RTX 3060 Vs GTX 1660 Ti [Gaming Benchmarks 2023]

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is one of the last graphics cards of the GTX series that endured till 2018–19. While the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is a graphics card of the penultimate series (RTX 3rd Generation) of Nvidia. This guide aims to compare RTX 3060 vs. GTX 1660 Ti. Our goal today is to determine which of these two graphics cards has preferable features and more satisfactory performance. So, let’s begin the comprehensive evaluation of two graphics cards with their specifications.

Key Takeaways

• The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 features 120 Tensor cores, but the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti has no tensor cores.
• While the DLSS feature of Nvidia is supported by the RTX 3060, it is not supported by the GTX 1660 Ti.
• The GDDR6 memory capacity and clock speeds of RTX 3060 are both 25% greater than those of GTX 1660 Ti.
• Regarding gaming performance, the RTX 3060 outperforms the GTX 1660 Ti by 25%. While the RTX 3060 can perform better at 4K resolution, the GTX 1660 Ti is unsuitable for 4K gaming.
• The current pricing of a GTX 1660 Ti ranges from $230 to $320, while an Nvidia RTX 3060 is currently between $360 and $420.

RTX 3060 Vs. GTX 1660 Ti

Differences

Architecture (Ampere Vs. Turing)

The GeForce RTX 3060 was developed with Nvidia’s “Ampere” architecture, while the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti was posted with Nvidia’s “Turing” architecture.

Nvidia introduced the Turing architecture intending to give computer visuals a new level of realism in September 2018. It incorporated new technologies while using the company’s prior Pascal architecture. According to Nvidia, the Turing architecture represents the most significant improvement in graphics performance in more than ten years.

Also Read: RTX 3060 Vs 3060 Ti

The Ampere architecture of Nvidia is the successor of its “Turing” architecture. It was launched in May 2020. Nvidia designed it for artificial intelligence and high-performance computation. It is the first design to leverage NVIDIA’s Tensor Core technology. Additionally, it permits Deep Learning Super Sampling. On all scales, the NVIDIA Ampere architecture provides unmatched performance.

Design Chip

The chip used in developing the Nvidia RTX 3060 was GA-106, and the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti was manufactured with a TU-116 chip.

The GA-106 chip of Nvidia is manufactured by Samsung utilizing an 8 nm manufacturing process. It operates on the Ampere architecture of Nvidia. The chip is compatible with DirectX 12 Ultimate. It has 48 ROPs, 120 texture mapping units, and 3840 shading units. One hundred twenty tensor cores are also incorporated in GA-106, which helps machine learning applications run faster. 

Nvidia’s TU-116 chip is fabricated by TSMC using a 12 nm production system. It makes use of Turing architecture from Nvidia. It contains 48 ROPs, 96 units for texture mapping, and 1536 shading units. The hardware is compatible with the DirectX 12 API. TU-116 of GTX 1660 Ti has no tensor cores as they are included in the GA-106 chip of Nvidia RTX 3060.

Memory

The memory type of both contenders, the Nvidia RTX 3060 and the GTX 1660 Ti is GDDR6. However, the RTX 3060 differs from the memory of the GTX 1660 Ti in various ways.

The GDDR6 memory generation of graphics cards delivers notable advancements over the GDDR5 memory standard. High-end graphics cards benefit greatly from GDDR6’s enhanced bandwidth and decreased power usage. The increased bandwidth will enable GDDR6 to process more data faster, improving performance. The improved battery life in laptops and other devices will also result from lower power consumption.

The memory capacity of RTX 3060 is 12GB, double that of 6GB for RTX 3060. The RTX 3060 also has an 8GB variant. The maximum memory speed of RTX 3060 is up to 15 GB/s, while the memory speed of GTX 1660 Ti is up to 12 GB/s. And the memory bandwidth of RTX 3060 (360 GB/s) is also larger than that of GTX 1660 Ti (288 GB/s).

Nvidia DLSS

The Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology from Nvidia employs deep learning and AI to enhance the visuals in video games. This purpose is accomplished by upscaling lower-resolution images and frames to the display resolution. DLSS uses anti-aliasing and other post-processing improvements to produce a more realistic image and fluid. It was initially introduced at the start of 2019.

