GPUs Graphics Reviews

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Review with a custom card. Is the MSI RTX 3060 Gaming X Trio the new Ampere entry-level drug?

With the GeForce RTX 3060 introduced today, NVIDIA is now rounding out the Ampere portfolio on the downside for now. Since there won’t be a Founders Edition, I’m testing an MSI RTX 3060 Gaming X Trio instead, which shouldn’t be a problem in terms of comparability due to NVIDIA’s very tight TDP limits. But more about that in a moment, because the GA106 as a chip is new and we will have a closer look at it in a moment. In general, however, graphics cards are currently a sensitive topic, so that one has to separate very strongly between technical and emotional considerations. Therefore, let’s please leave miners, scalpers and the partly already megalomaniac retail sector aside for now and dedicate ourselves purely to the technology for the time being. I’ll write about the rest at the end, I promise.

The new GA106 on the GeForce RTX 3060

The chip of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is based on the GA106 and is even significantly faster than a GeForce RTX 2060 Super in many respects, but is priced at an MSRP of 329 Euros. The RRP of the much faster GeForce RTX is only 70 Euros higher, but that’s almost right in relation. For the GeForce RTX 3060, NVIDIA uses a total of 28 SM of the maximum 30 units of the GA106 (see diagram below), resulting in a total of 3584 CUDA cores.

In addition to CUDA cores, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 is also equipped with 28 next-generation RT (ray tracing) cores, 112 Tensor cores, 48 ROPs, and 112 TMUs. In terms of memory, the GeForce RTX 3060 also features 12GB of GDDR6 memory with a speed of 16Gbps, which has a cumulative bandwidth of 360Gbps on the 192-bit interface of the 6 memory controllers.

If you now extrapolate the 28 SM, you get the already mentioned 3584 CUDA cores. Ideally and only if all units are allowed to work with FP32. The gap to the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is plausible, there is certainly no graphics card that fits in there sensibly anymore. But you could have really assumed that there would be a full 30 SM expansion with the RTX 3060. This way, however, NVIDIA can probably increase the yield in the end, which is not a bad decision considering the extremely hungry market. And you won’t notice the missing 2 SM. You just clock it a little higher and you’re done. Whereas that should depress efficiency somewhat, as we’ll see later.

Resizeable BAR has already been implemented on the hardware side, but this implementation is not yet fully functional. A retest will have to take place here in due course. So it’s really exciting to see what NVIDIA is now offering as a new entry-level RTX package, so while I’ll mostly be checking out the gaming environment today, I’ll also be checking out the production area as well. Because only then can you really do justice to a product. This also applies to the electrical conversion, the circuit board, the power consumption and the cooling. So reading material is already provided.

The MSI RTX 3060 Gaming X Trio

Now it’s straight to the point. We already know the constroction of the card from the Gaming X Trio as RTX 3070 and 3060 Ti. There we have the usual mix of plastic, light metal, and hardware, which the RTX 3060 is still going through the motions of and completely resembles its bigger sisters. The design with the 4.3 cm installation depth plus the 6 mm for the backplate makes this card a thick 2.5 slot design with all known advantages and disadvantages. It looks good, still feels quite valuable and you can accept the visual implementation, even if I like the elegant Suprim design much better.

With its 1454 grams, the card is a real heavyweight. The length of 32 cm is anything but short, and the installation height of 12.5 cm from the upper edge of the PCIe slot with the card installed to the top of the cover is also quite generous. The two 8-pin connectors on the top are an optical broadside and almost bragging and you will see on the next page on the basis of the board that you almost shoot with cannons on sparrows. There are also further details about the cooler design. Nvidia has logically omitted the NVLINK port. SLI is dead anyway and not wanted here.

RGB can be found on the top as a light bar (translucent plastic in the backplate, illuminated by SMD diodes on the back of the board), the RGB backlit MSI logo and two diagonal LED areas on the cooler cover between the fans.

MSI does not use USB Type C on the slot panel, probably because the VR hype has cooled down considerably in the meantime. Interestingly, AMD has added this feature to Big-Navi, while they seem to have already finished with it here. The new HDMI 2.1 port shouldn’t be missing, nor the three current DisplayPorts, of course. The very large cooling vents show which way the wind is (not) blowing, and that’s about it for the exterior.

The data of the MSI graphics card can be seen in the current GPU-Z screenshot, the rest I already mentioned above. The 1320 MHz base clock and the 1852 MHz boost clock are no longer a secret, just like the 1875 MHz memory clock and the memory expansion with 12 GB on the 192-bit interface.

Again, I have a table for all statisticians among you, before it really gets going from the next page on.

