Three GPUs that outshine the RTX 4060 Ti

Nvidia's latest RTX 4060 Ti falls short of being one of the top graphics cards available at the moment. However, it holds the position of the second most affordable card in this generation, making it the most budget-friendly option from Nvidia. This factor might tempt people to purchase it for their budget-oriented PC builds. 

The RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti from Nvidia have gained significant popularity among gamers. 

According to Steam's Hardware Survey, the RTX 3060 currently ranks as the third most commonly used graphics card. Unlike the GTX 1650 and GTX 1060, which precede it, the RTX 3060 continues to steadily climb in popularity. It was expected that the RTX 4060 Ti would follow a similar path, positioning itself as an affordable gateway to high-end gaming. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case so far. The card has received a lukewarm response, and it's unlikely to significantly improve unless future GPUs turn out to be even worse than the RTX 4060 Ti. 

Far from ideal

The RTX 4060 Ti is ill-equipped to handle demanding games in 2023, let alone future releases. 

 Compared to its predecessor, the RTX 4060 Ti has fewer CUDA cores (4,352 compared to 4,864), but Nvidia compensates for this with a significantly increased cache. The real issue lies in the VRAM, particularly the memory bus. 

Plenty of alternatives

For those who are not interested in taking a chance with the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB variant, there are plenty of options that offer similar performance to the 8GB version without facing limited VRAM issues. Both AMD and Nvidia offer cards that make more sense at the moment. 

RTX 4070

Let's begin with the RTX 4070. It provides a significant improvement over the RTX 4060 Ti. It offers better speed, more VRAM, and performs well at higher resolutions. It is a superior choice for future-proofing and unlocks DLSS 3, improved ray tracing, and other Nvidia features while providing more value than the 4060 Ti. Furthermore, it's not considerably more expensive if someone is purchasing a GPU from Nvidia's board partners. 

RX 6700 XT

If the goal is to have well-performing games without much concern for additional features, it might be worth considering shifting back to the previous generation and opting for an AMD card. 

These GPUs currently offer good value, as they have seen significant price reductions since their launch. In fact, previous-gen options often provide better performance per dollar, although this can vary depending on the brand and model. Comparing the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT to the RTX 4060 Ti reveals that the previous-gen AMD card is actually faster in some games and can keep up with Nvidia even when it falls slightly behind. With a price of around $360, there's no reason to choose the RTX 4060 Ti over this model unless ray tracing is a priority, as Nvidia usually leads in that aspect. 

RTX 3070 

For those who prefer to stick with Nvidia, some previous-gen options still offer solid performance. The RTX 3070, although pricier than the 4060 Ti, can be found for around $490 on Amazon. It can be considered a mid-range choice. If someone doesn't want to go up to the $600 RTX 4070 but is willing to spend more than $400 for the RTX 4060 Ti, the RTX 3070 is a good Nvidia alternative to consider.  

DISCLAIMER: The prices are taken as of August 29, 2023, and are subject to change over time.