GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti — Specs & Performance Compared
Verdict: The GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB is ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti on all 3 shared benchmarks on file, by 38% to 51%, including 38% in 3DMark Time Spy (8,718 vs 6,314). On llama3.1:8b, the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB generates 64.5 tokens/s (per TyoLab) against 16.7 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (per Databasemart), best community run on file for each.
Side-by-side GPU comparison of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. MSRP range: $329 · $279. Specs, synthetic benchmarks, AI inference tok/s, and Amazon availability below; each column header links to that part's benchmark page.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Price and availability subject to change.
Where to buy
A listing for each part; the current price and stock are on the retailer's page.
Specs side-by-side
| Spec | GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| vram gb | 12 | 6 |
| vram type | — | GDDR6 |
| tdp w | — | 120 |
| cuda cores | — | 1536 |
Synthetic benchmarks
Each row says whether a higher or a lower number is better (ranks and times are lower-is-better). Scores come from Notebookcheck, 3DMark, Modders Inc, WCCFTech, TopCPU.net, UL Benchmarks, Legit Reviews, PCGamesN, Geekbench Browser and PassMark; each row links its sources, and where they differ the cell shows their median. Empty cells mean we don't yet have that benchmark on file for the SKU.
| Benchmark | GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Fire Strike (higher is better) Source: Notebookcheck, 3DMark |
21,653 points | 14,413 points |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra (higher is better) Source: Modders Inc |
— | 3,368 points |
| 3DMark Port Royal (higher is better) Source: 3DMark, WCCFTech |
5,168 points | — |
| 3DMark Speed Way (higher is better) Source: 3DMark, TopCPU.net |
2,294 points | — |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad (higher is better) Source: UL Benchmarks |
1,974 points | 1,306 points |
| 3DMark Time Spy (higher is better) Source: Legit Reviews, PCGamesN, Notebookcheck, 3DMark, TopCPU.net |
8,718 points | 6,314 points |
| 3DMark Time Spy Extreme (higher is better) Source: Modders Inc |
— | 2,878 points |
| Geekbench 6 OpenCL (higher is better) Source: Geekbench Browser |
82,071 points | — |
| Geekbench 6 Vulkan (higher is better) Source: Geekbench Browser |
91,383 points | — |
| PassMark G2D Mark (higher is better) Source: PassMark |
— | 776 pts |
| PassMark G3D Mark (higher is better) Source: PassMark |
— | 12,615 pts |
AI inference (tokens/sec)
Top community-reported tokens-per-second results for popular LLMs whose weights fit the card's memory, each linked to its source. See the per-SKU benchmark page for the full set including quantization and prompt length.
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
- llama3.2:1b: 211.9 tok/s (TyoLab)
- llama3.2:1b: 211.9 tok/s (TYO Lab blog)
- llama3.2:1b: 185.0 tok/s (LocalScore (Mozilla Builders))
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
- llama2:7b: 56.6 tok/s (llama.cpp GitHub Discussions #10879)
- qwen3:0.6b: 47.1 tok/s (LocalLLaMA)
- llama2:7b: 41.4 tok/s (llama.cpp GitHub Discussion #15013)
Quick answers
Which is faster, the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB or the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti?
The GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB is ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti on all 3 shared benchmarks on file, by 38% to 51%, including 38% in 3DMark Time Spy (8,718 vs 6,314).
Which is better for running local LLMs?
On llama3.1:8b, the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB generates 64.5 tokens/s (per TyoLab) against 16.7 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (per Databasemart), best community run on file for each.
What did the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti cost at launch?
The GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB launched at a $329 MSRP and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti at $279. Street prices drift from launch pricing; the Where to buy section links current listings.
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