Leak suggests the RTX 4060 will have 8GB of VRAM and fewer CUDA cores than RTX 3060

Why it matters: As the specs and release period for Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4070 start to take shape, people are understandably looking ahead to the RTX 4060, arguably the most crucial member of the Ada Lovelace lineup. However, a recent leak indicates that some of its specs might be slightly lower than expected. The VRAM, in particular, might be a problem, given how much some recent games appear to use.

Trusted leaker kopite7kimi posted his latest information on the specs for the desktop GeForce RTX 4060 this week, and they look remarkably similar to the laptop variant. In several areas, the GPU’s numbers look lower than its predecessor, the RTX 3060. Possibly most striking is that the RTX 4060 may only include 8GB of VRAM. The RTX 3060 has 12GB (oddly more than the RTX 3070’s 8GB).

Furthermore, some recent releases have raised concerns regarding how much video memory high-end future PC games may need. Performance analysis of Hogwarts Legacy from TechPowerUp suggests the game eats up at least 10GB of VRAM for most users and up to 14GB with ray tracing enabled. The Dead Space remake also has problems with sub-12GB graphics cards in certain situations.

RTX 4060 still uses PG190.
AD107-400-A1
3072FP32
8G GDDR6 18Gbps
115W
24M L2

I will try to remain neutral about any leaks in the future. ????????????

— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) February 13, 2023

If future releases have similar issues, low VRAM could be an anchor around some of the most popular new and upcoming GPUs. Flagships like the RTX 4090 get a lot of hype, but Steam charts show that XX50 and XX60-level cards are the most popular for their affordability. The RTX 4060 will likely be the top Ada Lovelace seller. In any case, mid-range graphics card users should already be lowering their graphics settings and using DLSS or FSR to lighten the VRAM load.

However, what’s also concerning is that kopite7kimi’s desktop RTX 4060 specs show it has an identical CUDA core count, Tensor core count, ray tracing core count, and TDP as the laptop version. It also uses the same AD107 GPU as the laptop RTX 4060. Those specs are lower than the desktop RTX 3060, bringing its successor’s performance in some areas into question.

While the desktop RTX 4060’s clock speed is still unknown, it will have faster RAM than the RTX 3060. Previous rumors suggested the RTX 4060 will reach RTX 3070 Ti-like performance.

Maybe most importantly, we still don’t know the RTX 4060’s price. For comparison, the RTX 3060 launched at $330. Nvidia should pick a price that establishes a comfortable upgrade path for those still using GTX 1060s or GTX 1650s. Judging by the system requirements for recent games, those cards won’t handle AAA games for much longer.