G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce RTX 3060

2021

Why buy it

✅+98.9% higher PassMark G3D performance.
✅Delivers 38.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 51.7 vs 37.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (12 GB vs 8 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Measures 240mm instead of 242mm, a 2mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (8,546 vs 16,995).
❌Less VRAM, with 8 GB vs 12 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 37.3 vs 51.7 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

GeForce RTX 3060

2021

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅+98.9% higher PassMark G3D performance.
✅Delivers 38.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 51.7 vs 37.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (12 GB vs 8 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Costs $100 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
✅Measures 240mm instead of 242mm, a 2mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (8,546 vs 16,995).
❌Less VRAM, with 8 GB vs 12 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 37.3 vs 51.7 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce RTX 3060 better than Radeon RX 480?

Yes. GeForce RTX 3060 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 16,995 vs 8,546 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce RTX 3060 is a 2021 card with DLSS Super Resolution, while Radeon RX 480 is a 2016 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce RTX 3060 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2021 generation instead of 2016, 98.9% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 12 GB instead of 8 GB, and the stronger feature stack with DLSS Super Resolution instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce RTX 3060 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce RTX 3060 is about 43.7% more expensive on MSRP at $329 MSRP versus $229 MSRP, and you are getting 98.9% higher G3D Mark. Radeon RX 480 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Radeon RX 480 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon RX 480 is 2016 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM, 8,546 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce RTX 3060 Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 480 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	149 FPS	134 FPS
medium	131 FPS	113 FPS
high	118 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	99 FPS	58 FPS
1440p
low	126 FPS	114 FPS
medium	104 FPS	96 FPS
high	92 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	80 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	67 FPS	39 FPS
medium	58 FPS	36 FPS
high	39 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	19 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon RX 480

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	354 FPS	156 FPS
medium	310 FPS	135 FPS
high	249 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	195 FPS	89 FPS
1440p
low	222 FPS	91 FPS
medium	196 FPS	71 FPS
high	160 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	128 FPS	44 FPS
4K
low	110 FPS	37 FPS
medium	94 FPS	29 FPS
high	77 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	18 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon RX 480

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	765 FPS	385 FPS
medium	612 FPS	308 FPS
high	510 FPS	256 FPS
ultra	382 FPS	192 FPS
1440p
low	535 FPS	288 FPS
medium	432 FPS	231 FPS
high	366 FPS	192 FPS
ultra	287 FPS	144 FPS
4K
low	367 FPS	192 FPS
medium	298 FPS	154 FPS
high	221 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	176 FPS	96 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon RX 480

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	523 FPS	290 FPS
medium	452 FPS	252 FPS
high	383 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	319 FPS	166 FPS
1440p
low	428 FPS	213 FPS
medium	371 FPS	190 FPS
high	298 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	245 FPS	118 FPS
4K
low	279 FPS	120 FPS
medium	259 FPS	98 FPS
high	225 FPS	80 FPS
ultra	186 FPS	62 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon RX 480

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 3060 and Radeon RX 480

GeForce RTX 3060

The GeForce RTX 3060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1320 MHz to 1777 MHz. It has 3584 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 170W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 28 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 16,995 points. Launch price was $329.

Radeon RX 480

The Radeon RX 480 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 29 2016. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1120 MHz to 1266 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,546 points. Launch price was $229.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 3060 scores 16,995 versus the Radeon RX 480's 8,546 — the GeForce RTX 3060 leads by 98.9%. The GeForce RTX 3060 is built on Ampere while the Radeon RX 480 uses GCN 4.0, both on 8 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 3,584 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 2,304 (Radeon RX 480). Raw compute: 12.74 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 5.834 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 480). Boost clocks: 1777 MHz vs 1266 MHz.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
G3D Mark Score	16,995+99%	8,546
Architecture	Ampere	GCN 4.0
Process Node	8 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	3584+56%	2304
Compute (TFLOPS)	12.74 TFLOPS+118%	5.834 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1777 MHz+40%	1266 MHz
ROPs	48+50%	32
TMUs	112	144+29%
L1 Cache	3.5 MB+525%	0.56 MB
L2 Cache	3 MB+50%	2 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 3060 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon RX 480 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
Upscaling Tech	DLSS 2 Super Resolution	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce RTX 3060 comes with 12 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon RX 480 has 8 GB. The GeForce RTX 3060 offers 50% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 360 GB/s (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 256 GB/s (Radeon RX 480) — a 40.6% advantage for the GeForce RTX 3060. Bus width: 192-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 3 MB (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 2 MB (Radeon RX 480) — the GeForce RTX 3060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
VRAM Capacity	12 GB+50%	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	360 GB/s+41%	256 GB/s
Bus Width	192-bit	256-bit+33%
L2 Cache	3 MB+50%	2 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 12.0 (Radeon RX 480). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
DirectX	12 Ultimate	12.0
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 7th Gen (GeForce RTX 3060) vs VCE 3.4 (Radeon RX 480). Decoder: NVDEC 5th Gen vs UVD 6.3. Supported codecs: AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon RX 480).

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
Encoder	NVENC 7th Gen	VCE 3.4
Decoder	NVDEC 5th Gen	UVD 6.3
Codecs	AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 3060 draws 170W versus the Radeon RX 480's 150W — a 12.5% difference. The Radeon RX 480 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 500W (Radeon RX 480). Power connectors: 8-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 242mm vs 240mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 85°C.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon RX 480
TDP	170W	150W-12%
Recommended PSU	550W	500W-9%
Power Connector	8-pin	8-pin
Length	242mm	240mm
Height	112mm	95mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	75-12%	85°C
Perf/Watt	100.0+75%	57.0

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce RTX 3060 launched at $329 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 480 launched at $229. The Radeon RX 480 costs 30.4% less ($100 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 51.7 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 37.3 (Radeon RX 480) — the GeForce RTX 3060 offers 38.6% better value. The GeForce RTX 3060 is the newer GPU (2021 vs 2016).