NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (8 GB) Described as a “Horrible, Anti-Consumer Move” by Some Reviewers

[Tsing]

NVIDIA recently released a new version of the GeForce RTX 3060 that features 8 GB rather than 12 GB of memory, but not everyone seems to be happy with it, including Hardware Unboxed's Steven Walton, who slammed the graphics card in a new review that he published today, calling it a "horrible anti-consumer move by NVIDIA."

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[Brian_B]

I saw a performance review on this and it's bad.

It may be the same chip as the 12G version (so it avoids that fiasco that the 4080 did), but it castrates the memory access so bad it may as well be a different chip. And, at least right now, apparently it costs the same as the 12G version. So WTF is this even for? I have to agree with HU's opinion, and the opinion of many others - it's only there to try to rip uniformed buyers off.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

I'm saying it again. It sure feels like there's some kind of disconnect between marketing and the rest of NV these days. They had a great opportunity to duke it out with AMD in this in-demand segment with a lower-priced card and basically shot themselves in the foot at the last step. Knock $100, or more, off for some lost performance and some would consider it a deal but at the same price and you've basically just lit a fire. I even read another story on this where they mention how the ARC A770 beats it bad, and looks attractive.

This references HU as well but also the bit about the ARC A770.
https://www.pcgamer.com/rtx-3060-8gb-way-slower-no-cheaper-avoid-says-first-online-review/

"The upshot, in some games, involves a huge performance advantage for the 12GB card. The worst example is Dying Light 2. At 1080p, on high graphics settings, the 12GB card runs 35% faster than the 8GB. That's 69fps versus 51fps. Just for a little more context, the much maligned Intel Arc A770 GPU hits 85fps in the same test."

 

[Niner51]

I recently got a 3060 12GB for my back up PC and didn't have any interest in a "gimped" card. This 8GB card shouldn't even be a thing IMO.

 

[Denpepe]

They will blame inflation, they reduce Vram so they can keep the price where it was instead of raising it, performance be damned.