Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G: Dual-slot entry-level

Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G – details

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

The GeForce RTX 3060 has a one-third core in terms of functional SM (28) compared to RTX 3090 and the surface area of the GA106 is less than one-half. TDP 170 W doesn’t seem so horrific either. Given the current situation and the trend of increasing power draw from generation to generation, we can almost talk about a power-efficient graphics card. At the same time, this is the first graphics card with the support of Resizable BAR, which we, however, won’t talk about now. Firstly, because we are already preparing tests of the RX 6700 XT, and before its release, we still have to finish testing and then release the RTX 3060 Ti so that there is something to compare the new Radeon with.

But we will definitely return to Resizable BAR when the RX 6700 comes out. Now the RTX 3060 doesn’t even have direct competition, and it seems that the graphics card will be significantly slower than the RX 6700 XT. That’s why the SAM tests will only make sense in comparison with the RX 6700, testing at the same time, right after each other. This is because Nvidia, like AMD, will be working on SAM optimizations in the coming days, and we can expect the performance to change significantly over time, especially from the beginning. But back to today’s tests of the RTX 3060 Eagle OC, produced by Gigabyte. Like all RTX 3060s released so far, this one also has up to 12 GB of GDDR6 memory. However, it can be expected that cheaper versions with 6 GB will appear later, for which the 192-bit memory bus is also well prepared.

Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G – details

The Eagle series is the lowest and cheapest of the RTX 3060, so you need to keep this in mind. Although it should be noted that two versions are available. Our review unit with factory overclocking is faster and more expensive.

The RTX 3060 Eagle OC is one of the medium-length graphics cards. Its 242 mm length in the vast majority of PC cases will not cause any difficulties with (in)compatibility. Naturally, only two fans fit on the cooler, but with an above-standard rotor diameter of 100 mm. The rotation is reversed here and the blades are also fit relatively densely and with small protrusions. Both of these elements should contribute to achieving higher static pressure and thus the overall efficiency of the cooler.

Fans are one thing, they look good, but the heatsink is also important. Four 6 mm heatpipes dissipate heat from the GPU to the aluminum fins. These seem to be in contact with the graphics core via the heat spreader, which is also shared to memory chips. Heat from MOSFETs and VRM coils is also dissipated into the heatsink. This central aluminum heatsink creates a good functional impression.

To improve the airflow of the fins, Gigabyte makes good use of the difference between a longer radiator and a shorter PCB. The back of the graphics card is thus open and therefore allows higher airflow.

The card cover gives a cheaper impression. It is all plastic, both front and the backplate. However, the build quality is decent – precise, everything fits nicely and is also robust enough. However, the backplate only has a protective function and does not dissipate heat from the graphics card, as is the case with metal variants. Thanks to these lighter materials, the RTX 3060 Eagle OC also has a nice weight of 677 g (1.5 lb).

This card is a little wider than the reference design. But only an inch, while the PCB itself has a standard width. This is partially exceeded by the heatpipe and the cooler cover. It should be added, however, that this overlap is not greater than the height of the external power connector, so no collision should occur here either. That is, if you do not own a completely atypical case where no full-sized graphics card would fit.

In terms of video outputs, the RTX 3060 Eagle OC has HDMI (2.1) and DP (1.4a) in an balanced number of 2:2, which is a slightly different configuration than most competing cards. But it can be useful if you use multiple input devices and one of them is a TV.

At the end of the first chapter, let’s mention information about the height of the card. As you already know from the title, it takes two slots and nothing would change, even if the cooler was 3 mm higher. And that certainly wouldn’t hurt it, as you’ll learn in the next chapters of the test.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Gaming tests

The largest sample of tests is from games. This is quite natural given that GeForce and Radeons, i.e. cards primarily intended for gaming use, will mostly be tested.

We chose the test games primarily to ensure the balance between the titles better optimized for the GPU of one manufacturer (AMD) or the other one (Nvidia). But we also took into account the popularity of the titles so that you could find your own results in the charts. Emphasis was also placed on genre diversity. Games such as RTS, FPS, TPS, car racing as well as a flight simulator, traditional RPG and sports games are represented by the most played football game. You can find a list of test games in the library of chapters (9–32), with each game having its own chapter, sometimes even two (chapters) for the best possible clarity, but this has its good reason, which we will share with you in the following text.

