All good things must come to an end, including the production of beloved graphics cards like GeForce RTX 3060. After a little over three years since its debut, Nvidia is now calling time on its most popular Ampere GPU. The pixel pusher won’t disappear overnight, but it won’t be too long before new stock dries up for good.
While arguably not the best graphics card in today’s market, GeForce RTX 3060 is still top dog when it comes to market share. At the time of writing, it’s the most popular pixel pusher, according to the Steam Hardware Survey. 60-class models typically hold this position, but it achieved its coveted spot much later than usual, in September 2023. Its late ascension could precede an early usurpation, too, following its discontinuation and other forces at play.
According to Board Channels, Nvidia has effectively notified add-in card (AIC) partners that it intends to cease production of GeForce RTX 3060 (via Videocardz). The company has rung the bell for last orders, with final GPU batches expected to arrive over the next several months.
The discontinuation of GeForce RTX 3060 doesn’t come as a surprise, given its age. Nvidia is uncharacteristically late to giving it the chop, though, and even renewed the card’s production as late as December 2023. Due its popularity, and presumed profitability, it’s not hard to see why.
As highlighted, GeForce RTX 3060 isn’t going anywhere immediately. It’ll take Nvidia a while to fulfil final orders from partners, so stock should be relatively plentiful for a short while. Before grabbing one for yourself, be sure to check prices against GeForce RTX 4060. The card is by no means a no-brainer alternative, but it does have advantages like Nvidia DLSS Frame Generation at its disposal.
For those who can afford ample amounts of patience, we’re expecting Nvidia RTX 50 series cards to land early next year. Although, there’s no guarantee how quickly a would-be GeForce RTX 5060 will materialise. With next-generation pixel pushers in mind, there is also RDNA 4 to consider.
For an alternative to GeForce RTX 3060 and 4060, check out our Radeon RX 7600 review. If ray tracing isn’t a priority for your system, it could make a better value graphics card than either of the Nvidia models.