Graphics Card RTX 3090 RTX 3080 RTX 3070 RTX 3060 Ti RTX 306
0
Architecture GA102 GA102 GA104-300 GA104-200 GA106
Transistors billion 28.3 28.3 17.4 17.4 12
The Size mm² 628.4 628.4 392.5 392.5 276
SMs / CUs 82 68 46 38 28
GPU cores 10496 8704 5888 4864 3584
Tensor Cores 328 272 184 152 112
RT Cores 82 68 46 38 28
Base Clock MHz 1395 1440 1500 1410 1320
Boost Clock MHz 1695 1710 1725 1665 1852
VRAM Speed Gbps 19.5 19 14 14 16
VRAM GB 24 10 8 8 12
VRAM Bus Width 384 320 256 256 192
ROPs 112 96 96 80 48
TMUs 328 272 184 152 112
Bandwidth Gbps 936 760 448 448 360
TBP Watts 350 320 220 200 170

 

Test system and evaluation software

The benchmark system is new and is now no longer in the lab, but back in the editorial office. I now also rely on PCIe 4.0, the matching X570 motherboard in the form of an MSI MEG X570 Godlike, and a select Ryzen 9 5950 X that has been heavily overclocked water-cooled. Along with that comes fast RAM as well as multiple fast NVMe SSDs. For direct logging during all games and applications, I use NVIDIA’s PCAD, which adds to the convenience immensely.

The measurement of the power consumption and other things takes place here in the special laboratory on a redundant and in detail identical test system then double-tracked by means of high-resolution oscillograph technology…

…and the self-created MCU-based measurement setup for motherboards graphics cards (pictures below), where at the end in the air-conditioned room also the thermographic infrared images are created with a high-resolution industrial camera. The audio measurements are done outside in my chamber.

I have also summarized the individual components of the test system in a table:

 

Test System and Equipment
Hardware:
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X OC
MSI MEG X570 Godlike
2x 16 GB Corsair DDR4 4000 Vengeance RGB Pro
1x 2 TByte Aorus (NVMe System SSD, PCIe Gen. 4)
1x 2 TB Corsair MP400 (Data)
1x Seagate FastSSD Portable USB-C
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200 Watt
Cooling:
Alphacool Ice Block XPX Pr
o Alphacool Ice Wolf (modified
) Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
Case:
Raijintek Paean
Monitor: BenQ PD3220U
Power Consumption:
Oscilloscope-based system:
Non-contact direct current measurement on PCIe slot (riser card)
Non-contact direct current measurement at the external PCIe power supply Di
rect voltage measurement at the respective connectors and at the power supply unit 2x
Rohde & Schwarz HMO 3054, 500 MHz multichannel oscilloscope with memory function 4
x Rohde & Schwarz HZO50, current clamp adapter (1 mA to 30 A, 100 KHz, DC
) 4x Rohde & Schwarz HZ355, probe (10:1, 500
MHz) 1x Rohde & Schwarz HMC 8012, HiRes digital multimeter with memory fu
n
ction MCU-based shunt measuring (own build, Powenetics softw
are) Up to 10 channels (max. 100 values per seco
nd) Special riser card with shunts for the PCIe x16 slot (PE
G
) NVIDIA PCAT and FrameView 1.1
Thermal Imager:
1x Optris PI640 + 2x Xi400 Thermal Imagers
Pix Connect Software
Type K Class 1 thermal sensors (up to 4 channels)
Acoustics:
NTI Audio M2211 (with calibration file)
Steinberg UR12 (with phantom power for the microphones)
Creative X7, Smaart v.7
Own anechoic chamber, 3.5 x 1.8 x 2.2 m (LxDxH)
Axial measurements, perpendicular to the centre of the sound source(s), measuring distance 50 cm
Noise emission in dBA (slow) as RTA measurement
Frequency spectrum as graphic
OS: Windows 10 Pro (all updates, current certified or press drivers)

Kommentar

Lade neue Kommentare

Dummbatz

Veteran

292 Kommentare 90 Likes

Bin verwirrt:

Text: der Speicherausbau mit 8 GB am 192-Bit Interface.

Scrennshot darunter: 12 GB

Tabelle dann 16 GB ??

Weiter im Text: Außerdem sieht man die sechs 2 GB großen GDDR6 Speichermodule mit den 16 Gbps von Samsung. Mehr Aufreger gibt es nicht.

Antwort Gefällt mir

G
Grimmm

Mitglied

16 Kommentare 3 Likes

Ist ein Tippfehler. Die karte hat 12GB an 192-Bit
8 wären gar nicht möglich ^^

Antwort Gefällt mir

e
eastcoast_pete

Urgestein

1,405 Kommentare 769 Likes

Danke Igor! Ja, eigentlich eine nette Karte, und uU genau das, wonach ich suche - gut für Video- und Bildverarbeitung (Hobby), und noch brauchbar zum Spielen. Wenn die 3060er jetzt noch erhältlich und erschwinglich wären, wäre sowas gekauft.
Und, mit Team Red: Leider, leider hat AMD bei der Softwareanbindung immer noch viel weniger und v.a. weniger ausgereifte Unterstützung von Adobe, Da Vinci usw. Und alle Hardware Pracht scheint eben nicht so hell wenn die Software nicht mitmacht oder da ist. Bei Spielen ist das eben nicht so, da kann Navi zeigen, was es kann.