Before we start the gaming tests, each graphics card will pass the tests in 3D Mark to warm up to operating temperature. That’s good synthetics to start with.

We’re testing performance in games across three resolutions with an aspect ratio of 16:9 – FHD (1920 × 1080 px), QHD (2560 × 1440 px) and UHD (3840 × 2160 px) and always with the highest graphic settings, which can be set the same on all current GeForce and Radeon graphics cards. We turned off proprietary settings for the objectivity of the conclusions, and the settings with ray-tracing graphics are tested separately, as lower class GPUs do not support them. You will find their results in the complementary chapters. In addition to native ray-tracing, also after deploying Nvidia DLSS (2.0) and AMD FidelityFX CAS.

If the game has a built-in benchmark, we use that one (the only exception is Forza Horizon 4, where due to its instability – it used to crash here and there – we drive on our track), in other cases the measurements take place on the games’ own scenes. From those we capture the times of consecutive frames in tables (CSV) via OCAT, which FLAT interprets into intelligible fps speech. Both of these applications are from the workshop of colleagues from the gpureport.cz magazine. In addition to the average frame rate, we also write the minimum in the graphs. That contributes significantly to the overall gaming experience. For the highest possible accuracy, all measurements are repeated three times and the final results form their average value.

Tests with active AMD Smart Access Memory will not be part of the standard methodology yet. Of course, we will focus on SAM, but for better orientation, we will include these tests in a separate article. But we’re doing this just temporarily, until GeForce graphics supports it as well. Then we switch to the opposite model and all cards will be tested with SAM turned on. Until then, however, SAM will be turned off in standard tests, and we will publish the performance increase under its influence separately. No one will be cut short by anything (neither those who have pure AMDs in their cases, nor the owners of Intel platforms) and the clarity of the results will be nicely preserved. Still, putting multiple modes of one card into the same chart (or having 500 charts per article instead of 300) would no longer do any good.

We plan to do one more thing – once a quarter to measure the impact of various updates (drivers, OS, games, BIOS) on performance. This will result in percentage increases or drops in performance that you can work with when studying older tests. It’s a bit of a compromise, but it’s definitely a better option than releasing new tests with out-of-date software. Of course, it would be ideal to test all previous cards before doing every new test, but this is unrealistic. But we believe that you will also appreciate the continuous measurement with one GeForce graphics card and one Radeon and the inclusion of the appropriate coefficient in the criteria of interactive graphs.

Computational tests

Testing the graphics card comprehensively, even in terms of computing power, is more difficult than drawing conclusions from the gaming environment. Just because such tests are usually associated with expensive software that you don’t just buy for the editorial office. On the other hand, we’ve found ways to bring the available computing performance to you. On the one hand, thanks to well-built benchmarks, on the other hand, there are also some freely available and at the same time relevant applications, and thirdly, we have invested something in the paid ones.

The tests begin with ComputeBench, which computes various simulations (including game graphics). Then we move on to the popular SPECviewperf benchmark (2020), which integrates partial operations from popular 2D and 3D applications, including 3Ds max and SolidWorks. Details on this test package can be found at spec.org. From the same team also comes SPECworkstation 3, where GPU acceleration is in the Caffe and Folding@Home tests. You can also find the results of the LuxMark 3.1 3D render in the graphs, and the remarkable GPGPU theoretical test also includes AIDA64 with FLOPS, IOPS and memory speed measurements.

For obvious reasons, 3D rendering makes the largest portion of the tests. This is also the case, for example, in the Blender practical tests (2.91). In addition to Cycles, we will also test the cards in Eevee and radeon ProRender renderers (let AMD have a related test, as most are optimized for Nvidia cards with proprietary CUDA and OptiX frameworks). Of course, an add-on for V-ray would also be interesting, but at the moment the editorial office can’t afford it, we may manage to get a “press” license in time, though, we’ll see. We want to expand application tests in the future. Definitely with some advanced AI testing (we haven’t come up with a reasonable way yet), including noise reduction (there would be some ideas already, but we haven’t incorporated those due to time constraints).

