ASUS Dual NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC Edition 12GB

RTX 3060 12GB Review & Specifications

The RTX 3060 12GBis based on the Ampere architecture and manufactured using the 8 nm process node. It was launched approximately 4 years, 4 months ago, originally priced at $329. It features 3584 cores, including 80 compute units (SMs), 112 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 48 render output units (ROPs). For ray tracing and AI-accelerated tasks, it also includes 28 dedicated RT cores and 112 Tensor cores, enabling advanced rendering and upscaling features where supported. It has a base clock of 1320 MHz and a boost clock reaching up to 1777 MHz. The RTX 3060 12GB comes equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit bus. Memory runs at 1875 MHz and delivers a total memory bandwidth of 360 GB/s.

This GPU has a low thermal design power (TDP) of 170 W. It is generally compatible with almost all PC cases and is excellent for SFF and compact systems where heat dissipation is a concern.

RTX 3060 12GB Performance

RTX 3060 12GB is an entry-level graphics card with a relative gaming performance score of 26.92%. It performs well at 1080p and can handle 1440p with optimized settings or features like DLSS and FSR, though it's not suitable for 4K. Ideal for casual gamers or users who play occasionally on general-purpose PCs.

The RTX 3060 12GB has a moderate VRAM size of 12 GB, which aligns well with its performance class. It is well-suited for 1080p gaming at high settings and 1440p gaming at medium to high settings, depending on the game’s optimization and graphics demands. While capable in rasterized workloads, enabling ray tracing at higher resolutions can quickly consume available VRAM and reduce performance. Upscaling technologies like DLSS or FSR can help improve frame rates, but may come with a noticeable reduction in visual quality. The VRAM capacity is adequate for light to moderate content creation tasks, such as editing Full HD or QHD video, working with smaller assets in 3D environments, and using tools like Photoshop or Premiere Pro for general workloads. In the context of AI and machine learning, this GPU can handle lightweight inference tasks and basic model training. However, users working with large datasets or complex architectures may find the memory insufficient, leading to slowdowns or compatibility issues. This GPU remains a good option for gamers, casual creators, and students exploring AI.

With a 52.7% performance-per-price ratio, ASUS Dual NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC Edition 12GB offers reasonable value. It's a viable choice for budget-conscious users, though limited VRAM and lower performance restrict its lifespan.