RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 3060
The complete head-to-head: full specs, real per-game FPS with 1% lows, ray tracing, a live CPU-bottleneck check, thermals, power and value, with a straight verdict.
GeForce RTX 2070 Super
GeForce RTX 3060
avg, 1080p
The short answer
The RTX 2070 Super is the faster card, about 10% ahead of the RTX 3060 on average, which makes sense since it launched as a $499 near-flagship while the 3060 was a $329 mainstream part. The catch is memory and power: the 2070 Super carries only 8 GB against the 3060's 12 GB, draws 45 W more, and lacks AV1 decode. At 1440p with heavy texture packs, the 3060's extra VRAM can matter more than the 2070 Super's raw speed edge. Buy the 2070 Super used for pure frame rate per dollar, buy the 3060 for VRAM headroom and lower power.
These two rarely got compared at launch, the 2070 Super was a $499 near-flagship in 2019 and the RTX 3060 was a $329 mainstream card in 2021. Today, with both selling for similar used prices, the comparison makes a lot more sense: a bigger, older, power-hungry die against a smaller, newer, more efficient one with more memory.
This page walks through the TU104-versus-GA106 matchup in detail: the 10% frame rate gap across ten current games, whether the 2070 Super's 8 GB or the 3060's 12 GB matters more at 1440p, how each holds up under ray tracing, and what each one actually costs to run and to buy right now.
At a glance
Seven dimensions, two cards. Bigger area is not automatically better, each card owns different corners.
Strengths radar
Each axis scored 0-100 relative to the pair
Performance vs price
Up and to the left is better value
Grey dots are neighbouring cards for context.
Which should you buy?
Pick your use case, the winner changes with what you actually do.
10% more frames on average, and 8 GB is plenty of headroom at 1080p.
8 GB starts to show texture-quality drops at 1440p Ultra that the 3060's 12 GB avoids.
12 GB fits larger models and batches than the 2070 Super's 8 GB, capacity wins for AI work.
Newer NVENC silicon and AV1 decode support speed up imports and exports.
170 W against 215 W is a real gap, the 3060 fits a smaller PSU and a quieter build.
448 GB/s over a 256-bit bus outruns the 3060's 360 GB/s over 192-bit at high internal resolutions.
Already own an RTX 2070 Super? Don't 'downgrade' to a 3060.
Short answer: probably not
It would cost you 10% of your frame rate. The RTX 3060 is newer, but its smaller die and lower clocks mean it is genuinely slower than the near-flagship 2070 Super, even three generations later. The only real reasons to switch are the extra 4 GB of VRAM, AV1 decode, or 45 W lower power draw.
If you want a true upgrade from a 2070 Super, look at a used RTX 3060 Ti or RTX 4060 Ti, both a real step up in raw speed as well as VRAM and efficiency.
Full specification comparison
Every spec side by side. The highlighted figure wins each row.
| Specification | RTX 2070 Super | RTX 3060 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| GPU / architecture | TU104 · Turing | GA106 · Ampere |
| Process node | TSMC 12 nm | Samsung 8 nm ▲ |
| Release date | Jul 9, 2019 | Feb 25, 2021 |
| Launch MSRP | $499 | $329 ▲ |
| Compute | ||
| CUDA cores | 2,560 | 3,584 ▲ |
| RT cores | 40 · 1st gen | 28 · 2nd gen ▲ |
| Tensor cores | 320 · 1st gen | 112 · 3rd gen ▲ |
| Base / boost clock | 1605 / 1770 MHz ▲ | 1320 / 1777 MHz |
| L2 cache | 4 MB ▲ | 3 MB |
| Memory | ||
| VRAM | 8 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6 ▲ |
| Memory bus | 256-bit ▲ | 192-bit |
| Bandwidth | 448 GB/s ▲ | 360 GB/s |
| Power & form factor | ||
| TDP | 215 W | 170 W ▲ |
| Power connector | 1× 8-pin + 1× 6-pin | 1× 8-pin ▲ |
| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 550 W ▲ |
| PCIe interface | 3.0 ×16 | 4.0 ×16 ▲ |
| Features | ||
| Upscaling | DLSS 2 / Super Res | DLSS 2 / Super Res |
| AV1 decode | No | Yes ▲ |
| Display outputs | 3×DP1.4 · HDMI 2.0b | 3×DP1.4a · HDMI 2.1 ▲ |
Average FPS by game
Switch resolution, metric, ray tracing and upscaling, the bars update live. Hover a bar for the avg / 1% / 0.1% breakdown.
Average FPS · 1080p · Rasterization. Representative data, hover a bar for avg / 1% / 0.1%. Note the RTX 3060's 1% lows fall off at 1440p and up from its 8 GB VRAM.
Smoothness & frametimes
Average FPS hides stutter. This is one run plotted as frametime, a flat line is smooth, spikes are hitches. Watch what the RTX 3060's 8 GB VRAM does in a texture-heavy game.
