NVIDIA Introduces GeForce RTX 30 Series for Laptops and RTX 3060 for Desktop with 12 GB of Memory

In addition to Intel and AMD, NVIDIA also had a presentation at CES 2021 through which it officially launched the RTX 30 graphics cards dedicated to mobile computers. We thus have GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 for laptops, which promise improved performance compared to previous generations. Of course, a PC graphics card could not be missing from this presentation, RTX 3060, the cheapest RTX 30 model so far.

The GeForce RTX 30 series for mobile promises top performance in games with ray tracing effects

Only RTX 30 laptop models in Max-Q format were presented, ie those with low power consumption and quieter cooling systems, which can be integrated into thin and light computers. But certainly, as in previous years, there will be Max-P variants for more powerful laptops.

The base model, GeForce RTX 3060 for laptops promises superior performance to the most powerful RTX 20 laptop models to date. Thus, those who bought a laptop with RTX 2080 Super last year will receive a lower performance than a laptop with RTX 3060 this year. More interesting is the fact that the price has dropped a lot for this level of performance. Laptops with RTX 3060 will start at $ 999 in the US, while those with RTX 2080 Super will start at $ 2,500.

NVIDIA says that the GeForce RTX 3060 laptop has 30% higher performance than a PlayStation 5, but also says that these laptops will be recommended for running games at over 90 frames per second in Full HD resolution on Ultra settings, probably with the RTX settings turned on. As an example of an affordable RTX 3060 laptop, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 model was given.



The next model on the list is the GeForce RTX 3070, which promises 50% higher performance than the RTX 2070 generation two years ago. This chip promises 90 FPS in games on Ultra settings (and with RTX enabled) in 1440p resolution, with prices starting at 1,300 US dollars. The company’s example was an ASUS G15, a new laptop model also announced at CES by the Taiwanese manufacturer.

Finally, those who want top performance, will be able to use a GeForce RTX 3080, which will be found only in the most powerful laptops on the market. It benefits from 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, 6 GB more than the RTX 3080 desktop model, and promises over 100 frames per second in 1440p. However, these models start at 1,999 US dollars, and Alienware m15, one of the most expensive laptops on the market, was offered as an example.

Among the new technologies integrated in these models are all the ones we saw at the launch of RTX 30, such as the new, more powerful Tensor cores, or the new cores for ray tracing, which should offer twice as much performance in such of use cases. Moreover, all new Ampere mobile graphics cards come equipped with Dynamic Boost 2.0, which uses AI to ensure efficient power consumption and real-time transfer between components that need it most (CPU, GPU, memory, etc.). ).

All these laptops will be the first to use WhisperMode 2.0, a system that will ensure a low level of noise on demand. Of course, the performance will also decrease in proportion to the noise level produced by the cooling solution.

RTX 3060 for desktop promises high performance even in the middle segment

Last but not least, NVIDIA has officially unveiled the GeForce RTX 3060 for desktop, the “smallest” of the RTX 30 series. Earlier, the company introduced the RTX 3060 Ti, which seemed to be a more modest version of the 3070. The new RTX 3060 promises more performance. more than double that of a GTX 1060, being a good model for those who want to upgrade. Also, this graphics card seems to be made especially for those who still run games in 1080p resolution.



But one thing is interesting. RTX 3060, practically the weakest board in the RTX 30 range, is the second in terms of amount of memory. RTX 3060 Ti and 3070 come with 8 GB GDDR6 memory, while RTX 3080 comes with only 10 GB. Only the RTX 3090 makes the leap to 24 GB of memory, and the RTX 3060 now has half that amount at 16 GB. This may give us a glimpse of NVIDIA’s plans for the near future: the launch of existing Ti, “Super” or “Ultra” models with more video memory could follow.

In terms of specifications, the GeForce RTX 3060 has 3,584 CUDA cores and a base frequency of 1.32 GHz (with a boost of 1.78 GHz in the Founder’s version from NVIDIA). The 12 GB memory is 192 bits, so a bit slower than the other variants. NVIDIA promises a computing power of 13 Shader-TFLOPS, 25 RT-TFLOPS and 101 Tensor-TFLOPS. With a power consumption of 170W and a recommended source of 550W for its use, this solution could be really advantageous especially as an upgrade for older systems, than for building a completely new computer.

Even the price of 1,600 lei (US $ 329), recommended by NVIDIA is extremely attractive for the promised level of performance (similar to the RTX 2070 Super from the previous generation). Unfortunately, we all know that stocks of graphics cards worldwide are very weak in the last few months, and as a result, retailers either raise prices more than we expected, or they are bought at regular prices and then sold. on the internet at a premium.

The launch for RTX 3060 is scheduled for the end of February, so we’ll have to wait a while until we see if there are enough stocks at launch. Laptops with RTX 30 will debut at the end of the month (January 26 for models with 3070 and 3080), while the first models with 3060 will arrive on the market at the beginning of next month (February 2).