Back in October 2022, Nvidia quietly released yet another variant of the GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with 8GB of VRAM.

Despite being built on the same GA106 silicon, the revised model suffers from a lower memory capacity and restrained memory bandwidth. What's even more surprising is the fact that the newer variant costs roughly the same as the 12GB model while offering 15-20% less performance on average.

Based on these insights, here are three reasons why you shouldn't consider Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 8GB GPU for your next upgrade.

1. Poor Price-to-Performance Ratio

In an attempt to cut down on memory capacity without switching to a lower-density chip, Nvidia made some adjustments to the memory subsystem of the GeForce RTX 3060 8GB GPU. Compared to the original 12GB model, the 8GB variant sees a significant reduction in its bus width, from 192-bit down to 128-bit.

Furthermore, the newer variant packs in a much smaller 1.5MB of L2 cache while producing an effective bandwidth of just 224GB/s, a whopping 61% deficit over the 12GB model. Aside from the differences in memory capacity and overall bandwidth, both GPUs share the same specifications with 3,584 CUDA cores, an advertised Boost Clock of 1,777MHz, and a more reasonable 170W TGP.

Specifications

RTX 3060 8GB

RTX 3060 12GB

GPU

GA106-302

GA106-300

Architecture

Ampere

Ampere

Process Technology

Samsung 8nm

Samsung 8nm

Transistor Count

12 billion

12 billion

Die Size

276 mm²

276 mm²

CUDA Cores

3,584

3,584

Tensor Cores

112

112

RT Cores

28

28

TMUs

112

112

ROPs

48

48

SMs

28

28

L1 Cache

128 KB (per SM)

128 KB (per SM)

L2 Cache

1.5 MB

3MB

Memory Size

8GB

12GB

Memory Type

GDDR6

GDDR6

Memory Speed

15GB/s

15GB/s

Memory Bus Width

128-bit

192-bit

Memory Bandwidth

224 GB/s

360 GB/s

Base Clock

1,320MHz

1,320MHz

Boost Clock

1,777MHz

1,777MHz

TDP

170W

170W

Launch Date

October 12th, 2022

February 25th, 2021

Now, one of the major disadvantages of using a narrower memory bus is its impact on the GPU's absolute bandwidth, especially when you're running a graphically demanding game at higher resolutions. In this case, even if you don't exceed the 8GB VRAM buffer on the new RTX 3060, its 128-bit bus width will definitely hold back performance in traditionally GPU-bound games.

From the benchmarks alone, it is evident that the RTX 3060 12GB delivers a far superior gaming experience than the 8GB version across most modern AAA titles. Furthermore, for games that benefit from a higher memory capacity, the performance margin between these GPUs can increase by as much as 35%.

While gaming performance on the new RTX 3060 isn't terrible by any means, the pricing structure for this GPU seems to tell an entirely different story. Coming in at an MSRP of $329 for the base model, the RTX 3060 8GB is noticeably slower than the original 12GB version and offers little to no value for budget-conscious gamers and content creators, especially when you factor in the mere $30 price difference between both variants.

2. Nvidia's Anti-Consumer Practices

With lackluster performance, compromised specs, and a much higher price tag, the GeForce RTX 3060 8GB is a product of Nvidia's anti-consumer practices in recent years. A similar situation occurred when Nvidia "unlaunched" the RTX 4080 12GB just a few weeks before its release date and then relaunched the exact same GPU, this time with an RTX 4070 Ti designation.

According to Nvidia's official unlaunch statement, the RTX 4080 12GB is a "fantastic graphics card" in its own right but suffered from a poor naming scheme compared with the 16GB variant. Since the GPU wasn't solely limited to a lower memory capacity, it received enough backlash from the gaming community, forcing Nvidia to cease production entirely.

Unfortunately, the RTX 3060 8GB seems to have been plagued by the same naming convention that is misleading and deceptive for the average consumer. If you aren't familiar with the performance difference between both of these GPUs, you might end up paying the same amount of money for what is essentially an inferior product at its current retail price.

Instead of releasing it as a 60-class GPU, Nvidia could have rebranded the RTX 3060 8GB variant into a lower-tier product such as the RTX 3050 Ti or RTX 3050 Super. However, at this point, we can only expect the 8GB model to drop in price by about 20-30% to make up for its performance deficit.

3. Better Alternatives With a Competitive Price Tag

Given that the GeForce RTX 3060 8GB GPU retails for around $329-$379 in the US, it is possible to find much better alternatives from both AMD and Intel at a similar or lower price point. While the 12GB variant offers incredible price-to-performance ratio against the cut-down 8GB model, its value proposition starts to falter as soon as we compare it with direct contenders like the Intel Arc A770 or even the Radeon RX 6700XT.

For instance, the Intel Arc A770, which comes at an MSRP of $349, manages to pull off a significant lead over both variants of the RTX 3060 in games that use the newer DirectX 12 or Vulkan API. Making matters worse for Nvidia, the entire Intel Arc lineup supports real-time ray tracing along with cutting-edge technologies like AV1 encoding and AI-enhanced XeSS upscaling (Intel XeSS is similar to Nvidia DLSS).

However, when it comes to rasterization performance, AMD's Radeon RX 6700XT, which is currently available for as low as $339, stands out as the best mid-range GPU in the sub $300 price segment. Not only is it 35-50% faster than either of the RTX 3060 variants, but it also provides stiff competition against the more expensive RTX 3060 Ti.

"There Are No Bad Products, Only Bad Prices"

Unlike the DDR4 version of the GT 1030, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 8GB GPU would have made sense to value-oriented consumers if not for the whole pricing debacle and naming mishap. While we aren't sure about the company's primary intention, it seems as if Nvidia is trying to clear out its surplus inventory of defective GA106 silicon by repurposing them as cut-down variants in the same lineup.