Frametime: Starfield, 1440p Ultra
Lower and flatter is better · 16.7 ms = 60 fps
Counterintuitive but real: the slower RTX 2070 Super delivers a smoother line here because 12 GB holds the texture pool the 8 GB RTX 3060 keeps evicting, those spikes are VRAM stutter, not raw speed.
Lab scores
Clean apples-to-apples tests, useful, but weaker at predicting real games than the FPS above.
Ray tracing & upscaling
Ray tracing tanks both cards at native resolution. What makes it playable is upscaling, and here the RTX 3060 has a real edge.
Is frame generation "real" performance?
Neither card supports frame generation. DLSS 3 Frame Generation is exclusive to the RTX 40 series and newer, so both the RTX 2070 Super and RTX 3060 are limited to DLSS 2's Super Resolution upscaling, which raises frame rate by rendering at a lower internal resolution rather than inserting AI-made frames.
Image quality is essentially identical between the two since both run the same DLSS 2 pipeline. The RTX 2070 Super upscales from a higher base frame rate thanks to its 10% raster lead, which is the practical difference you will feel.
Will your CPU bottleneck these cards?
A faster GPU only helps if your CPU keeps up. Pick your CPU and resolution to see expected FPS and bottleneck for each card.
CPU + GPU pairing check
The willitbottleneck engine, built right into the comparison.
Estimated from a 43-CPU model across 1440p. A weak CPU mostly bites at 1080p; at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the limiter and the bottleneck shrinks.
Thermals & noise
The efficiency gap shows up here: the newer card runs cooler and quieter, day in and day out.
Real draw, efficiency & PSU
TDP is the rated figure; what matters is real gaming draw and how many frames you get per watt.
Both use a single 8-pin connector. If your PSU already ran the RTX 2070 Super, it will run the RTX 3060 easily. Leave about 30% headroom for spikes.
Will it fit, and what to pair it with?
Size to scale
Card length matters for small cases
What monitor to pair
RTX 2070 Super: 1080p at 144 Hz and up, or 1440p at 90-120 Hz. RTX 3060: 1080p at 144 Hz, or 1440p at 60-100 Hz. Neither reaches 4K comfortably without heavy DLSS and reduced settings.
Running an older PCIe 3.0 board?
The RTX 2070 Super runs a full PCIe 3.0 ×16 link, so it loses nothing on an older motherboard. The RTX 3060 runs PCIe 4.0 ×16, more bandwidth headroom than either card actually needs today.
Price history & dollars-per-frame
Raw price is only half the story. Cost per frame is the number that decides it, and it keeps moving as prices fall.
New price over time
Street price of new cards (USD)
The 8 GB vs 12 GB question
RTX 2070 Super · 8 GB
- At 1080p, where the 2070 Super's speed advantage matters most, 8 GB is comfortable in the large majority of current games.
- The wider 256-bit bus and 448 GB/s of bandwidth mean the 8 GB it has moves data faster than the 3060's memory.
- 8 GB starts to show texture-quality compromises at 1440p Ultra in newer AAA titles, where the 3060's 12 GB has real headroom.
- Local AI and large Blender or Resolve scenes hit the 8 GB ceiling before they hit the 3060's 12 GB one.
RTX 3060 · 12 GB
- 12 GB avoids the texture-quality drop the 8 GB 2070 Super can hit at 1440p in newer AAA titles.
- Meaningfully better for local Stable Diffusion, small LLMs, and large creator scenes.
- The narrower 192-bit bus and lower 360 GB/s bandwidth mean the extra capacity moves a bit slower than the 2070 Super's memory.
- The core speed is 10% behind, so the extra VRAM does not fully close the gap in lighter, less VRAM-hungry games.
Emulation & memory bandwidth
The narrower bus is a real downgrade for emulation
Emulation cares about memory bandwidth as much as raw shader power. The RTX 2070 Super's 448 GB/s over a 256-bit bus beats the RTX 3060's 360 GB/s over 192-bit, and its extra CUDA cores help too, so it stays the stronger emulation card for high-resolution Switch and PS3 titles despite being three generations older.
Creator, AI & streaming
The newer card is quicker per task, but the older card's extra VRAM unlocks larger jobs it can't fit at all.
Streaming: the AV1 encoder is the differentiator
For editors, the RTX 3060 brings hardware AV1 decode that helps when importing and scrubbing AV1 footage, though neither card can encode AV1, the RTX 40 series was the first to do that. Live streaming and recording fall back to NVENC H.264 and HEVC on both, where quality is close and the 3060's newer encoder holds a slight edge.
Overclocking & undervolting
The RTX 2070 Super has the most to gain from undervolting given its 215 W TDP, the RTX 3060 is already efficient and has less room left to improve.