The RTX 3060 comes with support for Nvidia DLSS as it was launched after Nvidia had introduced DLSS, while the GTX 1660 Ti does not support DLSS because it is an older card. The DLSS feature stipulates Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 should provide a better gaming experience.

Also read our guide on Nvidia DLSS Vs. AMD FSR for comparison of the two great upscaling technologies.

Gaming Benchmarks (RTX 3060 Vs. GTX 1660 Ti)

We have reviewed the benchmarks of intensive games split into three different series to obtain better results for the gaming performance of these two graphics cards. Each series has a unique playing resolution, and the three series each have unique benchmarking sources.

First Series – 1080p

We will consider the benchmarks of Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Death stranding, Forza Horizon 4, Hitman 3, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt played at 1080 resolution to start the first series of gaming performance comparison. We have compiled their benchmarks from FPS Test.

Test PC Specs

The system used to obtain benchmarks of these games had:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
• Motherboard: MSI B550 TOMAHAWK MAX
• Cooler: Freezer ESports 34 DUO
• RAM: Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3733MHz

Borderlands 3

• The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 had 30% better overall performance than GTX 1660 Ti in high GPU-demanding Borderlands 3.
• During gameplay, the average FPS scored by Nvidia RTX 3060 was 75 FPS, while the GTX 1660 Ti could only make an average of 58 FPS.
• The load on GTX 1660 Ti was 97%, and the RTX 3060 had 98% load of its full load capacity. 
• The functioning temperature of the RTX 3060 was 66 °C, while under the same circumstances, the GTX 1660 Ti had a 68 °C temperature.

Cyberpunk 2077

• The Nvidia RTX 3060 performed 33% better than GTX 1660 Ti in Cyberpunk 2077.
• With an average frame rate of 64 FPS, the RTX 3060 beat the GTX 1660 Ti having a 48 FPS average.
• The load on RTX 3060 (97%) was 1% lower than GTX 1660 Ti (98%) in Cyberpunk 2077.
• During gameplay, the GTX 1660 Ti’s temperature was three degrees higher than the GTX 1660 Ti’s.

Death stranding

• The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 performed ~25% better than the GTX 1660 Ti during Death Standing.
• The RTX 3060 again topped the average performance with an average frame rate of 136 FPS.
• The load on RTX 3060 was 97%, while there was a 98% load on GTX 1660 Ti. 
• The temperature was 55 °C for RTX 3060 during this game. While the operating temperature of GTX 1660 Ti was 56 °C.

Forza Horizon 4

• The Nvidia RTX 3060 outperformed GTX 1660 Ti by about 22% in Forza Horizon 4.
• The average FPS throughout gameplay were 115 and 94 for RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti, respectively.
• During Forza Horizon 4, the load on RTX 3060 vs. GTX 1660 Ti was the same as in the previous game(97% on RTX 3060 & 98% on GTX 1660 Ti).
• The operating temperature of RTX 3060 was 58 °C while the temperature at which GTX 1660 Ti was working was as high as 65 °C.

Similar Comparisons: RTX 3060 Ti Vs. RTX 3070 Ti

Hitman 3

• The Nvidia RTX 3060’s performance added 28 FPS over GTX 1660 Ti, or about 21% good performance during Hitman 3.
• The average frame rate of GTX 1660 Ti was 132 FPS compared to the 160 FPS average of RTX 3060.
• During gameplay, the CPU load was 96% on RTX 3060 and 97% on GTX 1660 Ti.
• In Hitman 3, the temperature of RTX has increased to 63 °C, while the temperature of GTX 1660 Ti has only increased to 66 °C.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

• The Nvidia RTX 3060 dominates the FPS battle of RTX 3060 vs. GTX 1660 Ti in The Witcher 3 with ~28% greater performance.
• The RTX 3060 turned over 87 FPS, while the GTX 1660 Ti could only make up an average of 68 FPS.
• The same 99% load on both graphics cards, which is very high, tells that both GPUs worked almost full of their max capacity.
• During gameplay, the RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti had respective temperatures of 61 °C and 65 °C.

Second series – 1440p

The games discussed in the second series of gaming benchmarks were played at a higher resolution of 1440p. The games of the second series include Destiny 2, Far Cry Primal,  Gears оf War 5, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Hitman 2, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The source of benchmarks of the second series games is Benchmark PC Tech.

