NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB is an Ada Lovelace generation card built on TSMC's 5 nm process, housing 22,900 million transistors on a 188 mm² die. It carries 4,352 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, alongside 34 RT cores and 136 tensor cores. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2907, which places it in the 17th percentile of all GPUs tracked. Its launch MSRP is 499 USD.

Benchmark Performance

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2907 is the sole benchmark result in the fact pack, and it anchors the performance analysis. A percentile standing of 17 means that 83% of all GPUs in the database deliver a higher score, indicating that this card sits in the lower performance tier overall. The nearest rivals, however, are remarkably close in output. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M and the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB both average 2913, giving the 16 GB variant a delta of -0.2%—a difference of just six points. Against the GT 650M, the 4060 Ti 16 GB leads by 0.5% (2907 vs 2893), while the GTX 860M outperforms it by 1.7% (2959 vs 2907). These deltas are within a narrow band of roughly 2%, meaning that in this specific DirectX 12 workload, the 4060 Ti 16 GB is effectively tied with all four rivals. The practical implication is that the card's raw compute throughput—22.06 TFLOPS FP32 and 344.8 GTexel/s texture rate—does not translate into a decisive advantage in Steel Nomad, likely due to the benchmark's memory-bandwidth sensitivity and the card's 128-bit bus.

The pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and the 48 ROPs further suggest that fill-rate-bound scenes may not benefit from the card's higher shader count. The 17th percentile ranking reinforces that this is not a high-end part; it is positioned near the middle-to-lower end of the database. When compared to its direct predecessor generation (GeForce 30) and successor (GeForce 50), the 4060 Ti 16 GB occupies a transitional spot, but the data does not provide direct cross-generation comparisons. The near-identical scores between the 16 GB and 8 GB versions of the same card indicate that the extra VRAM does not affect this particular benchmark, a point that becomes relevant when considering memory-heavy workloads.

Who Should Consider It

Given the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2907 and the 17th percentile ranking, this card is not aimed at users seeking top-tier performance at high refresh rates or maximum settings in demanding titles. The 16 GB memory capacity, however, makes it a candidate for gaming at 1080p or 1440p with high-resolution texture packs, where the larger frame buffer can prevent stuttering from texture swapping. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, constrained by the 128-bit bus, suggests that 4K gaming may be problematic, as the memory subsystem could become a bottleneck in scenes with heavy bandwidth usage. The card's 22.06 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is respectable for 1080p and 1440p rasterization, but the low percentile indicates that many other GPUs deliver higher frame rates in synthetic workloads.

For users who prioritize VRAM capacity over raw speed—such as those running modded games or content creation tasks that load large assets—the 16 GB allocation is a strong point. The 136 tensor cores and 34 RT cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS, but the modest overall performance means that ray tracing at high settings will likely require upscaling to maintain playable frame rates. The card's end-of-life production status and 2023-05-17 release date suggest that it is a mature product, but the data does not indicate any driver-specific optimizations. In summary, the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming with high-quality settings, and for users who value the 16 GB buffer over peak performance.

Memory Subsystem

The memory configuration is a defining feature: 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz with an effective data rate of 18 Gbps. The capacity is generous for the card's performance class, enabling large textures and complex scenes without exceeding the frame buffer. However, the 128-bit bus width is narrow compared to many modern GPUs, and the resulting bandwidth is modest. In high-resolution scenarios, such as 4K, the bandwidth may become a limiting factor because the GPU must fetch more data per frame, and the 288.0 GB/s throughput could be insufficient to feed the 4,352 shading units at full load. The 16 GB capacity, on the other hand, ensures that even at 4K, the card can hold most texture sets in memory, reducing the need for streaming from system RAM.

The balance between capacity and bandwidth is a trade-off. For 1080p and 1440p, the bandwidth is likely adequate, as the data throughput required is lower. For 4K, the card may show a performance drop not because of VRAM exhaustion, but because the memory bus cannot deliver data quickly enough. The pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 344.8 GTexel/s are tied to the ROP and TMU counts, but the memory subsystem's throughput directly affects how quickly these units can receive data. The 128-bit bus also limits the maximum possible bandwidth; a wider bus would typically allow higher throughput, but the 288.0 GB/s figure is what the card offers. Users considering this card for 4K gaming should be aware that the memory bandwidth may be the primary constraint, despite the ample 16 GB capacity.

How It Compares

NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M — The RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB scores 2907, which is 0.2% lower than the GT 555M's average of 2913. The delta of -0.2% is negligible, placing the two cards within a few points of each other in Steel Nomad. This is surprising given the architectural differences, but the data shows that the 4060 Ti 16 GB does not outperform this older mobile GPU in this specific workload.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB — The 16 GB variant is 0.2% behind the 8 GB version, which also averages 2913. The six-point gap is within run-to-run variance, indicating that the extra VRAM does not impact performance in this benchmark. The two cards are effectively identical in compute capabilities, with the only difference being memory capacity.

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M — The 4060 Ti 16 GB leads the GT 650M by 0.5%, with scores of 2907 vs 2893. This is the only rival where the card holds a positive delta, though the margin is still tiny. The GT 650M is a much older part, yet the performance gap is less than one percent.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M — The GTX 860M averages 2959, which is 1.7% higher than the 4060 Ti 16 GB's 2907. This is the largest delta among the rivals, but still a small difference. The GTX 860M outperforms the 4060 Ti 16 GB in this benchmark, indicating that the newer card does not deliver a meaningful advantage in Steel Nomad.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory size and type of the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB?

A: It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus width and a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the TDP and what PSU is recommended?

A: The TDP is 165 W, and the suggested PSU is 450 W.

Q: What power connector does the card require?

A: It uses a single 16-pin power connector.

Q: What is the bus interface of this card?

A: It uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Q: How many RT cores and tensor cores does it have?

A: It has 34 RT cores and 136 tensor cores.

Q: What is the boost clock speed?

A: The boost clock is 2535 MHz, with a base clock of 2310 MHz.

Power and Cooling

The RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB has a TDP of 165 W, which is moderate for a desktop GPU. The suggested PSU rating is 450 W, indicating that most mid-range power supplies can handle it. The card requires a single 16-pin power connector, a standard for the GeForce 40-series. The physical dimensions are 240 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, making it a dual-slot card that should fit in most mid-tower cases. The 5 nm process and 22,900 million transistors contribute to a relatively efficient design, but the fact pack does not provide thermal performance data. The dual-slot cooler is expected to dissipate the 165 W heat load, but no specific cooler specifications are given. The 450 W PSU recommendation accounts for the card's draw plus typical system components; a higher-wattage PSU may be needed if the system includes a high-end CPU or multiple drives, but the data only lists 450 W as the suggestion.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The card includes 34 RT cores and 136 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features like DLSS. The RT core count is modest compared to higher-tier Ada Lovelace parts, but it provides the necessary hardware for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support, which is listed as an API. The card also supports OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, covering a broad range of graphics APIs. The tensor cores, with a FP16 compute of 22.06 TFLOPS (1:1 with FP32), can accelerate deep learning workloads and DLSS upscaling. The pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 344.8 GTexel/s indicate the card's fill-rate capabilities, which are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The display outputs include 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, supporting modern monitors. The 16 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus, as discussed, may limit ray tracing performance at high resolutions, but the presence of dedicated RT cores ensures that ray-traced effects can be rendered, albeit with potential performance trade-offs. The card's feature set is solid for its class, but the benchmark score suggests that the overall performance envelope is limited.