Graphics cards can also be tested well in photo editing. To get an idea of the performance in the popular Photoshop, we’re using a script in PugetBench, which simulates real work with various filters. Among them are those that use GPU acceleration. A comprehensive benchmark suggesting the performance of raster and vector graphics is then also used in alternative Affinity Photo. In Lightroom, there are remarkable color corrections (Enhance Details) of raw uncompressed photos. We apply these in batches to a 1 GB archive. All of these tasks can be accelerated by both GeForce and Radeon.

From another perspective, there are decryption tests in Hashcat with a selection of AES, MD5, NTLMv2, SHA1, SHA2-256/512 and WPA-EAPOL-PBKDF2 ciphers. Finally, in the OBS and XSplit broadcast applications, we measure how much the game performance will be reduced while recording. It is no longer provided by shaders, but by coders (AMD VCE and Nvidia Nvenc). These tests show how much spare performance each card has for typical online streaming.

There are, of course, more hardware acceleration options, typically for video editing and conversion. However, this is purely in the hands of encoders, which are always the same within one generation of cards from one manufacturer, so there is no point in testing them on every graphics card. It is different across generations and tests of this type will sooner or later appear. Just fine-tuning the metric is left, where the output will always have the same bitrate and pixel match. This is important for objective comparisons, because the encoder of one company/card may be faster in a particular profile with the same settings, but at the expense of the lower quality that another encoder has (but may not have, it’s just an example).

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Methodology: how we measure power draw

We have been tuning the method of measuring power draw for quite a long time and we will also be tuning it for some time. But we already have gimmicks that we can work with happily.

To get the exact value of the total power draw of the graphics card, it is necessary to map the internal power draw on the PCI Express slot and the external one on the additional power supply. For the analysis of the PCIe slot, it was necessary to construct an in-between card on which the power draw measurement takes place. Its basis is resistors calibrated to the exact value (0.1 Ω) and according to the amount of their voltage drop we can calculate the current. We then substitute it into the formula for the corresponding value of the output voltage ~ 12 V and ~ 3.3 V. The voltage drop is so low that it doesn’t make the VRM of the graphics card unstable and the output is still more than 12/3.3 V.

We are also working on a similar device for external power supply. However, significantly higher currents are achieved there, longer cabling and more passages between connectors are necessary, which means that the voltage drop will have to be read on an even smaller resistance of 0.01 Ω, the current state (with 0.1 Ω) is unstable for now. Until we fine-tune it, we will use Prova 15 current clamp for cable measurements, which also measures with good accuracy, they just have a range of up to 30 A. But that is also enough for the OC version of the RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio. If a card is over the range, it is always possible to split the consumption measurement (first into one half and then into the other half of the 12 V conductors).

And why bother with such devices at all when Nvidia has a PCAT power draw analyzer? For complete control over the measurements. While our devices are transparent, the Nvidia’s tool uses the processor that can (but of course does not have to) affect the measurements. After testing the AMD graphics card on the Nvidia’s tool, we probably wouldn’t sleep well.

To read and record measurements, we use a properly calibrated multimeter UNI-T UT71E, which exports samples to XLS. From it we obtain the average value and by substituting into the formula with the exact value of the subcircuit output voltages we obtain the data for the graphs.

We will analyze the line graphs with the waveforms for each part of the power supply separately. Although the 3.3 V value is usually negligible, it needs to be monitored. It is difficult to say what exactly this subcircuit powers, but usually the consumption on it is constant and when it changes only with regard to whether a static or dynamic image is rendered. We measure consumption in two sort of demanding games (F1 2020 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) and one less demanding one (CS:GO) with the highest graphic details preset and UHD resolution (3840 × 2560 px). Then in 3D rendering in Blender using the Cycles renderer on the famous Classroom scene. However, in addition to high-load tests, it’s important to know your web browser consumption (which, in our case, is accelerated Google Chrome), where we also spend a lot of time watching videos or browsing the web. The usual average load of this type is represented by the FishIE Tank (HTML5) website with 20 fish and the web video in our power draw tests is represented by a sample with the VP9 codec, data rate of 17.4 mb/s and 60 fps. In contrast, we also test offline video consumption, in VLC player on a 45 HEVC sample (45.7 mb/s, 50 fps). Finally, we also record the power consumption of the graphics card on the desktop of idle Windows 10 with one or two active UHD@60 Hz monitors.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Noise measurement…

Noise, as well as other operating characteristics, which we will focus on, we’re measuring in the same modes as consumption, so that the individual values overlap nicely. In addition to the level of noise produced, we also record the frequency response of the sound, the course of the GPU frequencies and its heating.

