How Much Does It Cost?
Of course, during this continued pandemic, post-Brexit world, the supply of these graphics cards is going to be limited. It will improve in time, but for now, there are less GPUs being manufactured due to complications in the component supply chain. To add to that, consumer demand is higher than ever, so when the stock does land, it gets snapped up. Be patient, and may luck be on your side when shopping for something closer to MSRP.
Unfortunately, that is the next issue, we know the MSRP of this card is closer to £300, but even before launch, I’m writing this knowing that the prices will be higher right out the gate. This card will be launching with a store price that matches the RTX 3070 at its launch…
If you have a decent 1000 or 2000 series Nvidia GPU, this might not be the cost vs performance upgrade you were looking for. However, if you’re building a new PC, or upgrading from something much older, then perhaps that pill won’t be so hard to swallow.
Overview
Gigabyte has crafted an incredible graphics card here, and what I really didn’t expect is that it would go head to head with the much more expensive and more heavily engineered MSI RTX 3060 Gaming X Trio we’re also testing this week. In most benchmarks, it actually performed better by a tiny fraction. Admittedly, the performance is so close, it’s basically a photo finish in every benchmark. However, that just shows how well-refined Gigabyte have got their coolers; it’s able to max out this card with minimal effort.
Build Quality
Gigabyte “only” have a single 8-pin PSU header on this card, vs the dual 8-pin of the MSI card. However, both cards still drew nearly identical levels of power, so clearly, one is enough. Gigabyte may not change their cooler design very often, but that’s for a good reason. They’ve got a seriously well dialled-in formula and design, we know this cooler can cool a more powerful RTX card, so it made light work of the RTX 3060. Temperatures never exceeded 64c, which is nothing for a GPU that could likely sit at 80c without cause for concern. Plus, it was just 42.9 dBa, so noise levels aren’t a concern either.
The cooler looks great, the shroud feels well made, and the addition of a good quality backplate make this more affordable model feel just as premium as any other.
Should I Buy One?
This really is a tricky one, as it may not be the most powerful GPU, but it could be the entry point for a lot of new PC gamers right now. Fewer cores but faster speeds, combined with more VRAM, makes for pretty decent performance, and even gaming at 4K achievable at this price range now. If you can find stock, this will be one of the more affordable RTX 3060’s, but as we’ve seen in our benchmarks, it’s just as fast as the more expensive models.
