Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30 series has been using it for quite some time now, to the point where we’re hearing a buzz from the GeForce RTX 40 series of graphics cards on the horizon.
Despite this, it is still difficult to find the base range of Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs in stock. This is not surprising given the amount of power they offer at competitive prices.
But if you’re lucky enough to find a rich selection of Nvidia graphics cards, you’ll want to know how the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, 3080, 3070, and 3060 measure up, and which one is best for you.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 Series GPU Inside Info
The easiest way to see how Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series cards compare to each other is to simply compare them all on a large chart. Some of this information comes Straight from Nvidia; Some are from retail sources; Some of our own experiences with cards.
Keep in mind that since these cards were released, stronger “Ti” versions have been added to the mix. Notably, these include the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti and GeForce RTX 3090 Ti; Both are just more powerful and expensive versions of their non-Ti counterparts. As such, the recommendations below are still broadly applicable.
Here’s information that we think everyday consumers will find most useful:
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060T | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | |
| Nvidia CUDA cores | 3,584 | 4864 | 5,888 | 8704 | 10496 |
| Boost Clock (GHz) | 1.78 | 1.67 | 1.73 | 1.71 | 1.70 |
| Memory size | 12 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB | 10 GB | 24 GB |
| memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6X | GDDR6X |
| Dimensions | 9.5 x 4.4 inches | 9.5 x 4.4 inches | 9.5 x 4.4 inches | 11.2 x 4.4 inches | 12.3 x 5.4 inches |
| pull force | 170 watts | 200 watts | 220 watts | 320 watts | 350 watts |
| price | $330 | 400 dollars | 500 dollars | 700 dollars | 1500 dollars |
To help you understand some of the more obscure terms above:
Nvidia CUDA cores Refer to parallel data processing units within the GPU. It works similar to how the CPU in your computer works. In general, the more CUDA cores a GPU has, the more complex data it can transfer quickly.
increase the clock Indicates the maximum speed a GPU can achieve if it has the available power and runs cool enough. There’s also a base clock, but Nvidia GPUs will draw additional resources while gaming, assuming you have a solid, unoccupied system. A higher Boost Clock speed generally means better performance, but it depends on a lot of other factors, including PC hardware.
memory type It is an accurate distinction. In short, GDDR6X has more bandwidth than GDDR6 memory and therefore (in theory) has the ability to run more demanding games at higher settings.
finally, pull force It indicates how much power a GPU can draw, on its own, while working under a full graphics load. Nvidia also has recommendations for how much total power you need for a computer with each card installed, but we haven’t included that data here, since choosing a power supply is an entirely separate topic.
The good news is that despite all their differences, the five Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs compared here have a large number of common features. They all support the second generation of ray tracing; They all use Nvidia Ampere architecture; They all use Nvidia DLSS (a kind of artificial intelligence upgrade hardware for gaming).
Nvidia FreeStyle, ShadowPlay, Highlights, G-Sync, and GPU boost work on all 30 Series cards. They’re all VR ready, and HDMI 2.1-compatible. And in theory, they can all support a screen resolution of up to 8K. (What you’ll be able to do in 8K will undoubtedly differ greatly between, say, a 3060 and 3090, but the capabilities are there.) Finally, they all support up to four monitors, if you’re really into productive use.
In other words: While horsepower varies widely between the Nvidia 3060 and 3060 Ti and the 3070, 3080 and 3090, they do have a set of core capabilities in common. Which one you should get, then, depends mostly on how hard you intend to push your computer, and the software you use.
GPU Recommendations for Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 Series
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
While the GeForce RTX 3090 has plenty of power, $1,500 is still a colossal amount of money. For that price, you can make a complete machine with one of the lower-end cards, and still have enough games and peripherals.
On top of that, the RTX 3090 is arguably geared more toward productivity users, with creative drivers and more memory than most games need. It’s a great card, and likely a perfect fit for the future. But unless you’re into animation, it probably isn’t worth the entry cost.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
If you can afford it, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is a pretty easy recommendation for high-end gaming systems in general. Its GDDR6X memory gives it a huge advantage over lower-end cards, as does its nearly 9000 CUDA cores. It’s a very large card and takes a lot of power, so you need to make sure that your case and your power supply can support it. You will also need a very high-end processor and plenty of RAM to get the most out of it. But if you have $2000 or more to spend on a gaming PC, the RTX 3080 can be an integral part of it.
Now, the trickiest part: compare the 3070, the 3060 Ti and the 3060. Of course, the 3070 is the most powerful; 3060 is the least powerful; 3060 Ti is somewhere in the middle.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
I can say from personal experience that I built a Tom Guide tester with an extension NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070And I’m very pleased with the way it runs games in QHD. I doubt it will be the power of 4K, but I imagine it will scan 30fps in most games with ease. At $500, it’s an expensive component, but a little less than the 3080 or 3090.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060T
As mentioned above, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti offers 4864 Nvidia CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory. This differentiates it from both the RTX 3070 (5888 CUDA cores, 8GB GDDR6 memory) and the RTX 3060 (3584 CUDA cores, 12GB GDDR6 memory). While the 3060 has more memory, it’s still not as powerful overall as the 3060 Ti. This card seems like a reasonable option for mid-range devices that still want decent QHD performance.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
As the last powerful card among the RTX 30 series, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 appears to be a safe bet for users who want 1080p resolution and decent frame rates. We’ll have to see how it works with QHD displays for ourselves, but we won’t count on high-end 4K performance.
The 3060 also contains – albeit temporary It outperforms other GPUs, in that it supports Nvidia scalable technology. This allows for faster frame rates without the additional processing power. But since other 30-series GPUs will acquire this technology by the end of the month, the gap between the 3060 and its more expensive counterparts will soon widen again.
For now, it might be smart to choose between the 3070, 3060 Ti, and 3060 primarily on the basis of price, knowing that the more you pay, the better you’ll perform.
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