In this part of the methodology description, we will present something about the method of noise measurement. We use a Reed R8080 sound level meter, which we continuously calibrate with a calibrated Voltcraft SLC-100 digital sound level meter. A small addition to the sound level meter is a parabola-shaped collar, which has two functions. Increases the sensitivity to distinguish the sound produced even at very low speeds. It is thus possible to better compare even very quiet cards with the largest possible ratio difference. Otherwise (without this adjustment) it could simply happen that we measured the same noise level across several graphics cards, even though it would actually be a little different. This parabolic shield also makes sense because, from the outer convex side (from the back), it reflects all the parasitic sounds that everyone who really aims for accuracy of the measurements struggles with during the test. These are various cracks of the body or objects in the room during normal human activity.

To ensure the same conditions when measuring the noise level (and later also the sound), we use acoustic panels with a foam surface around the bench-wall. This is so that the sound is always reflected to the sound level meter sensor in the same way, regardless of the current situation of the objects in the test room. These panels are from three sides (top, right and left) and their purpose is to soundproof the space in which we measure the noise of graphics cards. Soundproofing means preventing different reflections of sound and oscillations of waves between flat walls. Don’t confuse it with sound-absorbing, we’ve had that solved well in the test lab for a long time.

During the measurements, the sound level meter sensor is always placed on a tripod at the same angle and at the same distance (35 cm) from the PCI Express slot in which the graphics card is installed. Of course, it’s always closer to the card itself, depending on its depth. The indicated reference point and the sensor angles are fixed. In addition to the “aerodynamic noise” of the coolers, we also measure the noise level of whining coils. Then we stop the fans for a moment. And for the sake of completeness, it should be added that during sound measurements, we also switch off the power supply fan as well as the CPU cooler fan. Thus, purely the graphics card is always measured without any distortion by other components.

… and the sound frequency response

From the same place, we also measure the frequency of the sound produced. One thing is the noise level (or sound pressure level in decibels) and the other thing is its frequency response.

According to the data on the noise level, you can quickly find out whether the graphics card is quieter or noisier, or where it is on the scale, but it is still a mix of different frequencies. Thus, it does not say whether the sound produced is more booming (with a lower frequency) or squeaking (with a high frequency). The same 35 dBA can be pleasant but also unpleasant for you under certain circumstances – it depends on each individual how they perceive different frequencies. For this reason, we will also measure the frequency response of the sound graphics card in addition to the noise level, via the TrueRTA application. The results will be interpreted in the form of a spectrograph with a resolution of 1/24 octave and for better comparison with other graphics cards we will include the dominant frequency of lower (20–200 Hz), medium (201–2,000 Hz) and higher (2,001–20,000 Hz) sound spectrum into standard bar graphs. For measurements, we’re using a calibrated miniDSP UMIK-1 microphone, which accurately copies the position of the sound level meter, but also has a collar, even with the same focal length.

At the end of this chapter, it should be noted that measurements of noise and frequency response of sound will be performed on most cards only in load tests, as out of load and at lower load (including video decoding) operation is usually passive with fans turned off. On the other hand, we must also be prepared for exceptions with active operation in idle or graphics cards with dual BIOS setup, from which the more powerful one never turns off the fans and they run at least at minimum speed. Finally, as with measuring the noise level in one of the tests, we also record the frequency response of whining coils. But don’t expect any dramatic differences here. It will usually be one frequency, and the goal is rather to detect any potential anomalies. The sound of the whining coils is of course variable, depending on the scene, but we always measure in the same scene (in CS:GO@1080p).

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Methodology: temperature tests

We’re also bringing you heat tests. You are at HWCooling after all. However, in order to make it sensible at all to monitor temperatures on critical components not only of the graphics card, but anything in the computer, it is important to simulate a real computer case environment with healthy air circulation. The overall behavior of the graphics card as such then follows from this. In many cases, an open bench-table is inappropriate and results can be distorted. Therefore, during all, not only heat tests, but also measurement of consumption or course of graphics core frequencies, we use a wind tunnel with equilibrium flow.