Test PC Specs

The system deployed to get these games’ benchmarks had the following specs.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X570-E
• RAM: Ballistix Elite 4000 MHz 16GB DDR4 DRAM
• Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 with 2X NF-A15 PWM 140mm Fans
• SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB
• Case: Cooler Master H500P case

Destiny 2

• Throughout Destiny 2, the Nvidia RTX 3060 made a splendid average of 92 FPS, while the average frame rate of the GTX 1660 Ti was 59 FPS.
• The GTX 1660 Ti lagged in performance by 33 FPS, or we can say that RTX 3060 performed ~55% better than GTX 1660 Ti.

Far Cry Primal

• The Nvidia RTX 3060 consistently produced a stunning frame rate of 82 FPS, while the GTX 1660 Ti delivered 66 FPS on average in Destiny 2.
• The RTX 3060 outperformed the GTX 1660 Ti by about ~24%, with the GTX 1660 Ti trailing by 16 FPS.

Gears оf War 5

• In Gears оf War 5, the Nvidia RTX 3060 delivered an average of 73 FPS, as opposed to the GTX 1660 Ti’s 49 FPS on average.
• The GTX 1660 Ti lagged behind the RTX 3060 by 24 frames per second or ~47%, respectively.

Also Read: RTX 3060 Vs RTX 3070

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

• The Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti produced an average frame rate of 66 FPS in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, compared to the higher 106 average FPS by RTX 3060.
• Still, the GTX 1660 Ti lags by a great margin of 40 FPS.

Hitman 2

• The Nvidia RTX 3060 presented ~38% more pleasing results in Hitman 2.
• The GTX 1660 Ti delivered an average frame rate of 52 FPS, while the RTX 3060 supplied a better average of 72 FPS.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

• The RTX 3060 provided a superb average of 85 FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, while the Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti supplied an average of 53 FPS.
• The Nvidia RTX 3060 dominated this game with a massive lead of 32 FPS or ~60% superior performance.

Third Series – 4K(1960p)

The last series will be very tough for both graphics cards as a stunning 4K resolution for the games in this series. The games include Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Doom Eternal, Fortnite: Battle Royale, and Horizon Zero Dawn. The architect of these benchmarks is Mark PC.

Test PC Specs

The computer used to generate the game benchmarks of the last series had the following specifications.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
• RAM: 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz G.Skill Trident Z Series
• SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1 TB – M.2 NVMe

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

• The RTX 3060’s average performance was twice as good as GTX 1660 Ti in GPU-intensive Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
• The Nvidia RTX 3060 could manage an average of 20 FPS, while the GTX 1660 Ti managed a 10 FPS average.
• The 1% Low frame rates of RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti were 9 FPS and 1 FPS, respectively.

Battlefield V

• The performance of the RTX 3060 was ~76 better than that of the GTX 1660 Ti.
• The GTX 1660 Ti could muster an average of 17 FPS, compared to the Nvidia RTX 3060’s average of 30 FPS through Battlefield V. 
• The GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 3060 had 1% Low frame rates of 6 FPS and 15 FPS, respectively.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

• The RTX 3060 outperformed the GTX 1660 Ti by ~82% in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
• Compared to the Nvidia RTX 3060’s average frame rate of 40 FPS, the GTX 1660 Ti could only generate an average frame rate of 22.
• The 1% Low frame rates during the gameplay were 10 FPS and 22 FPS from GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 3060, respectively.

Doom Eternal

• Performance-wise, the RTX 3060 outscored the GTX 1660 Ti by 57% during Doom Eternal.
• The GTX 1660 Ti produced an average frame rate of 42 compared to the Nvidia RTX 3060’s average frame rate of 66 FPS.
• The GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 3060 had 1% Low frame rates of 18 FPS and 30 FPS, respectively, during gameplay.

Fortnite: Battle Royale

• The RTX 3060 gave ~72% greater average performance than the GTX 1660 Ti in Fortnite.
• The Nvidia RTX 3060 produced an average frame rate of 31 FPS, whereas the GTX 1660 Ti generated an average frame rate of 18 FPS.
• Throughout the gameplay, the RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti had 1% Low frame rates of 16 FPS and 2 FPS, respectively.

