GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB (FE) review - Introduction

Geforce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB founders edition eview
NVIDIA's High-Priced Card Delivers Satisfactory Full HD Performance: An In-depth Review

NVIDIA is expanding its reach into the mid-range and high-volume mainstream market with the introduction of the GeForce RTX 4060 series. The series includes the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti with 8 GB memory, set to launch on May 24th, followed by the GeForce RTX 4060 in July. A pleasant surprise awaits with the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti featuring 16 GB memory. Priced at $399 USD (for 8GB), with a power consumption of 160 watts, and offering roughly RTX 3070 performance along with DLSS 3 frame generation as a bonus, the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti appears compelling.

NVIDIA emphasizes the price point of the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, as it remains unchanged from its predecessor, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. The performance difference between the two is modest, unless the DLSS 3 frame generator is utilized. The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is powered by the new Ada graphics chip AD106, specifically designed to deliver exceptional gaming performance at Full HD resolution. This graphics card excels in delivering high frame rates, even when ray tracing is enabled. Building upon the features of the RTX 4000 series, the AD106 chip incorporates the advanced Ada Lovelace architecture, which has undergone significant modifications compared to Ampere.

One notable change is the reduced memory connection to 128 bits, which is compensated by a significantly larger level 2 cache within the core. Nvidia claims that the 32 MiByte L2 cache reduces access to the graphics memory by over 50 percent, surpassing the previous standard of 2 MiByte L2 cache with 128 bits. In practical terms, this translates to a doubled effective memory transfer rate. Coupled with improved energy efficiency, the wider storage connection provides a substantial performance boost.

The Geforce RTX 4060 Ti's memory capacity is causing concerns. This model, set to become available on May 24th, features 8 GiBytes, which is the same as the Geforce RTX 3070 (Ti) that has been experiencing shortages for a while now. While Nvidia promotes the Geforce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB as a suitable graphics card for full HD gaming, there are still games where 8 GiBytes are insufficient for optimal gaming experience. Additionally, the RTX 4060 (Ti) has another restriction: it communicates with the rest of the system using only 8 PCI Express lanes instead of the full 16. This limitation has more severe consequences for memory performance compared to fully connected graphics cards.

Considering the increasing demands of modern games and the additional graphics memory required for frame generation, the Geforce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB faces challenges, especially in resolutions above Full HD. However, in that mindset, NVIDIA will release a 16GB model soon as well, to grant you a little more headroom, however, at the cost of yet another $100, thus $499. 

	GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB	GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB	GeForce RTX 4060
Architecture	Ada (TSMC 4N)	Ada (TSMC 4N)	Ada (TSMC 4N)
GPU	AD106-351	AD106-350	AD107-400
CUDA Cores	4352	4352	3072
Boost Clock	2.5 GHz	2.5 GHz	2.4 GHz
Memory	16 GB G6	8 GB G6	8 GB G6
Memory Clock	18 Gbps	18 Gbps	17 Gbps
Memory Bus	128-bit	128-bit	128-bit
Memory Bandwidth	288 GB/s	288 GB/s	272 GB/s
TDP	160W	160W	115W
Interface	PCIe Gen4 x8	PCIe Gen4 x8	PCIe Gen4 x8
MSRP	$499	$399	TBC
Release Date	July 2023	May 24, 2023	July 2023

Nvidia has also shared preliminary information about the GeForce RTX 4060, which boasts a computing power of 15 TFLOPS (~30% lower than the RTX 4060 Ti) and 8 GB of memory on a 128-bit interface. Its predecessor, the GeForce RTX 3060, hit the market in early 2021 with 12 GB of memory and a 192-bit interface. However, newer editions now feature only 8 GB of memory on a 128-bit interface. But do come with an extra L2 cache to compensate for the lower memory bandwidth. The memory speed reaches 17 Gbps, while the TDP stands at 115 watts. Performance-wise, the GeForce RTX 4060 is anticipated to outperform the GeForce RTX 3060 by 20%, with the frame generation performance once again reaching 70%. But let's start the review.