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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
NVIDIA · GPU · Ampere

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB — Benchmarks & Specs

12 GB VRAM170W TDP$329 MSRP2021

Short answer: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB generates a median 55.2 tokens/sec on 7-9B dense models at 4-bit (Q4) under llama.cpp, across 21 cited runs from llama.cpp GitHub, GitHub: XiongjieDai/GPU-Benchmarks-on-LLM-Inference, TyoLab, singhajit.com, smeltcore.com, GitHub Gist, LocalScore and ModelFit.io. Its 12 GB of VRAM holds up to Phi-4 14B at Q4_K_M with an ~8K context, by the Will-It-Run matrix's sizing (13 of 23 models fit). At the $478.00 Amazon price checked 1 h ago (prices change), that is 115.5 tok/s per $1,000, the SpecPicks Value Index.

Bottom line: how fast is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB?

SpecPicks median: 55.2 tokens/sec across 21 cited single-user runs of 7-9B dense models at 4-bit (Q4) under llama.cpp (range 31.9–75.9 tok/s), from llama.cpp GitHub (2 runs), GitHub: XiongjieDai/GPU-Benchmarks-on-LLM-Inference, TyoLab (7 runs), singhajit.com (6 runs), smeltcore.com (2 runs), GitHub Gist, LocalScore, ModelFit.io. At the $478.00 Amazon price of the cheapest linked listing (checked ; prices change), that is a SpecPicks Value Index of 115.5 tok/s per $1,000. At 1440p High with DLSS Quality upscaling, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB averages 65 fps in Hogwarts Legacy, per Gamersleaguepros. For local LLM inference it generates 32.8 tokens/sec running llama2:13b at q4_K_M under llama.cpp, per singhajit.com. In Geekbench 6 Vulkan it scores 91,383 points, per Geekbench Browser. Its 12 GB of VRAM is the binding constraint for local inference: the largest model on file at 4-bit quantization on this card is qwen2.5:14b (14.8B parameters, q4_K_M), generating 26.4 tokens/sec under llama.cpp, per LocalScore. That run's source does not report a context length; the Will-It-Run matrix sizes each model at its listed quantization with an ~8K context, and by that measure Phi-4 14B at Q4_K_M is the largest that fits in 12 GB.

Every figure above is a row in the tables below, and each row links out to the review or public benchmark database the number was taken from; the SpecPicks median is computed here from the runs it names, each a row in the AI table, and the per-$1,000 figure divides it by the dated listing price. SpecPicks aggregates published measurements; it does not report first-party benchmark runs.

Amazon listing: $478.00

This Amazon listing is above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB's $329 launch MSRP. Compare new and used listings on eBay before buying.

*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-21. Price and availability subject to change.

Read the full comparison → ComfyUI on an RTX 3060 12GB: Stable Diffusion Throughput and VRAM Limits in 2026

Check what fits in 12 GB: by Q4-class file size, 13 of the 23 open-weight models in the SpecPicks Will-It-Run matrix load entirely into the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB's 12 GB with 1.5 GB left for an ~8K context, up to Phi-4 14B (a 9.1 GB Q4_K_M file per its Hugging Face listing). Will Phi-4 14B run on the RTX 3060 12GB? → · Every model on this card, with cited tok/s · Full Will-It-Run matrix

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB is a graphics card from the Ampere family released in 2021 from NVIDIA. Key on-paper specs include 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 170W TDP. It launched with a $329 MSRP, though street prices typically diverge meaningfully from launch pricing — see the linked product cards below for current listings. Data on this page draws on 8 linked listings, 20 synthetic benchmark results (top 10 shown), 46 community AI inference reports (top 26 shown), 154 measured game frame-rate results (top 15 shown), compiled from TyoLab, The FPS Review, LocalScore, singhajit.com, smeltcore.com, Gamersleaguepros, Geekbench Browser, GitHub Gist, GitHub: XiongjieDai/GPU-Benchmarks-on-LLM-Inference, llama.cpp GitHub, ModelFit.io, PCI Awesome, geerlingguy/ai-benchmarks, Legit Reviews, PassMark, 3DMark; each table row links to its source. Read this page when shopping the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB, comparing it against other graphics cards in your build, or sizing it for a specific workload (gaming at 1080p/1440p/4K, synthetic benchmark scores, or local LLM inference).

