OPINION: Nvidia has finally launched the coveted RTX 4070 GPU, but I can’t help longing for the affordable RTX 4060 to finally be revealed.
Nvidia has blown it out of the park in the past year; the RTX 4090 is the most powerful graphics card the company has ever released and could be the best GPU on the market right now, period. To add to its already impressive collection, Nvidia has finally released both the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti, with the former boasting 5,888 CUDA cores and a quoted boost clock speed of 2.48GHz.
That’s all well and good, but I have to say that I’m still yearning for the release of the RTX 4060. The 60 line of Nvidia GPUs – which includes the RTX 3060, RTX 2060 and so on – is one of the best value options when it comes to gaming. While I can’t speak on behalf of the RTX 4060 yet, I know that the RTX 3060 Ti was one of the most balanced options back in 2020, coming with the perfect combination of affordability and high performance.
The graphics card you invest in will be dependent on what tasks you’re looking to engage in. Professional 3D animators developing seamless and intricate long shots for a movie probably should invest in the cream of the crop, but gamers just don’t need that sort of power, especially when the RTX 4090 currently costs £1679/$1599. If the performance of the last generation RTX 3060 Series is anything to go by then the RTX 4060 should be more than capable of running AAA games at a high quality.
For example, the RTX 3060 Ti was able to run Horizon Zero Dawn at 86fps in 1440p and Borderlands 3 at 68fps when set to the same resolution. Granted, it did not perform as well in 4K, with a meagre 15fps in Control and 23fps in Battlefield V. However, once DLSS was turned on the frame rate jumped up to 40fps in Control and 41fps in Battlefield.
And that’s only looking at the last generation. The upgraded architecture of the RTX 4000 Series should boost these numbers even further, especially when DLSS 3 is turned on. The xx60 range has never been seen as 4K-capable, but Nvidia seems to have laid more than enough groundwork to make the RTX 4060 the perfect GPU for gamers happy to settle for a lower resolution.
You don’t just have to take my word for it either, as the public is clearly screaming out for the latest RTX xx60 GPU. According to the Steam hardware survey, the RTX 3060 was the most used graphics card in March 2023, with the RTX 2060 coming second and GTX 1060 coming third. While I can’t predict the pricing for the potential RTX 4060, it’s likely that it will again be one of the most affordable options, with the previous RTX xx60 GPUs costing around £300/$300.
With all that said, until we get the RTX 4070 and RTX 4060 for testing, I can’t make any definitive comments on which will be the best option for gamers. But from past experience and the continual improvements made within the RTX 4000 Series, there seems to be nothing stopping the RTX 4060 from being the go-to pick for gaming, making me wonder more and more why Nvidia is holding out on us.
Ctrl+Alt+Delete is our weekly computing-focused opinion column where we delve deeper into the world of computers, laptops, components, peripherals and more. Find it on Trusted Reviews every Saturday afternoon.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
