The rumor about Nvidia giving the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti a refresh seems true. U.K. retailer Scan Computers (via VideoCardz (opens in new tab)) has listed Nvidia’s unannounced GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with upgraded GDDR6X memory.
Nvidia launched the original GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in 2020, but the chipmaker would introduce a second variant earlier this year. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti leveraged the GA104 silicon, whereas the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GA103, as its unofficial name implies, used the GA103 silicon. It was a die-swap on Nvidia’s part since the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GA103 retained the exact specifications as the vanilla model. However, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X flaunts a substantial upgrade in the memory subsystem.
The funny thing about the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X is that Nvidia U.K. doesn’t list it on the company’s website yet. Instead, the chipmaker still lists the regular GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. Adding the GA104-based graphics card to your basket changes to the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X. Apparently, Scan Computers is the retailer selling the new variant; however, it’s not on the U.K. store’s website either. But the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X appears in stock and allows you to checkout.
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X Specifications*
| Graphics Card | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GA103 | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | GA104 | GA103 | GA104 |
| Process Technology | GA104 | Samsung 8N | GA104 |
| Transistors (Billion) | 17.4 | ? | 17.4 |
| Die size (mm²) | 392.5 | 496 | 392.5 |
| TPCs | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| SMs | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| GPCs | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| GPU Cores | 4,864 | 4,864 | 4,864 |
| Tensor Cores | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| RT Cores | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| Base Clock (MHz) | 1,410 | 1,410 | 1,410 |
| Boost Clock (MHz) | 1,670 | 1,665 | 1,665 |
| VRAM Speed (Gbps) | 19 | 14 | 14 |
| VRAM | 8GB GDDR6X | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
| VRAM Bus Width | 256 | 256 | 256 |
| ROPs | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| TMUs | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| TFLOPs FP32 (Boost) | 16.2 | 16.2 | 16.2 |
| Bandwidth (GBps) | 608 | 448 | 448 |
| TDP (watts) | ? | 200 | 200 |
| Launch Date | 2022 | 2022 | 2020 |
| Launch Price | ? | $399 | $399 |
*Specifications are unconfirmed.
Whether the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X utilizes the GA104 or GA103 silicon is unknown. The shopping basket shows the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X with a 1,410 MHz base clock and 1,670 MHz boost clock. The base clock is the same as the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti; however, the boost clock is 5 MHz higher. It’s not a big deal since the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X’s FP32 performance still maxes out at 16.2 TFLOPs.
The memory quota between the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X remains unchanged at 8GB. Both models still conform to a 256-bit memory bus. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X features faster memory, though. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti sports 14 Gbps GDDR6, while the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X has 19 Gbps GDDR6X. The extra firepower will push the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X’s memory bandwidth to 608 GBps, a massive 36% uplift over the normal version.
The GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GA103 adhere to a 200W TDP, but the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X model probably has a higher rating. GDDR6X consumes less power per transferred bit in comparison to GDDR6. Despite that, total power consumption is higher on GDDR6X because it operates at a faster frequency.
Nvidia U.K. lists the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X for £369, which translates to $409. It’s even cheaper than some of the custom models. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X only has a $10 higher price tag than the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti’s $399 MSRP. It’s good to see that the GDDR6X premium only raised the price by 3%.
It’s funny to see Nvidia launch a third variant of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti this late in the game. True, Intel recently launched the Arc A770, but we’ve already seen that the Arc Alchemist graphics card doesn’t pose a threat to the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. Although the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti received a fat memory upgrade, it won’t magically catch up to the GeForce RTX 3070 either because there’s a 21% CUDA separation between the two, and not even GDDR6X memory can close that performance gap. Therefore, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X is likely just Nvidia’s way of dumping Ampere inventory. Now that the cryptocurrency mining fiasco is over, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 series are starting to climb the Steam charts. What better way to keep the momentum than injecting another model into the market?
