Its pretty much never worth upgrading a single generation, in my opinion. (1)

nope, gpu generations are marginal now due to all the crap like upscaling and frame gen, you don't see significant leaps in raw power like the 9xx series to 10xx series

i wouldn't bother until the 60xx, also depends on the cpu as an old cpu will severely bottleneck a new gpu, so you might need an entirely new system

I wouldn't recommend it, unless you can find the 4060 dirt cheap and resell your 3060 to recoup most of the cost. Even then, this won't be a big upgrade, I think on average the 4060 perform 10-15% better than a 3060 at most. Also if your 3060 is the 12G variant, I would be even less inclined to replace it with a 4060.

As for the 3060 being enough in 2025, sure it is, if you're okay with gaming at 1080p, like I do. I have a 3060 and I do like it, but the most graphically intense game I play is Skyrim at 1080p (with about 250 mods, some of which really cranks up the graphics big time) so your mileage might vary.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Hi Im Swat:

Err...who is this "WE" you speak of?

Possible bot account harvesting data.

fair point
When I say "we," I’m really referring to everyone in the community who wants to share their thoughts—nothing more complicated than that. I'm just a fellow gamer eager to hear about your real-world experiences with these GPUs!

Oprindeligt skrevet af Sondardo:

I wouldn't recommend it, unless you can find the 4060 dirt cheap and resell your 3060 to recoup most of the cost. Even then, this won't be a big upgrade, I think on average the 4060 perform 10-15% better than a 3060 at most. Also if your 3060 is the 12G variant, I would be even less inclined to replace it with a 4060.

As for the 3060 being enough in 2025, sure it is, if you're okay with gaming at 1080p, like I do. I have a 3060 and I do like it, but the most graphically intense game I play is Skyrim at 1080p (with about 250 mods, some of which really cranks up the graphics big time) so your mileage might vary.

I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your detailed response. Your points about resale value and the 10–15% real-world performance gap really hit home for me.

Just so you know, I have the 12GB variant of the 3060, and I totally agree with what you said! It still performs quite well for 1080p gaming and even light 1440p gaming in 2025.

Also, I'm really curious about something. You mentioned modded Skyrim, and wow, 250 mods sounds incredible! Do you think VRAM capacity is more important than raw GPU power when it comes to heavily modded or texture-heavy games? I've heard some folks say that the 12GB of VRAM on the 3060 can sometimes outperform the 4060 in those cases.

Oprindeligt skrevet af space:

nope, gpu generations are marginal now due to all the crap like upscaling and frame gen, you don't see significant leaps in raw power like the 9xx series to 10xx series

i wouldn't bother until the 60xx, also depends on the cpu as an old cpu will severely bottleneck a new gpu, so you might need an entirely new system

Yeah, totally get what you mean. we’re not getting those big jumps like 900 → 1000 series anymore.
Upscaling and frame gen do way too much now, so raw GPU power upgrades don’t feel exciting anymore.

I’m on a 3060 12GB with a 12th-gen Intel CPU, so no big bottlenecks yet.
That’s why I don’t really see the point in jumping to a 4060.

Maybe like you said, waiting for the 60xx or something bigger makes more sense.

Oprindeligt skrevet af AmsterdamHeavy:

Its pretty much never worth upgrading a single generation, in my opinion. (1)

You're right, upgrading just one generation usually isn’t worth it, especially when the performance gain is minor and power usage goes up.

Stay away from nvidia their gpu's are rubbish, just get a good AMD 7000 SERIES OR A 9000 SERIES 9070.

I have a 4060 that is brand new. I acquired it bundled with some other components from Guang Hua Plaza. I did not unseal it though because I know I would find it disappointing and weedy. If you have the 12gb version of a 3060 I would just keep that and save money towards a proper gpu.

Oprindeligt skrevet af SLAYER187:

Stay away from nvidia their gpu's are rubbish, just get a good AMD 7000 SERIES OR A 9000 SERIES 9070.

I totally get the excitement around AMD; they really do provide great value! But saying that NVIDIA is rubbish feels a bit extreme. Both brands have their own strengths and weaknesses, depending on what you’re looking for.

Oprindeligt skrevet af TWPanda77:

I have a 4060 that is brand new. I acquired it bundled with some other components from Guang Hua Plaza. I did not unseal it though because I know I would find it disappointing and weedy. If you have the 12gb version of a 3060 I would just keep that and save money towards a proper gpu.

That totally makes sense! I feel the same way—upgrading from a 3060 (12GB) to a 4060 doesn’t seem like a big leap to me either. The VRAM difference is important, and it seems like most of the improvements with the 4060 rely more on frame generation and upscaling than on pure power, right?

I still have my 1070 in this aging PC and it is still kicking after so long. Never replaced a single component. So you probably already know where this is going.

This said, my opinion on the whole thing is that if you really feel like you need to upgrade then the 4000 series is the last one I would ever recommend. I would not even bother looking at the 5000 series with all that BS AI integrated frame gen and such. That's basically a downgrade from what was done in the previous years... So yeah, I would consider the 4000 series to be the bastion of the top of the line for now and if this PC was to bite the dust tomorrow that's probably what I'd aim for.

Anything above a 3060 is a waste for rented games. Invest in something you can actualy make some money back with. I have yet to find any game that warrants above a 3060 that makes any big diffrence. To each thier own I guess, spend away, I would jump to the 500 series not the 400.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Eagle_of_Fire:

I still have my 1070 in this aging PC and it is still kicking after so long. Never replaced a single component. So you probably already know where this is going.

This said, my opinion on the whole thing is that if you really feel like you need to upgrade then the 4000 series is the last one I would ever recommend. I would not even bother looking at the 5000 series with all that BS AI integrated frame gen and such. That's basically a downgrade from what was done in the previous years... So yeah, I would consider the 4000 series to be the bastion of the top of the line for now and if this PC was to bite the dust tomorrow that's probably what I'd aim for.

the 1070 truly was a legendary card in terms of longevity. I completely get your point, and I agree that raw GPU horsepower matters more than AI-driven features like frame gen and fancy upscaling.

Personally though, I think the 4000 series has some decent options, but only in certain tiers — like the 4070 Super, 4080 Super, etc. The lower-tier cards (4050/4060) don’t really feel like exciting upgrades, especially coming from a 3060 12GB. So I’d rather hold off and wait for a real jump, whether it's a strong 4000-series card or something genuinely better in the 5000 lineup (if they don’t mess it up with too much “AI gimmick”).

Oprindeligt skrevet af Fall2YrDoom:

Anything above a 3060 is a waste for rented games. Invest in something you can actualy make some money back with. I have yet to find any game that warrants above a 3060 that makes any big diffrence. To each thier own I guess, spend away, I would jump to the 500 series not the 400.

You’re totally right! For regular gaming at 1080p or even light 1440p, the 3060 does a fantastic job with almost everything. Honestly, I don’t see much value in jumping to a 4060.

If I do decide to upgrade down the line, I’d much rather wait for something that feels like a real upgrade, like a powerful 4000 series card or, as you said, the 5000 series.