Gaming Performance (measured FPS)

Average and 1% low frame rates by game, resolution, and quality preset. Bars are scaled against the fastest result on this page.

Measured gaming frame rates for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB by game, resolution, and quality preset. “1% low” is the frame-time floor that determines perceived smoothness. Each row links to its original review or benchmark database.
Game Resolution Settings Relative Avg FPS 1% low Source
Wolfenstein Youngblood 1080p RT Ultra RT on DLSS Quality 162 fps — The FPS Review 2021-03-03
Hitman 3 1080p Ultra 141 fps — The FPS Review 2021-03-03
Wolfenstein Youngblood 1080p Ultra 140 fps — The FPS Review 2021-03-03
Death Stranding 1080p Very High 129 fps 114 fps pcisawesome.com (cites TechSpot) 2025-01-10
Death Stranding 1080p Very High 129 fps 114 fps PCI Awesome 2023-10
Death Stranding Director's Cut 1080p Very High 129 fps 114 fps pcisawesome.com 2025-01-10
Death Stranding 1080p Very High 129 fps 114 fps PCIsAwesome 2025-01-10
Wolfenstein Youngblood 1440p Ultra 124 fps — The FPS Review 2021-03-03
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1080p Highest 123 fps 91 fps PCIsAwesome 2025-01-10
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1080p Highest 123 fps 91 fps pcisawesome.com (cites TechSpot) 2025-01-10
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1080p Highest 123 fps 91 fps pcisawesome.com 2025-01-10
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1080p Highest 123 fps 91 fps PCI Awesome 2023-10
Wolfenstein Youngblood 1080p RT Ultra RT on 117 fps — The FPS Review 2021-03-03
F1 2020 1440p Ultra 115 fps — The FPS Review 2021-04-14
Hogwarts Legacy 1440p High DLSS Quality 65 fps — Gamersleaguepros 2026-03

AI Inference Performance

Tokens per second under each model + quantization. Higher = faster generation. Bars compare runs across the same model.

Local LLM inference throughput on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB, in generated tokens per second for a single request (one user's generation speed). Higher is better; each row links to the community report or benchmark database it came from.
Model Quantization Relative Tokens/sec VRAM used Source
llama3.2:1b q8_0 llama.cpp 211.9 tok/s — TyoLab 2026-05-11
llama3.2:1b q4_K_M llamafile (LocalScore) 185.0 tok/s — LocalScore (Mozilla Builders) retrieved 2026-09-26
llama3.2:1b q4_K_M llama.cpp 184.0 tok/s — LocalScore.ai retrieved 2026-06-12
llama3.2:3b q4_K_M llama.cpp 128.3 tok/s — tyolab.com 2026-05-11
Llama 3.2 3B q4_K_M llama.cpp 122.8 tok/s — geerlingguy/ai-benchmarks (GitHub) 2025-01
llama2:7b Q4_0 llama.cpp (Vulkan) 80.6 tok/s — llama.cpp GitHub (Vulkan performance scoreboard) 2024-12-18
llama2:7b Q4_0 llama.cpp (CUDA) 76.9 tok/s — llama.cpp GitHub (CUDA performance scoreboard) 2025-08
llama2:7b q4_0 llama.cpp 75.9 tok/s — llama.cpp GitHub Discussion #10879 2024-12-18
llama2:7b Q4_0 llama.cpp 75.6 tok/s — llama.cpp GitHub (CUDA scoreboard) 2025-08
Llama 3 8B q4_K_M llama.cpp 70.9 tok/s — GitHub: XiongjieDai/GPU-Benchmarks-on-LLM-Inference 2024-05-15
Qwen2.5-Coder-7B-Instruct q4_K_M llama.cpp 69.3 tok/s — TyoLab 2026-05-11
deepseek-r1:7b q4_K_M llama.cpp 66.2 tok/s — tyolab.com 2026-05-11
deepseek-r1-distill:7b q4_K_M llama.cpp 66.2 tok/s — TyoLab 2026-05-11
llama3.1:8b q4_K_M llama.cpp 64.5 tok/s — TyoLab 2026-05-11
Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct q4_K_M llama.cpp 64.5 tok/s — TyoLab 2026-05-11
llama2:7b q4_K_M llama.cpp 60.2 tok/s — singhajit.com (Hardware Corner, citing geerlingguy data) 2024-01
qwen3:8b q4_K_M llama.cpp 59.5 tok/s — tyolab.com 2026-05-11
qwen3:8b q4_K_M llama.cpp 55.2 tok/s 5.0 GB smeltcore.com 2026-06-13
llama3.1:8b q4_K_M llama.cpp 55.0 tok/s — GitHub Gist (the-crypt-keeper) 2024-08
llama3.1:8b q4_K_M llama.cpp 52.2 tok/s — LocalScore.ai retrieved 2026-06-12
qwen3.5:9b q4_K_M llama.cpp 49.9 tok/s — TYO Lab blog 2026-05-11
qwen3:8b q4_K_XL llama.cpp 42.0 tok/s 7.5 GB Hardware Corner 2025-06
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct q4_K_M llama.cpp 42.0 tok/s 6.5 GB ModelFit.io 2025-01
llama2:13b q4_K_M llama.cpp 32.8 tok/s — singhajit.com (Hardware Corner, citing geerlingguy data) 2024-01
qwen3:8b q4_K_XL llama.cpp 31.9 tok/s — singhajit.com (Hardware Corner) 2025-06
qwen2.5:14b q4_K_M llama.cpp 26.4 tok/s — LocalScore.ai retrieved 2026-06-12

