible at 1080p.
Which Nvidia Card Should You Buy?
If you’re OK gaming at 1080p and are trying to watch your spending, the RTX 3060 is a fantastic GPU. It delivers high frame rates, good-looking games, and is a bit easier on the wallet. But if you have a few more dollars to spend and want even faster frames (or to game in 1440p), the RTX 3070 is money well spent.
As is often the case with any GPU, this is all assuming you can find the RTX 3060 and 3070 readily available at retail pricing. The 3060 is supposed to cost $329 and the 3070 should sell for $499. But that’s not always going to be the case. Chip shortages have caused both cards to frequently be sold for hundreds of dollars more than retail prices. The Nvidia RTX 3060 and 3070 are excellent GPUs, but try not to pay too much more than you should.
Next: How Nvidia Is Using AI To Make Even Faster And Better GPUs
Source: Nvidia
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 vs Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070: What is the difference?
64points
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
67points
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Comparison winner
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54 facts in comparison
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Why is Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 better than Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070?
- 50W lower TDP?
170Wvs220W - 125MHz faster memory clock speed?
1875MHzvs1750MHz - 1000MHz higher effective memory clock speed?
15000MHzvs14000MHz - 1.
5x more VRAM?
12GBvs8GB
Why is Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 better than Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060?
- 180MHz faster GPU clock speed?
1500MHzvs1320MHz - 7.57 TFLOPS higher floating-point performance?
20.31 TFLOPSvs12.74 TFLOPS - 51.9 GPixel/s higher pixel rate?
165.6 GPixel/svs113.7 GPixel/s - 118.4 GTexels/s higher texture rate?
317.4 GTexels/svs199 GTexels/s - 88GB/s more memory bandwidth?
448GB/svs360GB/s - 64bit wider memory bus width?
256bitvs192bit - 2304 more shading units?
5888vs3584 - 4150million more transistors?
17400 millionvs13250 million
Which are the most popular comparisons?
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660 Super
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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AMD Radeon RX 6800
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super
Price comparison
Cheap alternatives
User reviews
Overall Rating
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
9 User reviews
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
7.
1/10
9 User reviews
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
1 User reviews
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
10.0/10
1 User reviews
Features
Value for money
7.7/10
9 votes
8.0/10
1 votes
Gaming
8.3/10
8 votes
10.0/10
1 votes
Performance
7.9/10
8 votes
10.0/10
1 votes
Quiet operation
7.3/10
8 votes
10.0/10
1 votes
Reliability
8.0/10
8 votes
10.0/10
1 votes
Performance
1.GPU clock speed
1320MHz
1500MHz
The graphics processing unit (GPU) has a higher clock speed.
2.GPU turbo
1780MHz
1725MHz
When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
3.
pixel rate
113.7 GPixel/s
165.6 GPixel/s
The number of pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.
4.floating-point performance
12.74 TFLOPS
20.31 TFLOPS
Floating-point performance is a measurement of the raw processing power of the GPU.
5.texture rate
199 GTexels/s
317.4 GTexels/s
The number of textured pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.
6.GPU memory speed
1875MHz
1750MHz
The memory clock speed is one aspect that determines the memory bandwidth.
7.shading units
Shading units (or stream processors) are small processors within the graphics card that are responsible for processing different aspects of the image.
8.texture mapping units (TMUs)
TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene.
More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.
9.render output units (ROPs)
The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.
Memory
1.effective memory speed
15000MHz
14000MHz
The effective memory clock speed is calculated from the size and data rate of the memory. Higher clock speeds can give increased performance in games and other apps.
2.maximum memory bandwidth
360GB/s
448GB/s
This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.
3.VRAM
VRAM (video RAM) is the dedicated memory of a graphics card. More VRAM generally allows you to run games at higher settings, especially for things like texture resolution.
4.memory bus width
192bit
256bit
A wider bus width means that it can carry more data per cycle. It is an important factor of memory performance, and therefore the general performance of the graphics card.
5.version of GDDR memory
Newer versions of GDDR memory offer improvements such as higher transfer rates that give increased performance.
6.Supports ECC memory
✖Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
✖Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.
Features
1.DirectX version
DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
2.OpenGL version
OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
3.OpenCL version
Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing. Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.
4.Supports multi-display technology
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
The graphics card supports multi-display technology. This allows you to configure multiple monitors in order to create a more immersive gaming experience, such as having a wider field of view.
5.load GPU temperature
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070)
A lower load temperature means that the card produces less heat and its cooling system performs better.
6.supports ray tracing
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Ray tracing is an advanced light rendering technique that provides more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in games.
7.Supports 3D
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Allows you to view in 3D (if you have a 3D display and glasses).
8.supports DLSS
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an upscaling technology powered by AI. It allows the graphics card to render games at a lower resolution and upscale them to a higher resolution with near-native visual quality and increased performance. DLSS is only available on select games.
9.PassMark (G3D) result
This benchmark measures the graphics performance of a video card. Source: PassMark.
Ports
1.has an HDMI output
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
✔Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Devices with a HDMI or mini HDMI port can transfer high definition video and audio to a display.
2.