It’s an interesting time for the best graphics cards as both Nvidia’s RTX 40-series Ada GPUs and AMD’s RX 7000-series RDNA 3 GPUs are expected to launch within the next few months. Some might say it’s the worst time to buy a graphics card, but I was in that boat just before the launch of his Ampere and learned a valuable lesson. Predicting the future is not an exact science. On top of that, Ada and RDNA 3 will almost certainly launch at the top of the graphics card market. That means even if the card stock were his MSRP, it could end up being a lot more expensive than most gamers are willing to pay.
Looking at the latest Steam hardware survey confirms this. A GPU we didn’t particularly care about at launch, the GTX 1650 now ranks as the most popular individual GPU. The old 1060 6gb actually gives good performance in most games but still costs a bit more now but his 3rd most popular GPU on Steam is the topic of the day GeForce RTX 2060.
Three and a half years after its January 2019 debut, the RTX 2060 is making a comeback. Most of the other RTX 20-series GPUs have been out of stock at retail stores for quite some time now, but a few months ago the RTX 2060 started showing up in EVGA’s stores, and it’s been on Newegg, Amazon, and other places ever since. Originally priced at $349, it was later officially dropped to $299 (to compete with the launch of the RX 5600 XT). Like all other GPUs, the RTX 2060 has been nearly impossible to find at a reasonable price for most of the last two years. That has changed a lot now.
Currently the GeForce RTX 2060 is $229 at Amazon (opens in new tab), new egg (opens in new tab)Also Direct from EVGAI’ve even seen it go less occasionally.This card has some limitations, notably his VRAM of 6GB, but it’s at least on par with similar cards like the GTX 1660 Super and RX 5600 XT, plus you can also find $279 for RTX 2060 12GBif you really insist on having more VRAM.
To be clear, we’re not saying the RTX 2060 represents the best value of all graphics cards right now. That honor goes to the Radeon RX 6600. $249 at Amazon (opens in new tab)(Once upon a time gamers still fondly recall Nvidia’s 6600 GT, so there must be a reason for that number.) But not everyone wants to buy AMD GPUs, and the RTX 2060 fully supports DLSS. Other similarly priced GPUs.
Curiously, Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 3050 still carries a hefty price premium. With an official suggested retail price of $249, it might be a reasonable alternative, but currently the cheapest 3050 is priced at $299. Additionally, the RTX 2060 offers better performance in most games, with the exception of a few cases where the 2060 exceeded his 6GB of VRAM.
This is basically a microcosm of what AMD and Nvidia will face with their new GPUs in the near future. Performance could be better, but there are reports of a number of current generation GPUs sitting on shelves and warehouses. As GPU prices continue to drop, older GPUs can be more valuable, especially in the mid-range and budget sectors.
The RTX 3060 as another example is currently priced at $369 (opens in new tab) Performance is now somewhere between the old RTX 2070 and the RTX 2070 Super. Paying more for the RTX 3060 doesn’t make much sense when these older GPUs are still readily available for under $299. That’s exactly what the RTX 2060 is doing to his RTX 3050 and GTX 1660 Super.
GeForce RTX 2060 performance
We need to put things in proper perspective with some test results. These charts include Nvidia’s RTX 2060, RTX 3050, RTX 3060, and GTX 1660 Super, and AMD’s RX 6600, RX 6600 XT, and RX 6650 XT. Importantly, all of these graphics cards can be purchased new from major online stores such as Amazon, B&H, and Newegg.
We’ll look at the overall value in terms of cost-effectiveness shortly, but let’s start with pure performance.There’s no RTX 2060 12GB, but it’s no slower than the 6GB model. The extra VRAM definitely helps with 1080p/1440p ultra settings in some games.
The GeForce RTX 2060 won’t take the top spot in performance, but it claims to easily beat the RTX 3050 and GTX 1660 Super. AMD’s RX 6600/6650 models, on the other hand, offer a decent jump in standard gaming performance, but even the faster XT cards perform slightly better than the RTX 2060 in our ray tracing tests.
This is definitely not a card where you can simply max all settings and expect liquid-smooth frame rates in every game, even at 1080p. However, during 1080p, you can easily hit the 60fps mark in any standard game, but it should look and work great at 1080p at higher settings (give it or make some tweaks) .
The ray-traced performance might put potential users on pause, but keep in mind the price tag of just $230. You shouldn’t expect an exceptional ray tracing experience on this kind of hardware, but at least you can try it. Most balanced DLSS can significantly improve frame rates with a small loss in visual fidelity.
GeForce RTX 2060 value
Taking price and performance into account gives another perspective. Not all GPUs support DirectX Ray Tracing (DXR), and ray tracing isn’t as important as gamers absolutely need it, so in addition to the standard 1080p medium FPS and ultra FPS geometric mean, We calculated the overall performance. 10% of DXR FPS in 1080p. Then divide that number by the current retail price to get the final FPS/$ result.
The GeForce RTX 2060 doesn’t claim top honors, and in fact isn’t even among the current top three graphics cards under $500. However, it sits fourth and ranks higher on the value scale than his other Nvidia GPUs.
Is this a fair way to represent data? I’ll leave the judge to you. Obviously, this whole conversation is moot if you’re already running cards faster than the RTX 2060. On the other hand, if you’re currently using a 5-6 year old mid-range GPU like the GTX 1060 or RX 570/580 and looking to upgrade in the right place, this will help you see the big picture.
If you’re sticking with buying an Nvidia GPU instead of one of the competing AMD alternatives, the RTX 2060 qualifies as a near-budget offering and certainly ranks as the best option under $250. If you care more about performance than price, the RTX 3060 is potentially a better option, with 12GB of VRAM available, but it comes at a significantly higher cost for a modest improvement in performance.
Another point is equally obvious for those not dedicated to Nvidia. At just $250, the RX 6600 is an excellent choice. If you’re willing to spend a little more, the RX 6600/6650 XT is also a good option. Beyond that, the value proposition becomes much less attractive.
