NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) assessment: Higher 1080p ray tracing for $399

To say that I cherished NVIDIA’s RTX 3060 Ti is an understatement. It was the best stability of worth and efficiency — one thing that grew to become much more true when GPU costs fell again all the way down to Earth. With NVIDIA’s RTX 40-series playing cards skyrocketing to dear new heights, I started to fret that the corporate was drifting away from reasonably priced GPUs. Nicely, fear not. The $399 RTX 4060 Ti proves that NVIDIA can nonetheless ship loads of worth underneath $500.

To be clear, it isn’t the dramatic leap ahead that the 3060 Ti was (and if in case you have a kind of playing cards, simply sit tight for now!). However if you happen to’re nonetheless operating an RTX 2060 GPU, or one thing older, the 4060 will probably be a worthwhile improve. It excels at gaming in 1080p with ray tracing at excessive framerates, and it might additionally deal with 1,440p decently in much less demanding video games.

We reviewed the 8GB 4060 Ti, however there’s additionally a mannequin with 16GB of VRAM coming in July for $499. And if you happen to’re in search of the most affordable choice, there’s additionally a $299 plain 4060 on the horizon too. Judging from the present Steam stats, I would wager that card will find yourself being the most well-liked. However the $399 mannequin could make sense if you wish to future-proof a bit, even if you happen to do not plan to maneuver past 1080p gaming.

The Founder’s Version 4060 Ti we’re reviewing has the identical primary cooling setup as the remainder of the 40-series: A premium steel case surrounding a bevy of heatsink fins, together with twin rear followers. The GPU is noticeably lighter than the RTX 4070, and its dual-slot design makes it ultimate for small-form issue programs. Below the hood, the 8GB 4060 Ti is powered by 4,352 CUDA cores, and it might attain as much as 2,535 MHz increase clock (up from a 2,310 MHz base clock). One main improve is its 32MB of L2 cache, an enormous step ahead from 4MB on the earlier two generations of ’60 playing cards.

I knew the RTX 4060 Ti was a winner as quickly as I began benchmarking Cyberpunk 2077. It averaged 86.4 fps in 1080p with extremely ray tracing settings and DLSS 3 enabled. That is easy sufficient to look nice on any monitor, particularly if it helps NVIDIA’s G-SYNC body synchronization, which might assist to cut back display screen tearing. With out ray tracing, Cyberpunk hit a powerful 158 fps. (I would fairly take the ray tracing over these further frames for a single-player sport, although.)

In 1,440p, Cyberpunk hit a gentle 60fps with extremely ray tracing settings and DLSS 3. That may nonetheless look nice on most screens if you happen to’re not chasing the dream of excessive body charges. The 4060 Ti clearly is not meant to be a 1,440p card with ray tracing, however it’s succesful in a pinch.

I noticed comparable leads to Halo Infinite: The 4060 Ti averaged 148 fps in 1080p with maxed out graphics settings, and a serviceable 83 fps in 1,440p. If you happen to suppose you may be spending extra time in 1,440p, it’s possible you’ll wish to think about going straight to the $599 RTX 4070. (Whereas the additional RAM on the 16GB 4060 Ti sounds good, I would not wager on that making a dramatic distinction in 1,440p.) Due to its wonderful cooling setup, the GPU by no means went past 65 Celsius after intensive benchmarking. 

In most exams, the 4060 Ti carried out barely higher than the 2 and a half-year outdated RTX 3070. That card retailed for $499, however its avenue worth was far increased lengthy after its debut. The 4060 Ti makes a extra spectacular efficiency leap when in comparison with the 3060 Ti, however once more it isn’t large enough to demand an instantaneous improve.

For essentially the most half, the RTX 4060 Ti looks as if a reward to players who caught with their older GPUs for years. It’s going to be a welcome introduction to the world of ray tracing for GTX 1060 homeowners. And for individuals upgrading from the RTX 2060, the efficiency leap with DLSS 3 will probably be dramatic. If you happen to’re on the fence, although, it might be value ready to see how the remainder of AMD’s Radeon RX 7000 household seems to be. Recent rumors level to extra of these Radeon playing cards showing subsequent month.

Whereas I am extra excited to see what NVIDIA can eke out from its $299 RTX 4060, the 4060 Ti stays a stable ray tracing performer that many players can really afford.