As we learned at the beginning of November, the RTX 3060 Ti equipped with GDDR6X memory is about to be released. According to the Asian website MyDrivers, this new version will gradually replace the old graphic card version equipped with GDDR6 chips. As long as the price does not increase, it looks like good news for consumers.
RTX 3060 Ti: the end of the GDDR6 version!
As we saw with Asus earlier this month, the 3060 Ti now now comes equipped with new memory chips. Indeed, the card benefits from faster GDDR6X type memory. The frequency goes from 14 Gbps to 19 Gbps, always on a 256-bit bus. The bandwidth evolves from 448 GB / s to 608 GB / s, an increase of 35%.
Obviously, according to our Asian colleagues, there would be no change in pricing. Especially since the replacement of the old cards will be done gradually … Until stocks of cards in GDDR6 are exhausted.
The case for the small 3060 8GB?
In addition, there was also talk of a second card from this series, the small 3060 8GB. Indeed, in addition to the GDDR6X version, NVIDIA announced an RTX 3060 whose memory capacity was reduced from 12 GB to 8 GB.
The reduction in capacity is accompanied by a change in characteristics. The memory bus goes from 192 bits for the 12GB model to 128 bits. The memory bandwidth is therefore impacted since it goes from 360 GB/s to 240 GB/s.
Now, the question remains to know if this “castrated” version will replace or not the cards equipped with 12 GB of memory. Obviously, no one knows yet, besides, it would be a shame for future buyers from a performance point of view.
What about the pricing?
For the moment, the prices seem consistent, at least for the 3060 8GB. At Top Achat, we can already spot a Dual version signed Asus displayed 409.99 $ where its 12GB counterpart is 50 $ more expensive. You should expect to pay $429.99 the 12GB model against $389.99 for the 8GB model.
On the other hand, for the RTX 3060 Ti in GDDR6X, things look more complicated. The new version is about 50 $ more expensive than the GDDR6 version.
Where at Asus, for the model TUF Gaming, we find it at 100 $ less. For now, it is difficult to say if the GDDR6X model will be more expensive than the previous version with only two cards referenced.
In any case, the goal of the maneuver is clearly to restore the appeal of NVIDIA cards in the mid-range market. It must be said that since the arrival of Intel, competition in this sector has become tough. Between the Arc A770/750 and the RX 6750 XT, it’s hard to make a place for yourself.