Synthetic Benchmarks

Higher is better. Bars are scaled within each benchmark family (multi-thread, single-thread, etc.) so you can compare like-with-like at a glance.

Synthetic benchmark scores for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB — higher is better. Each row links to the public database the number was taken from. A benchmark listed more than once is separate published results, shown as published rather than averaged.
Benchmark Relative Score Source
Geekbench 6 Vulkan 91,383 points Geekbench Browser retrieved 2026-08-24
Geekbench 6 OpenCL 82,071 points Geekbench Browser retrieved 2026-08-24
3DMark Fire Strike 21,653 points 3DMark 2024-01
PassMark G3D Mark 16,969 pts PassMark retrieved 2026-04-20
3DMark Time Spy (overall score) 9,755 points Legit Reviews 2021-02-25
3DMark Time Spy 8,754 points TopCPU.net retrieved 2026-07-13
3DMark Time Spy 8,747 points topcpu.net / 3DMark retrieved 2026-08-08
3DMark Time Spy 8,682 points 3DMark 2022-06
3DMark Time Spy 8,420 points UL 3DMark 2022-01
3DMark Port Royal 5,264 points 3DMark 2021-08-25

Products Featuring the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB

Full Specifications

TDP170 W
VRAM12 GB
Memory typeGDDR6
CUDA cores3584

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB best used for?
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB is a 12 GB VRAM Ampere-family graphics card. 1080p/1440p gaming and lightweight content creation are the headline use cases; the benchmark tables on this page place it within its generation.
When was the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB released, and what was its launch MSRP?
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB launched in 2021 at a $329 MSRP. Street prices drift from launch pricing over a product's life, so check the current listing before buying.
Where do the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB benchmark numbers come from?
Each benchmark row on this page names its source (public benchmark databases such as TechPowerUp, PassMark, Geekbench and Cinebench, and community reports such as r/LocalLLaMA threads) and links to it, so every number can be checked against the original.
Can the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB run local LLMs?
Yes — AI inference results for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB are on file; the AI Inference Performance section on this page lists model, quantization and tokens-per-second for each run. 12 GB VRAM fits 8-13B-parameter models at Q4_K_M.
Where can I buy the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB?
Amazon listings for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB are linked at the top of this page and in the Products Featuring the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB section. SpecPicks earns a small affiliate commission on qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to the buyer.

Buying guides that rank the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB's class

This page is the raw performance data. The guides below turn it into a ranked pick for a specific build.

Editorial guides covering the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB

In-depth SpecPicks reviews, build guides, and head-to-heads referencing this graphics card.

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Hardware benchmark data on SpecPicks

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
$478.00
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