Nvidia appears to be preparing for the launch of its next generation of GeForce graphics cards, as information about the cards continues to leak week to week. Most of the attention has been focused on Nvidia's flagship GeForce RTX 3080 Ti card, since it's likely to be one of if not the top-performing consumer cards in the foreseeable future. But new details have also leaked about the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, what's expected to be the more reasonably priced option of Nvidia's next line.
According to the latest leaks, the GeForce RTX 3060 GPU was "taped out," meaning that the design is only just being finalized. The implication being that the 3060, like the 2060 before it, isn't going to be released at the head of the new generation of cards. Rather, it'll be released some months after flagship cards like the 3080 Ti, allowing the more expensive and powerful card to maximize its sales before the more affordable card comes to market.
The leaked information also implies that the 3060 series could feature more than one SKU. For example, it may feature both a standard 3060 and a 3060 Ti or a 3060 SUPER, like the 2060 series did as well. The difference between the two being a difference in both power and pricing.
The --60 series of cards historically is targeted toward gamers whose budget for GPUs runs around $250 and $400. The newly leaked information doesn't confirm that the 3060 series will be similarly priced, but it does line up with previous trends. That said, the COVID-19 pandemic is reportedly driving up sales of PC hardware and Nvidia has been known to raise prices during similar rises.
As for when the 3060, or any of Nvidia's new cards will launch, there has been no official announcement. Reporting from early 2020 had Nvidia announcing the cards in August with the RTX 3080 launching as soon as September. A 3060 release could then come either in late 2020 or in early 2021. However, since that reporting came from early in the year, pre-COVID-19, it may no longer be accurate and Nvidia may be delaying its GeForce announcements. Hopefully, more news will break soon.
The next generation of Nvidia graphics cards is as highly an anticipated event for PC gamers as the next generation of consoles is for console gamers. These cards will define the upper threshold for PC game graphics for what's likely two years or longer. It's an exciting time for gaming, whether it's on PC or console.
Stay tuned for more information regarding the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 in the weeks and months to come.