Two Noctua NF-S12A fans are at the inlet and the same number is on the exhaust. When testing various system cooling configurations, this proved to be the most effective solution. The fans are always set to 5 V and the speed corresponds to approx. 550 rpm. The stability of the inlet air is properly controlled during the tests, the temperature being between 21 and 21.3 °C at a humidity of ±40%.

We read the temperature from the internal sensors via GPU-Z. This small, single-purpose application also allows you to record samples from sensors in a table. From the table, it is then easy to create line graphs with waveforms or the average value into bar graphs. We will not use the thermal camera very much here, as most graphics cards have a backplate, which makes it impossible to measure the PCB heating. The key for the heating graphs will be the temperature reading by internal sensors, according to which, after all, the GPU frequency control also takes place. It will always be the heating of the graphics core, and if the sensors are also on VRAM and VRM, we will extract these values into the article as well.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Test rig

Note.: At the time of testing, graphics drivers Nvidia GeForce Game Ready/Studio 461.72 are used and the OS Windows 10 Enterprise build is 19042.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

3DMark

For the tests we’re using 3DMark Professional and the Night Raid (DirectX12) is suitable for comparing weaker GPUs, for more powerful ones there is Fire Strike (DirectX11) and Time Spy (DirectX12).

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Age of Empires II: DE

Test platform benchmark, API DirectX 11; graphics settings preset Ultra; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Test platform benchmark; API DirectX 12; graphics settings preset Ultra High; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Battlefield V

Test platform custom scene (War stories/Under no flag); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; TAA high; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Battlefield V with DXR

Test platform custom scene (War stories/Under no flag); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; TAA high; extra settings DXR.

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Note: This game also supports DLSS, but since this is an older title and there are more than enough tests, we will not address this setting in standard tests. However, some testing on request is possible if you ask for it.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Borderlands 3

Test platform benchmark; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; TAA; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Control

Test platform custom scene (chapter Polaris); API DirectX 11, graphics settings preset High; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Control with DXR and DLSS

Test platform custom scene (chapter Polaris); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset High; extra settings DXR.

DXR (native)

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DXR with DLSS (performance)

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Counter-Strike: GO

Test platform benchmark (Dust 2 map tour); API DirectX 9, graphics settings preset High; 4× MSAA; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Cyberpunk 2077

Test platform custom scene (Little China); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Cyberpunk 2077 with DLSS and FidelityFX CAS

Test platform custom scene (Little China); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; extra settings FidelityFX CAS.

FidelityFX CAS (50 %)

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DLSS (performance)

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Cyberpunk 2077 with DXR, DLSS and FidelityFX CAS

Test platform custom scene (Little China); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; extra settings DXR with DLSS and FidelityFX CAS.

DXR

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DXR with DLSS (performance)

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DXR with FidelityFX CAS (50 %)

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

DOOM Eternal

Test platform custom scene; API Vulkan, graphics settings preset Ultra Nightmare; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

F1 2020

Test platform benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra High; TAA; extra settings Skidmarks blending off*.

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*on GeForce graphics cards, the Skidmarks blending option is disabled. This option is missing on AMD graphics cards. However, the overall quality of Skidmarks is otherwise set to High on both GeForce and AMD.
Note: The game also supports DLSS 2.0 and FidelityFX for upscaling and sharpening, but due to the relatively low hardware requirements in the native settings, we will not address them in standard tests. However, some measurement on request is possible if you ask for it.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

FIFA 21

Test platform custom scene (Autumn/Fall, Overcast, 9pm, Old Trafford); API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Forza Horizon 4

Test platform custom scene; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; 2× MSAA; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Mafia: DE

Test platform custom scene (from the Salieri’s Bar parking lot to the elevated railway gate); API DirectX 11, graphics settings preset High; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Metro Exodus

Test platform benchmark; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Extreme; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Metro Exodus with DXR and DLSS

Test platform benchmark; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Ultra; extra settings DXR.

