Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Graphics Card Review

The Nvidia RTX 3000 series has certainly led to an exciting launch. Sure, the performance has been impressive, but stock issues were inevitable given the more competitive prices and the huge leaps in performance compared to the RTX 200 series launch. Not only that, but AMD now have some serious competition, and overall, people just seem to be gaming a LOT more in 2020. No idea why though, do you? Gigabyte has had a lot of success with the launch of the RTX 3000 series cards. It's the first time in years that they've completely redesigned their cooler and overall card aesthetics. They no longer look like the affordable one of the pack, and it has given them a big performance advantage too. This new cooler design features on their flagship models such as the RTX 3080 and the RTX 3090. However, it's the same cooler on today's RTX 3060 Ti, so it shouldn't have to work too hard to max out the new chipset. Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Graphics Card The Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC looks set to be be a very exciting card, especially after the performance improvements we've seen over the last generation while reviewing the RTX 3070, 3080 and 3090. While the 3060 Ti may be the lowest in the range of these new GPUs, we're still expect it to be a giant slayer when compared with the last two generations. It's also going up against two other RTX 3060 Ti cards in today's testing! Features GA104-200 Chipset4864 Cores152 TMUs96 ROPs1830 MHz Boost Clock14 Gbps Memory Clock8GB GDDR6 Memory256-Bit Memory Bus A Closer Look As I said before, this is the same cooler design we've seen on the other Gigabyte RTX 3000 series launches. However, I'm happy to see it back, because it really does look fantastic! It's got a similarly muted and less aggressive design than most graphics cards, and actually reminds me of the recent ASUS TUF redesign, but I mean that in a good way. One thing is for certain though, if this cooler design was enough to tame the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, then it should have no trouble at all taming the RTX 3060 Ti chipset. As with previous Gigabyte cards, the middle fan spins in opposite direction, allowing it to create a vortex in the card to improve cooling and airflow. The card has a zero RPM fan mode too, allowing it to cool the chipset passively. That's no surprise really, given just how much metal there is in the radiator and it's very well ventilated on the sides too The card uses an 8-pin plus an additional 6-pin PSU connector. That's interesting, as all three RTX 3060 Ti's tested this week have a different power configuration. The back of the card looks amazing, with a cool digital design in the corner, as well as a load of ventilation cut into the rear portion. It adds strength to the card, as well as more cooling potential to the PCB. However, it also looks great, and that's always a bonus! At the rear of the card, you'll find a pair of HDMI ports, as well as a pair of DP. A unique setup, as it's often 1 HDMI and 3 DP, but I prefer this setup personally. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test bench to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. RED results indicate a new high-score. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Graphics Card Test System MotherboardASUS Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi)ProcessorAMD Ryzen 9 3900XRAMTEAMGroup DarkZa 16GB 3600MHz (2x8GB)CPU CoolerNoctua NH-D15SPower SupplyPhanteks Revolt Pro 850StorageSeagate FireCuda 520 2TBChassisOpen BenchtableMonitorDell UP3218KOSWindows 10 Pro Version 2004 Additional Hardware Killawatt style electricity usage meter wall plugPrecision Gold N05CC Decibel meter Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. We now use the “High” profiles for all games or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, as are FreeSync and G-Sync technologies or similar. Graphics card power usage is set to optimised or balance, and the system power mode set to High Performance within Windows and the available GPU driver software. Identical settings are used for all resolutions unless otherwise stated. Games Watch Dogs LegionDirt 5Assassin's Creed: ValhallaGodfallShadow of the Tomb RaiderHorizon Zero DawnFinal Fantasy XVBorderlands 3Metro ExodusControlFarCry New DawnGhost Recon BreakpointWolfenstein Youngblood Resolutions 1080p (Full HD)1440p (2K)2160p (4K)4320p (8K) Some tests will also include features such as Nvidia DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. 