This is the MSI Gaming-X RTX 3060 12GB graphics
card. At the time of making this GPU was selling for around $380.
So does it make sense to buy an RTX 3060 graphics card in 2023? To answer
this question we need to examine the specs, the gaming and raw synthetic performance,
as well as the build quality and thermal efficiency of this GPU.
Let's start with the design. The MSI Gaming-X RTX 3060 is a beautiful looking
graphics card. It has twin fans with customizable RGB lighting and a sleek
design with sturdy metal backplate. It measures 10.9 inches in length and
5.1 inches in height, making it small enough to fit in almost all PC cases.
Let's start with the design. The MSI Ventus 2X RTX 3060 is a beautiful looking graphics
card. It has a dual fan thermal design with clean-looking brushed metal-finish
backplate. This GPU measures 9.2 inches in length and 4.9 inches in height, making it
small enough to fit in almost all PC cases.
Moving onto the specs, this GPU features the
Nvidia’s Ampere architecture from the previous generation.
It uses 3,584 CUDA cores and a boost clock speed of 1,837
MHz which is about 30 Mhz higher than the cheaper MSI Ventus model.
It comes with 12GB of GDDR6 memory and a 192-bit memory interface,
providing ample memory bandwidth for 1080p and 1440p gaming. Interestingly enough,
this RTX 3060 GPU boasts more video RAM than RTX 3060 Ti, which despite costing more comes with 8
GB video RAM. You also get support for ray tracing capabilities and DLSS 2.0 AI upscaling to enhance
lower-resolution images to higher resolutions, thereby improving performance in games.
So how good is the gaming performance of this GPU. Here is the 1080p and 1440p gameplay results in
ultra settings. As you can see, this GPU delivered pretty decent frame rates not only in 1080p ultra
setting but also in 1440p resolution. For comparison, here is the 14 Game Average
performance of this GPU next to RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3070. Considering that the other 2 cards cost
a lot more than RTX 3060, I think you are getting a pretty good bang for your bucks.
Next let's talk about DLSS upscaling. While playing Watch Dogs: Legion in 1440p,
DLSS AI upscaling bumped the fps from 62 to 81. That's over 30% boost in
gaming performance. However when Ray Tracing was enabled in ultra settings,
the fps dropped to 32. Enabling DLSS boosted the fps to 49, but honestly, RTX 3060 isn't really
meant for playing games with Ray Tracing turned on. The drop in fps is just too steep.
In terms of power consumption, this GPU is fairly efficient for its performance. It has
a TDP of 170W, which is relatively low for a graphics card in this performance range.
Using MSI's Dragon Center software, you can monitor the temperature and performance of
this card, as well as customize the RGB lighting and fan speeds.
If you are an advanced user, you can always install MSI afterburner and perform overclocking,
under volting and customizing fan curves to extract even more performance from this GPU
Finally, let's talk about connectivity options. The card features three DisplayPort
1.4a outputs and one HDMI 2.1 output, which allows you to connect multiple
monitors and even a VR headset. The card also supports Nvidia's G-Sync technology,
which synchronizes the refresh rate of your monitor with the frame rate of your games,
providing a smoother and tear-free gaming experience.
Overall, the MSI Gaming-X RTX 3060 is an excellent mid-range graphics card.
It offers great gaming performance for its price, provides both ray tracing and DLSS capabilities,
and comes in a beautiful design. It's well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming,
and it can even handle some games at 4K resolution with reduced graphics settings.
If you're in the market for a new budget graphics card,
the MSI Gaming-X RTX 3060 12GB should be on the top of your list.