DXR (native)

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DXR with DLSS (performance)

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Test platform custom scene (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air Traffic: AI, February 14, 9:00 am) autopilot: from 1000 until hitting the terrain; API DirectX 11, graphics settings preset Ultra; TAA; extra settings Motion Blur off.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Vulkan)

Test platform custom scene; API Vulkan, graphics settings preset Favor Quality; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Dx12)

Test platform custom scene; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Favor Quality; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Test platform custom scene; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Highest; TAA; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider with DXR

Test platform benchmark; API DirectX 12, graphics settings preset Highest; extra settings DXR.

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Note: This game also supports DLSS and FidelityFX CAS, but since this is an older title and there are more than enough tests, we will not address this setting in standard tests. However, some testing on request is possible if you ask for it.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Total War Saga: Troy

Test platform benchmark; API DirectX 11, graphics settings preset Ultra; 4× AA, no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Wasteland 3

Test platform custom scene; API DirectX 11, graphics settings preset Ultra; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Overall game performance

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Performance per euro

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

CompuBench 2.0 (OpenCL)

Test platform benchmark; API OpenCL; no extra settings.

Game Effects

Advanced Compute

High Quality Computer Generated Imagery and Rendering

Computer Vision

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

ComputeBench 2.0 (CUDA)

Test platform benchmark; API Nvidia CUDA; no extra settings.

Game Effects

Advanced Compute

High Quality Computer Generated Imagery and Rendering

Computer Vision

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

SPECviewperf 2020

Test platform benchmark; API OpenGL and DirectX; no extra settings.

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SPECworkstation 3

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

FLOPS, IOPS and memory speed tests

Test platform benchmark; app version 6.32.5600; no extra settings.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

LuxMark

Test platform benchmark; API OpenCL; no extra settings.

Blender@Cycles

Test platform render BMW and Classroom; renderer Cycles, 12 dlaždíc; extra settings OpenCL for Radeon and CUDA for GeForce. Like the majority of people use it. OpenCL with GeForce is always slow because path tracing does not support GPU acceleration and the CPU does the computing. Nvidia OptiX is tested separately on supported cards (GeForce RTX) and the results are drawn in a separate graph.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Blender@Radeon ProRender

Test platform render BMW and Classroom; renderer Radeon ProRender, 1024 samples; extra settings OpenCL for Radeon and CUDA for GeForce. Nvidia OptiX is tested separately on supported cards (GeForce RTX) and the results are drawn in a separate graph.

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Blender@Eevee

Test platform animation render Ember Forest; renderer Eevee, 350 images; extra settings OpenCL.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Photo editing

Adobe Photoshop: Test platform PugetBench; no extra settings.

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Affinity Photo: Test platform built-in benchmark; no extra settings.

Adobe Lightroom: Test platform custom1-gigabyte archive of 42 raw photos (CR2) taken on DSLR; no extra settings.

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Broadcasting

OBS Studio and XSplit: Test platform F1 2020 benchmark; extra settings – enabled encoders AMD VCE/Nvidia Nvenc (AVC/H.264), output resolution 2560 × 1440 px (60 fps), target bitrate 19,700 kbps.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Password cracking

Test platform Hashcat; no extra settings. You can easily try the tests yourself. Just download the binary and enter the cipher you are interested in using the numeric code on the command line.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

GPU clock speed

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

GPU temperature

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VRAM temperature

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Net GPU power draw

Performance per watt

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Analysis of 12 V subcircuit power supply (higher load)

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Analysis of 12 V subcircuit power supply (lower load)

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Analysis of 3.3 V subcircuit power supply

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Noise level

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Frequency response of sound

Measurements are performed in the TrueRTA application, which records sound in a range of 240 frequencies in the recorded range of 20–20,000 Hz. For the possibility of comparison across articles, we export the dominant frequency from the low (20–200 Hz), medium (201–2,000 Hz) and high (2,001–20,000 Hz) range to standard bar graphs. However, for an even more detailed analysis of the sound expression, it is important to perceive the overall shape of the graph and the intensity of all frequencies/tones. If you don’t understand something in the graphs and tables below, you will find the answers to all the questions in this article. That explains how to read the measured data below correctly.

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At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you.

Conclusion

There is no equivalent AMD card for the GeForce RTX 3060 yet, and it probably won’t change until the RX 6700 is released. We must therefore draw conclusion in a slightly different spirit than comparative, it lags behind the RX 6800 by 16–21% on average depending on the resolution and the RTX 3070 (Gaming X Trio) by 27–30%. This is only for rough orientation, it may naturally vary slightly across different versions.

The Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G handles most games at highest settings without ray-tracing graphics at above 60 fps, even at a resolution of 2560 × 1440 px. Tested games that move below this limit include Borderlands 3, Control, Cyberpunk 2077 (but here, DLSS can be the way to go) or Total War: Saga Troy. But you most likely won’t complain about QHD smoothness in AAA titles, such as Red Dead Redemption 2 or Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. In addition, ACV is the only game where the RTX 3060 in higher resolutions QHD/UHD delivers higher performance than the RTX 3070. The higher the resolution, the higher the difference (up to +26% or 11 fps in UHD), which points to the importance VRAM size, from which Radeons also benefit greatly here.

For example, DOOM Eternal, FIFA 21 or Wasteland 3 are games that you can enjoy smoothly in UHD/2160p as well, but they are only light exceptions just out of interest and we’re not encouraging you to get an RTX 3060 card for such a high resolution. Not even those 12 GB of VRAM make up for it, and especially in higher resolutions, the lack of performance can be felt compared to higher series.

The raw performance of this specific RTX 3060 is lower than of RX 6800, but in 3D rendering with CUDA/OptiX it gives slightly better resulst (than Radeon with OpenCL), while consuming slightly less energy. The price of the RTX 3060 is also lower and a surcharge for the overclocked version Eagle OC is low and the actual GPU clock speed (1900–1905 MHz) is really nice and the price/performance ratio is also attractive. Its coefficient for QHD resolution is up to 4.32, which is excellent – so far the highest (i.e. the most advantageous) of the graphics cards tested so far.

The most significant negative of the RTX 3060 Eagle OC is higher noise. It is a tax for smaller dimensions and it is necessary to take into account that this graphics card is simply quite noisy, it will significantly drown out even the RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio with more than double power consumption. And yet it does not have too high regulation. Hotspots (at an average GPU temperature of 66–67 °C) reach 81 °C in a well-cooled case, which is just about right. With lower load, the operation is passive, but switches to active very quickly, where after reaching 50 °C on the GPU, the fans are already running at 80% which is around 1,450 rpm.

But despite higher cooler noise, quiet coils nicely surprised me. These are noticeably quieter than any of the other graphics cards tested so far. The main advantages of the RTX 3060 Eagle OC include a favorable price under normal circumstances, very decent efficiency or high performance per watt, but also smaller dimensions and excellent compatibility with PC cases or other expansion cards. The RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G does not suffer from any major drawbacks and therefore we’re giving it our editorial award ”Approved”.

Thank you to Spacebar for providing us with games for our tests

• Contents
• Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G – details
• Specs table
• Methodology: performance tests
• Methodology: how we measure power draw
• Methodology: noise and sound measurement
• Methodology: temperature tests
• Test rig
• 3DMark
• Age of Empires II: DE
• Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
• Battlefield V
• Battlefield V with DXR
• Borderlands 3
• Control
• Control with DXR and DLSS
• Counter-Strike: GO
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Cyberpunk 2077 with DLSS and FidelityFX CAS
• Cyberpunk 2077 with DXR, DLSS and FidelityFX CAS
• DOOM Eternal
• F1 2020
• FIFA 21
• Forza Horizon 4
• Mafia: DE
• Metro Exodus
• Metro Exodus with DXR and DLSS
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Vulkan)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Dx12)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider with DXR
• Total War Saga: Troy
• Wasteland 3
• Overall game performance and performance per euro
• CompuBench (OpenCL)
• CompuBench (CUDA)
• SPECviewperf 2020 and SPECworkstation 3
• FLOPS, IOPS and memory speed tests
• 3D rendering 1/2 (LuxMark and Blender@Cycles)
• 3D rendering 2/2 (Blender@Radeon ProRender and Eevee)
• Photo editing (Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Affinity Photo)
• Broadcasting (OBS and Xsplit)
• Password cracking
• GPU clock speed
• GPU and VRAM temperatures
• Net GPU power draw and performance per watt
• Analysis of 12 V subcircuit power supply (higher load)
• Analysis of 12 V subcircuit power supply (lower load)
• Analysis of 3.3 V subcircuit power supply
• Noise level
• Frequency response of sound
• Conclusion