8K testing will only appear in reviews of flagship cards that we consider capable. Software Used 3DMark Fire Strike (download)FireStrikeFireStrike UltraPort Royal DXRTimeSpyTimeSpy ExtremeUnigine Superposition (download)4K Optimised BenchmarkHWMonitor (download)GPU-Z (download)MSI Afterburner (download) Noise Everyone has a reasonable noise level preference when it comes to components on a computer. Some can handle all fans at 100% load to keep temperatures down; some want an entirely silent computer. To accurately gauge the noise output of a graphics card, we position a Precision Gold N05CC one meter above our open-air test bench and take an average reading at idle and load. Power Consumption We take power readings during the idle state with no background applications running. Then again at 50% completion of the Unigine Superposition benchmark, using the average as the final published result. Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered from Unigine Superposition after a 4K optimised run, confirming the numbers are accurate with HWMonitor. Furthermore, the ambient temperature is always kept +/- 1c from 21c. Synthetic Benchmarks 3DMark FireStrike - 246763DMark FireStrike Ultra - 75543DMark TimeSpy - 120413DMark TimeSpy Extreme - 59993DMark Port Royal (DXR) - 6964Unigine Superposition 4K Optimised - 9764 3DMark FireStrike 3DMark FireStrike Ultra 3DMark TimeSpy 3DMark TimeSpy Extreme Unigine Superposition 4K Optimised Build a resistance from virtually anyone you see as you hack, infiltrate, and fight to take back a near-future London that is facing its downfall. Welcome to the Resistance. Recruit and play as anyone in the city. Everyone you see has a unique backstory, personality, and skill set. Hack armed drones, deploy spider-bots and take down enemies using an Augmented Reality Cloak. Explore a massive urban open world featuring London’s many iconic landmarks and fun side activities. Take your recruits online and team up with your friends as you complete missions and challenging endgame content. Available now on UPlay. Watch Dogs Legion Performance 1080p Watch Dogs Legion - 951440p Watch Dogs Legion - 872160p Watch Dogs Legion - 54 DIRT 5 is a fun, amplified, off-road racing experience created by Codemasters. Blaze a trail on routes across the world, covering gravel, ice, snow and sand, with a roster of cars ranging from rally icons to trucks, to GT heroes. With a star-studded Career, four-player split-screen, innovative online modes, livery editor and more new features, DIRT 5 is the next generation of extreme racing. Available now on Steam. Dirt 5 Performance 1080p Dirt 5 - 951440p Dirt 5 - 77.52160p Dirt 5 - 53.3 Become Eivor, a legendary Viking raider on a quest for glory. Explore England's Dark Ages as you raid your enemies, grow your settlement, and build your political power. • Lead epic Viking raids against Saxon fortresses throughout England.• Dual-wield powerful weapons and relive the visceral fighting style of the Vikings.• Challenge yourself with the most varied collection of enemies ever found in Assassin's Creed.• Shape the growth of your character with every choice you make and carve your path to glory.• Explore a Dark Age open world, from the harsh shores of Norway to the beautiful kingdoms of England.• Personalize your experience by growing your clan's settlement. Available now on UPlay. Assassin's Creed Valhalla Performance 1080p Assassin's Creed Valhalla - 801440p Assassin's Creed Valhalla - 662160p Assassin's Creed Valhalla - 44 Aperion is on the precipice of ruin. You are the last of the Valorian knights, god-like warriors able to equip Valorplates, legendary armor sets that transform wielders into unstoppable masters of melee combat. Tear through foes as you climb through the elemental realms and challenge the mad god, Macros who awaits you at the top. Ascend in Godfall, the first-of-its-kind, looter-slasher, melee action-RPG. Available now on EPIC. Godfall Performance 1080p Godfall - 82.51440p Godfall - 69.52160p Godfall - 45.7 Experience Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Available now on Steam. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance 1080p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1341440p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1142160p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 66 For the first time, players take control of Noctis's greatest foe in this brand-new episode of FINAL FANTASY XV! Delve into the dark tale of scorned saviour Ardyn Lucis Caelum and unravel the secrets surrounding his mysterious past. Available now on Steam. Final Fantasy XV Performance 1080p Final Fantasy XV - 113401440p Final Fantasy XV - 87442160p Final Fantasy XV - 5281 Experience Aloy’s entire legendary quest to unravel the mysteries of a world ruled by deadly Machines. An outcast from her tribe, the young hunter fights to uncover her past, discover her destiny… and stop a catastrophic threat to the future. Unleash devastating, tactical attacks against unique Machines and rival tribes as you explore an open world teeming with wildlife and danger. Horizon Zero Dawn is a multi-award-winning action role-playing game – and this Complete Edition for PC includes the huge expansion The Frozen Wilds, featuring new lands, skills, weapons and Machines. Available now on Steam. Horizon Zero Dawn Performance 1080p Horizon Zero Dawn - 1181440p Horizon Zero Dawn - 982160p Horizon Zero Dawn - 57 The original shooter-looter returns, packing bazillions of guns and a mayhem-fueled adventure! Blast through new worlds and enemies as one of four new Vault Hunters. Play solo or with friends to take on insane enemies, score loads of loot and save your home from the most ruthless cult leaders in the galaxy. At the hard edge of the galaxy lies a group of planets ruthlessly exploited by militarized corporations. Brimming with loot and violence, this is your home—the Borderlands. Now, a crazed cult known as The Children of the Vault has emerged and is spreading like an interstellar plague. Play solo or co-op as one of four unique Vault Hunters, score loads of loot and save the galaxy from this fanatical threat. Available now on Epic Games Store. Borderlands 3 Performance 1080p Borderlands 3 - 113.261440p Borderlands 3 - 91.682160p Borderlands 3 - 50.75 Metro Exodus is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter from 4A Games that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Flee the shattered ruins of dead Moscow and embark on an epic, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Explore the Russian wilderness in vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. Available now on Epic Game Store. Metro Exodus Performance 1080p Metro Exodus - 105.441440p Metro Exodus - 83.682160p Metro Exodus - 51.58 A corruptive presence has invaded the Federal Bureau of Control…Only you have the power to stop it. The world is now your weapon in an epic fight to annihilate an ominous enemy through deep and unpredictable environments. Containment has failed, humanity is at stake. Will you regain control? Winner of over 80 awards, Control is a visually stunning third-person action-adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Blending open-ended environments with the signature world-building and storytelling of renowned developer, Remedy Entertainment, Control presents an expansive and intensely gratifying gameplay experience. Available now on Steam. Control Performance 1080p Control - 116.5361440p Control - 77.7152160p Control - 38.482 Seventeen years after a global nuclear catastrophe, civilization re-emerges from the chaos to find a world dramatically changed. In Hope County, Montana, the remaining populace has gathered into different groups, each with their own rules for survival. In this new world order, the vicious Highwaymen, led by twin sisters Mickey and Lou, travel from place to place bleeding people dry of all available resources. As the Survivors try to defend their lands against the Highwaymen's relentless onslaught, it's up to you to come to their aid and lead the fight. In the latest instalment of the award-winning Far Cry franchise, you are the last line of defence in a transformed, post-apocalyptic Hope County. Help the community of Survivors grow stronger, craft a makeshift arsenal through Turf Wars and cross-country Expeditions, and form unexpected alliances to fight for survival in a dangerous new frontier. Available now on UPlay. Far Cry New Dawn Performance 1080p Far Cry New Dawn - 1241440p Far Cry New Dawn - 1142160p Far Cry New Dawn - 71 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint puts you in the boots of the Ghosts, an Elite US Special Operations Unit stranded behind enemy lines. This time there is no briefing. All contact has been lost with Auroa. This archipelago is home to Skell Technology, a high-tech company. You are sent there with your unit for a recon mission, but your helicopters are shot down: Skell Tech has fallen into the wrong hands. The Wolves, a lethal ex-US military unit gone rogue, have taken over the island. Led by your ex-brother-in-arms, Colonel Cole D. Walker, they have reprogrammed Skell’s drones into killing machines and are ready to use them, no matter the casualties. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a military shooter set in a diverse, hostile, and mysterious open world that you can play entirely solo or in four-player co-op. Injured, without support, and hunted down by ex-Ghosts, you must fight to survive while lost in Auroa. Choose the right alliances and decide how to take down your toughest enemy. Available now on UPLAY. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint 1080p Breakpoint - 1701841134440p Breakpoint - 1422160p Breakpoint - 90 Wolfenstein: Youngblood is the first modern co-op Wolfenstein adventure. Nineteen years after the events of Wolfenstein II, BJ Blazkowicz has disappeared after a mission into Nazi-occupied Paris. Now, after years of training from their battle-hardened father, BJ’s twin daughters, Jess and Soph Blazkowicz, are forced into action. Team up with a friend or play alone. Level up, explore, and complete missions to unlock new abilities, weapons, gadgets, cosmetics, and more to complement your playstyle and customize your appearance. Wolfenstein: Youngblood features the most open-ended Wolfenstein experience to date. From a new base of operations located deep in the heart of the Paris catacombs, plan how and when to attack and dismantle the Nazi regime. Available now on Steam. Wolfenstein Youngblood Performance 1080p Wolfenstein Youngblood - 3011440p Wolfenstein Youngblood - 1972160p Wolfenstein Youngblood - 110 Ray tracing is now available on both Nvidia and AMD cards, so we can finally compare how the two stack up. Of course, as you can see, AMD is off to a flying start with the 6800X, as with before, it's a bit behind in some, on par in others, and ahead in some too. Dirt 5 was a new record score for us, and Watch Dogs Legion did pretty great too. Control Ray Tracing & DLSS - 68.091Dirt 5 RT - 40.5Metro Exodus RT - 47.21Shadow of the Tomb Raider RT Shadows - 75Watch Dogs Legion RT - 57 Power Consumption Temperatures Acoustics How Much Does It Cost? The Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC Graphics Card is priced at just £409.99, making it the most affordable of the three we've tested today. The MSI Trio X and the ASUS TUF are both priced at £449.99. Please keep in mind that this review goes live a day before the retail release of the cards. You can check for to date stock on Amazon here. Overview Gigabyte has built a very impressive card here, and it was able to beat out the ASUS TUF Gaming in most of the benchmarks by a small, but decent margin. It wasn't quite as fast as the MSI card, but it's really just all in the available boost clocks. Furthermore, given this is the most affordable card, you would expect it to be the slowest, but that really wasn't the case. Basically, the Gigabyte cooler is very good, but not quite as good as its rivals. It gets its performance by running the fans a little harder, and the noise levels topped 44.9 during testing, not loud, but still around 7dBA above the other two RTX 3060 Ti's. It also consumed slightly more power. Of course, that's all fine, it's not a hot card, it's not a noisy card, it's not even a power-hungry card either, but we can see it performing better than the ASUS card in gaming tests, so that power is going somewhere! The RTX 3060 Ti chipset really is a surprise, offering performance that took out the RTX 2080, and the RTX 2080 SUPER in many tests, and in a few, it was around the same performance as the RTX 2080 Ti! For the lowest card in the RTX 3000 range so far, that's mighty impressive. Keep in mind, it's beating cards that were double, even triple the price of this one. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, it's a beast. You can even game at 4K in quite a few titles, but the most demanding ones may see you dropping a few settings to get nearer to 60 FPS. Check out my review of the MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio Graphics Card here, and the ASUS RTX 3060 Ti TUF Gaming Graphics Card review here. Should I Buy One? While it may use a little more power and make a little more heat, the Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC certainly takes that power and turns it into performance. It's not only cheaper than its rivals, but it proves it can still go head to head with them in benchmarks, and even outperform them in many of them. A great card for those wanting the best value from their new graphics card! Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC