RTX 3060 Laptop vs RTX 4060 Laptop: Which is the Better GPU?

RTX 3060 Laptop GPU stacked against an RTX 4060 Laptop GPU. Discover which option suits you best for your gaming or content creation needs.

5 Best Laptops To Play CS2 at Competitive Settings — An image showing the two laptops for reference (Image via Best Buy)

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The RTX 3060 is powered by the Ampere GPU Architecture, and the 4060 is powered by the Ada-Lovelace GPU Architecture. The 3060 mobile is a 6GB gaming GPU for entry-level gaming laptops, and the RTX 4060 mobile is an 8GB one.

Below is a comparison between the two, discussing how you benefit from the newer card and whether it is worth it or not.

Also Read: RTX 4060 Laptop vs RTX 5050 Laptop: Which Is the Better GPU?

RTX 3060 Laptop vs RTX 4060 Laptop: Detailed Comparison

An image of HP Victus gaming laptop — An image showing the laptop for reference (Image via HP)

Specs Comparison

Here are the specs of RTX 3060 Mobile and the RTX 4060 Mobile:

Specifications	RTX 3060 Mobile	RTX 4060 Mobile
Architecture	Ampere	Ada Lovelace
Lithography	8nm	5nm
Shading Units	3840	3072
TMUs	120	96
SM Count:	30	24
Tensor Cores:	120	96
RT Cores:	30	24
L1 Cache:	128 KB per SM	128 KB per SM
L2 Cache:	3 MB	32 MB
Memory Size	6 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Memory Width	192-bit	128-bit
Memory Bandwidth	336 GB/s	256 GB/s
TDP (Configurable)	60-140 W	60-140 W

Spec-wise, the 3060 has more CUDA cores and higher memory bandwidth. The catch is, it’s built on an inferior 8nm node rather than the 4060. The 4060 has a massive L2 cache advantage, 32MB versus 3MB, which alone is enough to push performance much higher, at the same power budget.

On top of that, the 4060 has Frame Generation support, which significantly improves overall motion smoothness, albeit with a slight latency tradeoff. You can use Lossless Scaling / FSR with Frame Generation on the 3060, but the 6GB VRAM is an outright limiter.

Synthetic Performance Comparison

An image showing the Lenovo laptop (Image via Micro Center) — An image showing the laptop for reference (Image via Micro Center)

If you are going for a content creation workload only, then both the GPUs are great options. Going for the 3060 makes the most sense, as you would get to pick up 3060-powered laptops at a much cheaper price than the 4060. But yes, the extra 2GB VRAM can come in handy, particularly if you are doing 3D design and rendering.

Benchmark	RTX 3060 Mobile	RTX 4060 Mobile
Blender (Optix)	2554	2762
GeekBench Open CL	93263	105630
3D Mark TimeSpy	10540 (overall)	10772 (overall)
3D Mark Firestrike	20140 (overall)	24938 (overall)

Gaming Performance Comparison

The data is sourced from Testing Games’ channel, where the person tested two laptops with RTX 3060 and RTX 4060 with near identical specs, at 1080p low settings.

Games	RTX 3060 Mobile	RTX 4060 Mobile
Cyberpunk: 2077	48 FPS	63 FPS
Hogwarts Legacy	34 FPS	53 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	67 FPS	97 FPS
Sons of Forest	60 FPS	79 FPS
Horizon Zero Dawn	72 FPS	91 FPS
PUBG	114 FPS	156 FPS

The 4060 is the faster GPU over here when it comes to gaming. If you’re looking for the best value in gaming and require at least 8GB VRAM, along with native Frame Generation, consider the 4060. However, gaming on the 3060 is also possible, and depending on how much you are saving, the 3060 is also a great option. If you are going for frame generation, then use lossless scaling or resort to FSR.

Final Verdict on RTX 3060 Laptop vs RTX 4060 Laptop

Both the 3060 and the 4060 offer incredible value, depending on your specific needs, such as newer features, efficiency, and cost per frame. With the release of the 50 series laptops, both the 30 and 40 series have come down in price significantly.

You can find laptops with a 45% NTSC screen at a much lower budget, or pick up a cheap IPS 100% sRGB monitor and pair it with a discreet GPU port to get a portable powerhouse with a great screen. A bit more costly, but well worth it.

Also Read: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X: Which Is the Better CPU?

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RTX 3060 Laptop vs RTX 4060 Laptop: Which is the Better GPU?