More Comparisons: RTX 3060 Ti Vs 3070

Horizon Zero Dawn

• The performance difference between the RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti was 160% of GTX 1660 Ti’s average FPS.
• Throughout this gameplay, the Nvidia RTX 3060 generated an average frame rate of 26 FPS, whereas the GTX 1660 Ti produced an average of 10 SPS. 
• The RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti maintained a 1% Low FPS at 14 and 2, respectively, during Horizon Zero Dawn.

Overall Gaming Performance (RTX 3060 Vs. GTX 1660 Ti)

While playing games, the frame rates of graphics cards are always the best determinant of their performance. The Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 3060 are older cards, so their performance is not very good in higher resolution 4K. So, we will discuss detailed overall frame rates at 1080p. However, we will also plot the average performance of these two graphics cards at 1440p and 4K.

At 1080p

The average minimum frame rate was 81.1 FPS for Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti and 101.5 FPS for Nvidia RTX 3060. We can see that the average minimum was 20.4 FPS, more down for GTX 1660 Ti.

The average frame rates of Nvidia RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti were 106.1 FPS and 84.7 FPS, respectively. Here we can see the overall lead by RTX 3060 was 21.4 FPS. According to estimations, the overall performance delivery by Nvidia RTX 3060 was ~25% superior.

After all these frame rate comparisons, if we see the performance of both these cards separately at 1080p resolution, their gaming performance is very good.

At 1440p

At 4K

GPU Thermal Efficiency

As the temperature of GTX 1660 Ti is 3.4 °C higher than RTX 3060, a thermal efficiency of 5.6% was achieved by RTX 3060. Both GPUs worked within safe boundaries because their temperatures were substantially lower than their rated maximum.

Also Read: RX 6600 XT Vs RTX 3060

Price And Availability

As the Nvidia RTX 3060 and the Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti are older cards, they were launched at no higher prices. They are still coming with some latest laptops in the form of dedicated graphics. 

The GeForce RTX 3060 was launched with a price tag of $329 by Nvidia, while the GTX 1660 Ti’s cost at its release time was $279. However, the current market price of Nvidia RTX 3060 is between 360-420$ for different variants of RTX 3060. While the topical cost of a GTX 1660 Ti is from $230 to $320 for different variants.

Talking about availability, you can find them in almost all stores and markets. They are still readily available in markets for customers on a tight budget because their price is significantly lower than the most recent graphics cards. You can easily order them online via Amazon, eBay, etc.

Which One Should You Go For?

Before recommending one, it would be prudent to compare the specifications and performance of RTX 3060 vs. GTX 1660 Ti. The main difference is that Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti has only 1536 CUDA cores, while the RTX 3060 has 3584 CUDA cores. The Turing architecture of GTX 1660 Ti is outdated, while the Ampere architecture of Nvidia RTX 3060 is the successor and has great improvements. We do not get the support of Nvidia DLSS, and there are RT and Tensor cores in GTX 1660 Ti. While the RTX 3060 has the advantages of all of these.

Both the base and boost clock frequencies of Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti are lower than those of RTX 3060. So, the operational speed of RTX 3060 is faster. The GA-106 chip used in RTX 3060 is fabricated in an 8 nm manufacturing process, while the TU-116 chip of GTX 1660 Ti is fabricated in a 12 nm production technique. Thus, the chip of RTX 3060 is more advanced with great features.

The memory capacities of RTX 3060 and GTX 1660 Ti are quite different. The GTX 1660 Ti has only 6GB memory, while the RTX 3060 has two variants, one with 12GB memory and the other with 8GB. 

The maximum operating temperatures of the two GPUs are good, and among the two, RTX 3060 has a higher maximum of 93 °C. Regarding thermal design power, the GTX 1660 Ti has a much lower TDP of 60-80 W compared to RTX 3060’s 170 watts TDP. The effectiveness of two graphics cards in games proved that the Nvidia RTX 3060 has a superior gaming performance in all resolutions.

“Which GPU provides better value for money?” is an important question, and the straightforward answer is “RTX 3060” because of its enhancements over GTX 1660 Ti. After considering everything, we advise you to pick the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. However, if your budget does not permit you to go for RTX 3060, the GTX 1660 Ti would also be a good choice. If you’re using a GTX 1660 Ti, you should stay away from 4K gaming.

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