Unbeatable Performance: MSI's RTX 4060 Ti 16GB Outperforms Expectations, On Sale Now!

Highlights

Rather intriguingly, Nvidia opted to withhold review units from partners, leading speculators to believe that they deliberately intended to keep the launch of the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB under wraps.

While the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB does not currently have any discounts available in the US, early benchmarks indicate that the increased cost of the 16GB model may not be warranted by its performance advantages compared to the 8GB model.

Interestingly, some retailers have already begun offering discounts on the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB shortly after its release. In the European market, major retailer websites are listing the Nvidia GPU with discounts of up to €30 (approximately $33). These discounts come after the card's launch on July 18, and initial reviews suggest that the price difference between the 8GB and 16GB models is reasonable, considering the minimal disparity in performance.

Nvidia, known for its thorough review process during graphic card launches, typically requests a list of reviewers from its partners and shares timelines. However, with the release of the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, Nvidia took a different approach. The company did not send out any review units to its partners, preventing them from conducting day 1 benchmarks. It appeared as though Nvidia purposely wanted to keep its latest offering under wraps. Surprisingly, the card is already available for sale just days after its launch.

Currently, MSI is offering its Ventus 3X 4060 Ti 16GB for €529 (approximately $586), which is a €20 discount from the initial price of €549 (around $608). Recently, the GPU was listed on Mindfactory for €519 (about $575), but the price has since increased by €10. The listing includes two other MSI variants, both of which are also slightly discounted. The RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM variant is priced at €539 (around $597), while the GAMING X variant is priced at €544 (about $602).

Unfortunately, in the US, the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB does not have any discounts and is being sold for $499 as the launch price by board partners such as Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. It was already known before the release that there would not be a reference model available for this GPU. Consequently, the 16GB version is $100 more expensive than the 8GB version. However, it is disappointing to note that the performance improvement does not justify the additional cost. Initial benchmarks conducted by Nvidia indicate that the card predominantly provides the same level of performance as the 8GB variant. Gigabyte's Gaming OC Variant is being sold at the launch price.

Introducing the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING OC 16G.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING OC 16G is the latest addition to the RTX 4060 series lineup from Gigabyte. This variant comes equipped with a massive 16GB VRAM, setting it apart from its predecessor, the 8GB version that hit the market in May. Thanks to its impressive VRAM capacity, this graphics card excels in memory-intensive games and productivity applications, surpassing the performance of its 8GB counterpart.

$500 on Newegg

Surprisingly, MSI's benchmarks revealed that the 16GB version performed poorly in four of the six games tested. It is important to mention that MSI used their RTX 4060 Ti 16GB GAMING X SLIM edition for the test, which resulted in slightly worse performance in Cyberpunk 2077, F1 2023, Rainbow 6: Siege, and Fortnite. However, there was a noticeable increase in FPS in CS: GO with the 16GB variant, while Hogwarts Legacy showed consistent performance regardless of VRAM capacity on the GPU.

The lackluster performance of the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB has resulted in Nvidia's reluctance to promote it during its release or provide it to reviewers. However, board partners are now attempting to generate interest by offering discounts shortly after the launch. This should serve as a signal for Nvidia to officially lower the price and align it closer to the 8GB version, in the hopes of making it more attractive to consumers.