Pros & cons
RTX 2070 Super
- 10% faster on average, closer to a near-flagship 2019 part than a mainstream one
- Wider 256-bit bus and higher 448 GB/s bandwidth, ahead in emulation
- Cheaper new and used than the RTX 3060
- Only 8 GB VRAM against the 3060's 12 GB
- 215 W draw needs an 8-pin plus 6-pin connector and a bigger PSU
RTX 3060
- 12 GB VRAM, real headroom at 1440p and for AI or creator work
- 170 W and a single 8-pin connector, easier on the PSU and case
- Hardware AV1 decode and full PCIe 4.0 ×16
- About 10% slower on average despite being the newer card
- Narrower 192-bit bus and lower bandwidth, a step back in emulation
Buying pitfalls
Two different RTX 3060 memory configs exist
The usual RTX 3060 ships with 12 GB on a 192-bit bus, but a later 8 GB, 128-bit version exists that is slower and poorer value. Make sure the spec sheet reads 12 GB / 192-bit, which is the card this page covers.
Check the power connector before you buy a PSU
The RTX 2070 Super needs one 8-pin plus one 6-pin PCIe power connector, not the single 8-pin the RTX 3060 uses. Confirm your power supply has both cables before assuming a straight card swap.
RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 3060: your questions answered
On average, yes, by about 10%, and that tracks with how they launched: a $499 near-flagship in 2019 against a $329 mainstream card in 2021. What the 3060 pushes back with is 4 GB more VRAM, hardware AV1 decode, and a 45 W lower power draw, none of which show up in a raw frame rate number.
Grab a used 2070 Super if 1080p frame rate per dollar is the goal. Lean toward the 3060 instead if you run 1440p with heavy texture packs, do AI or creator work where VRAM capacity matters, or want a card that runs cooler on a smaller PSU.
For 1080p, yes, it stays a genuinely quick card, trading blows with an RTX 3060 Ti in raw speed. What ages it faster than the 3060 is the 8 GB VRAM ceiling and the 215 W it pulls from the wall.
VRAM wins here. The 3060's 12 GB fits larger models and bigger batches than the 2070 Super's 8 GB allows, and in local AI work that ceiling matters more than the 2070 Super's 10% raster advantage.
Mostly, yes. The 3060's hardware AV1 decode and newer NVENC generation make it the smoother pick for importing and exporting footage, though the 2070 Super's higher core count claws some of that back in raw render and export speed.
Both carry dedicated RT cores, and the 2070 Super's larger TU104 die actually gives it a slight ray tracing lead over the 3060 in this pairing. Ray tracing still taxes either card heavily, so pairing it with DLSS is what keeps frame rates playable on both.
No, DLSS 3 Frame Generation is limited to the RTX 40 series and newer, so both of these cards top out at DLSS 2 Super Resolution upscaling. Since it is the same DLSS 2 pipeline on each, the visual result looks basically identical between them.
At 1080p, a weak processor can cap either GPU before it breaks a sweat, so check the pairing tool on this page for your specific chip. A Ryzen 5 5600 or Core i5-11400F or better is enough to keep both cards fed at 1440p.
It shows up directly in heat and noise: the 3060's 170 W draw runs measurably cooler and quieter under load than the 2070 Super's 215 W. The 2070 Super also needs an extra 6-pin connector on top of its 8-pin, which the single-connector 3060 does not.
Plan on a quality 600 W unit for the 2070 Super, which draws through an 8-pin plus a 6-pin. The 3060 is content with 550 W on a single 8-pin, and a 650 W supply covers either card with room to spare.
The 2070 Super runs about 267 mm long against the 3060's roughly 242 mm, so measure your case's clearance before buying either. On the slot side, the 2070 Super's PCIe 3.0 x16 loses nothing on an older board, and the 3060's PCIe 4.0 x16 is more bandwidth than either card needs today.
No. Laptop versions of both the RTX 2070 Super and RTX 3060 run at reduced power and lower clocks than their desktop namesakes, so expect noticeably lower frame rates in a laptop. Treat the numbers on this page as desktop-only figures.
Not for modern AAA games. Both sit comfortably in the 1080p-to-1440p range, and 4K is realistic only as an occasional, DLSS-leaning stretch rather than the resolution you build around.
A used 2070 Super around $115 delivers the most raw frame rate per dollar of the two. Paying more for a new 3060 buys a warranty, 4 GB of extra VRAM, and a lower power draw, worth it if any of those matter to you specifically.
Both architectures still have years left in NVIDIA's Game Ready driver cycle, so neither is close to being cut off. Support through 2030 is a reasonable expectation for cards from either generation.
No, it is a step down in raw speed of about 10%, traded for 4 GB more VRAM and a lower power bill. Hang onto the 2070 Super for frame rate unless the extra memory or the quieter, cooler operation specifically solves a problem you have.