Antwort Gefällt mir

Igor Wallossek

1

10,107 Kommentare 18,596 Likes

Ja mei, früh um 4 Uhr ist man noch etwas tüdelig im Kopp. Ist längst gefixt. Der Treiber kam erst Sonntag abend. Ergo waren 3 Tage Zeit für alles plus ein weiterer Test (der mit dem 500 Watt Netzteil). Nennen wir es mal Schwund :D

Antwort 1 Like

Derfnam

Urgestein

7,517 Kommentare 2,029 Likes

Kostet nicht lieferbare 649.-, also nichtmal doppelte Unverbindlichkeit. Wobei ich die 329.- schon als arg hoch ansehe,

Antwort 5 Likes

FritzHunter01

Moderator

1,120 Kommentare 1,510 Likes

Welcome to a new hardware unavailable...
Aber dafür kann Igor ja nix! Geiles Review, wie immer!

Antwort Gefällt mir

Arcaras

Mitglied

63 Kommentare 22 Likes

Der GPU-Z Screenshot sagt 13,25 Milliarden Transistoren, die Tabelle darunter sagt 12 Milliarden :unsure:. Wird da anders gezählt oder woher kommt der Unterschied?

Antwort Gefällt mir

D
Deridex

Urgestein

2,204 Kommentare 843 Likes

Wäre aus meiner Sicht zur UVP eine wirklich schöne Grafikkarte. Bei den aktuellen Preisen warte ich aber lieber.

Antwort Gefällt mir

Igor Wallossek

1

10,107 Kommentare 18,596 Likes

Micha trägt nur ein, was er als Wert zugespielt bekommt, da wird nichts ausgelesen. Die 12 Mrd kamen heute offiziell von NVIDIA, genauso wie die Chipfläche.

Antwort Gefällt mir

Arcaras

Mitglied

63 Kommentare 22 Likes

Ah, alles klar. Danke für die Klarstellung (y).

Antwort Gefällt mir

g
gismo121

Neuling

9 Kommentare 0 Likes

Soooo unverschämt!! Beginnt bei Mindfactory bei 559 €. Die Händler sind alle verrückt geworden.

Antwort Gefällt mir

s
slippingsnake

Mitglied

16 Kommentare 14 Likes

lol,
mindfactory hatte Gigabyte Eagle/ Gaming 3060 für 559/599€, auverkauft in 5 minuten.

Ich versichere das die Händler nicht verrückt sind :)

Antwort 1 Like

g
gismo121

Neuling

9 Kommentare 0 Likes

Ok, dann sind es die, die zu solchen Preisen kaufen.

Antwort Gefällt mir

Doubleyou

Mitglied

11 Kommentare 9 Likes

Wie zu erwarten war zeigen die Leute den Händlern das ihnen die Preise völlig egal sind.
Warum sollten die die Karten dann billiger verkaufen?
Ich hatte ja die Hoffnung das die Leute den Händlern bei der schlechten Leistung und dem hohen Preis nicht die Türen einrennen.
Ich habe mir die ersten Benchmarks angeschaut und bin zu dem Schluss gekommen das sich die Karte auf Grund der minimalen Mehrleistung nicht lohnt. Kostet aber 170 Euro mehr als die 2060 Super, 10% mehr Leistung für 40% Aufpreis.

Da ist NVIDIA ja echt ein großer Wurf gelungen...

Antwort Gefällt mir

Igor Wallossek

1

10,107 Kommentare 18,596 Likes

ich habe heute, gegen den Trend, kein Video gemacht. Mal abgesehen vom Hexenschuss, der mich schon den dritten Tag plagt (2 Spritzen, der Physio ist leider wegen Quarantäne dicht) habe ich mir die Preise angeschaut und erst mal verzichtet. Man wird nur noch angefeindet und darauf habe ich keinen Bock mehr. :(

Antwort 7 Likes

s
slippingsnake

Mitglied

16 Kommentare 14 Likes

mein aufrichtiges Mitgefühl!
Rückenschmerzen sind schlimmer als Nörgler :(

Antwort Gefällt mir

a
alles_alles

Urgestein

768 Kommentare 179 Likes

das mit den anfeindungen ist doch nur noch dämlich .... schade eigentlich ... aber man kann echt nichts machen. Gute besserung

Antwort 1 Like

e
eastcoast_pete

Urgestein

1,405 Kommentare 769 Likes

Gute Besserung! So ein Hexenschuss ist doch was ekliges, kann einem den ganzen Tag (und die Nacht) verderben.

Antwort Gefällt mir

Doubleyou

Mitglied

11 Kommentare 9 Likes

Keine Ahnung warum Du angefeindet wirst Igor, Du machst ja nicht die Preise oder bist für die geringe Verfügbarkeit verantwortlich.

Aber einige Leute sind wahrscheinlich ziemlich frustriert mittlerweile...

Antwort Gefällt mir

Danke für die Spende



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About the author

Igor Wallossek

Editor-in-chief and name-giver of igor'sLAB as the content successor of Tom's Hardware Germany, whose license was returned in June 2019 in order to better meet the qualitative demands of web content and challenges of new media such as YouTube with its own channel.

Computer nerd since 1983, audio freak since 1979 and pretty much open to anything with a plug or battery for over 50 years.

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