NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

Name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
Brand: Nvidia
Availability: InStock

FPS benchmarks across 139 games (reference CPU: r9-9950x3D2), live prices, popularity and community builds.

Nvidia

RTX 3060

Ampere · 12 GB GDDR6

#23 / 69

Overall score Relative gaming performance score, based on the average FPS measured across our benchmarked games. 100 = the fastest card in our catalog.29/100

Lowest price

$330

FPS / €

1.061

See the cheapest model See all 57 models

Nvidia

RTX 4090

Ada Lovelace · 24 GB GDDR6X

#38 / 69

Overall score Relative gaming performance score, based on the average FPS measured across our benchmarked games. 100 = the fastest card in our catalog.97/100

Lowest price

$3,465

FPS / €

0.178

See the cheapest model See all 26 models

Our verdict

The RTX 4090 is on average 74% faster than the RTX 3060 at 1440p across our reference games.
The RTX 3060 is currently $3,135 cheaper ($330 vs $3,465).
With 1.061 FPS per euro, the RTX 3060 offers the best price-to-performance ratio.
The RTX 4090 packs more video memory (24 GB vs 12 GB), an advantage for 4K and heavy textures.

Gaming performance

Benchmarks measured with a r9-9950x3D2 to avoid bottlenecking the graphics cards.

RTX 3060

RTX 4090

Counter-Strike 2

+36%

332 FPS

1% low 193

452 FPS

1% low 269

Apex Legends

+80%

186 FPS

1% low 134

334 FPS

1% low 218

Grand Theft Auto V

+180%

60 FPS

1% low 44

168 FPS

1% low 130

Red Dead Redemption 2

+113%

106 FPS

1% low 77

226 FPS

1% low 154

Cyberpunk 2077

+207%

45 FPS

1% low 35

138 FPS

1% low 105

Rocket League

+66%

611 FPS

1% low 258

1016 FPS

1% low 466

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

+138%

84 FPS

1% low 64

200 FPS

1% low 148

Crimson Desert

+113%

89 FPS

1% low 65

190 FPS

1% low 130

FPS / €

The higher the number, the better the performance you get for your money.

RTX 3060

1.061

RTX 4090

0.178

Want to see FPS in other games? Explore all our benchmarks

Specifications

	RTX 3060	RTX 4090
Architecture	Ampere	Ada Lovelace
Release date	2021-02	2022-10
Video memory	12 GB	24 GB
Memory type	GDDR6	GDDR6X
Memory bus	192 bit	384 bit
Bandwidth	360 GB/s	1008 GB/s
Shading units	3584	16384
Boost clock	1777 MHz	2520 MHz
Power draw (TDP)	170 W	450 W
Recommended PSU	550 W	850 W
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Launch price	$329	$1599

Popularity on DropReference

RTX 3060

#23 / 69

Popularity score3/100

Share of builds Percentage of builds created by the DropReference community that use this GPU.0.1%

Number of builds created with this GPU

116

Average build price

$955

Most paired CPUs

Most used power supply

MSI MAG A650BN 650W 80 Plus Bronze Black

650 W · $60

Latest builds

09/04/26

AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (6x 3.6 GHz) Sockel AM4 CPU BOX (Wraith Stealth Kühler)

3060

r5-5500

20/04/26

Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GAMING OC V2 Graphics Card - 12GB GDDR6, 192-bit, PCI-E 4.0, 1837MHz Core Clock, RGB, 2x DP 1.4, 2 x HDMI 2.1, NVIDIA Ampere - GV-N3060GAMING OC-8GD

INTEL Core i5-12600KF 3,7GHz 6+4 Kerne 20MB Cache Sockel 1700 (Boxed o. Lüfter)

Configuration Actuelle

i5-12600kf

RTX 4090

#38 / 69

Popularity score1.6/100

Share of builds Percentage of builds created by the DropReference community that use this GPU.0.1%

Number of builds created with this GPU

Average build price

$8,606

Most paired CPUs

Most used power supply

Corsair RM1200e 1200W 80 Plus Platinum Fully Modular Black

1200 W · $200

Latest builds

Unnamed build

Unnamed build

Unnamed build

All models

Real-time prices and stock in your region

RTX 3060

57 models tracked

See all models in stock

RTX 4090

26 models tracked

See all models in stock

Frequently asked questions

Which is the better graphics card, the RTX 3060 or the RTX 4090?

The RTX 4090 is on average 74% faster than the RTX 3060 at 1440p across our reference games. The RTX 3060 is currently $3,135 cheaper ($330 vs $3,465). With 1.061 FPS per euro, the RTX 3060 offers the best price-to-performance ratio. The RTX 4090 packs more video memory (24 GB vs 12 GB), an advantage for 4K and heavy textures.

Which card should you pick for 1440p gaming: RTX 3060 or RTX 4090?

At 1440p, the RTX 3060 averages 316 FPS versus 549 FPS for the RTX 4090 across our reference games.

What power supply do you need for the RTX 3060?

A power supply of around 550 W is recommended for the RTX 3060. On DropReference, the most used PSU with this card is the MSI MAG A650BN 650W 80 Plus Bronze Black.

What power supply do you need for the RTX 4090?

A power supply of around 850 W is recommended for the RTX 4090. On DropReference, the most used PSU with this card is the Corsair RM1200e 1200W 80 Plus Platinum Fully Modular Black.

Which CPU should you pair with the RTX 3060?

In community builds, the CPU most often paired with the RTX 3060 is the r5-5500 (14 builds).

Which CPU should you pair with the RTX 4090?

In community builds, the CPU most often paired with the RTX 4090 is the r7-9800x3D (8 builds).

How much does the RTX 3060 cost right now?

The RTX 3060 is available from $330. We track 57 models in real time.

How much does the RTX 4090 cost right now?

The RTX 4090 is available from $3,465. We track 26 models in real time.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 delivers smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p thanks to the Ampere architecture. Featuring 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, it's ideal for gamers seeking great performance at a reasonable price. Supports ray tracing and DLSS for more realistic graphics and better frame rates.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, with Ada Lovelace architecture, offers ultra high-end gaming performance with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory. The absolute flagship card of the RTX 4000 series excels at 4K and competes with the best cards of its generation.