UK retailer Scan.co.uk has listed (and then quickly delisted) a new budget Nvidia GPU, but it sadly isn't the RTX 4060 we’ve been waiting for see. No, it’s a new version of the already-excellent RTX 3060 Ti – now equipped with upgraded 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 a bit more power draw overall. It’s also reportedly cheaper at the manufacturing backend, which might explain why Nvidia has put this card into production now.
We’ll be waiting for Nvidia’s more affordable RTX 4000 cards until next year at the earliest, but it’s been known for a little while that Team Green has been working on at least three RTX 3000-series GPUs to keep things ticking over. Given the ludicrous price of the RTX 4090, it’s not entirely surprising.
Analysis: A stop-gap effort from Nvidia to remain relevant in the budget arena?
It actually looks as though the GPU was originally leaked on Nvidia’s own website, with a link to order (but no checkout option) on Scan. Both sites now show no trace of the leak. Before being removed, the price was listed at £369 ($399, AU$699) – the original UK RRP of the 3060 Ti.
In any case, we’ll likely see this card actually hit the market quite soon. Whether or not it’s a viable pick with an RTX 4060 potentially on the way is a different matter; if you’re looking for a solid 1080p gaming GPU, it’s not a bad choice. The new GDDR6X memory likely won’t make a huge difference in most games, though – a bump to 12GB of VRAM would’ve made a bigger difference.
It is good to see Nvidia hasn’t abandoned the budget gaming space entirely, if nothing else. With Intel’s new Arc GPUs landing this week and AMD offering 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 anytime soon.
There’s a little trap to avoid falling into here; with Black Friday and Cyber Monday quickly approaching, it’s almost certain that we’ll see some RTX 3060 Ti discounts. The 3060 Ti is a great choice of GPU for 1080p gaming, but bear in mind that these sales will likely only feature the older GDDR6 models. If you’re shopping for a graphics card deal in the coming weeks, be sure to check the specs.
