MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Gaming X Trio Review

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It would not be wrong to say that since the launch of the 4060 Ti 8GB, it has received more criticism and complaints compared to its tariff, and there are a few reasons for that.

Firstly, it seems to be too little too late. The card has brought very few improvements in terms of overall performance, and it arrived quite late. People expected a significant performance jump over time, but that didn’t happen.

Secondly, the pricing structure of PC components, not just GPUs, has been affected by various factors like the crypto currency boom and the impact of COVID. This industry-wide problem has led to increased prices in the budget segment, where even entry-level GPUs now cost around $300-$400. Nvidia’s pricing for the 4060 Ti appears to be out of place in this scenario.

Thirdly, the abundance of used cards in the market, particularly after the crypto currency bubble burst, has made it less sensible for some to buy the new 4060 Ti. The second-hand market offers previous-generation GPUs like the 3060 Ti at significantly lower prices, making it hard to justify purchasing the 4060 Ti for just a 10% performance improvement in most games. However, it’s understandable that some people may not prefer to buy second-hand components.

Now, in this article, I will review MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Gaming X Trio and compare it with RTX 3060 Ti.

Overview

The MSI RTX 4060 Ti 8GB Gaming X Trio has a long name, and it’s also a physically large card. You might think it’s very expensive, but no, it’s just a regular 4060 Ti with a power consumption of 160 watts. MSI hasn’t held back in making this card look like a big boy card so that it can have an imposing appearance. It only has a modest overclock of around 100-120 MHz on the core clock.

They have implemented the standard MSI Twin Frozr fans. The actual 4060 Ti is based on the Ada Lovelace AD106 architecture, which is highly power-efficient and doesn’t require extensive cooling. It draws very little power, and you can cool it efficiently even with smaller coolers.

If you were to pick up this card, considering its large size, you might think it would be quite heavy, but that’s not the case, and the reason is simple. Even though it has very large heatsinks with high fin density and gaps between the aluminum fins, the overall weight remains quite reasonable, around 1.1kg approximately. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the PCB of the card covers only about one-third of its area.

Specifications

Compared to the RTX 3060 Ti, everything here is better except for 1 or 2 things. So, overall, if we ignore the price, it’s technically superior to the 3060 Ti. No matter how you look at it, 4060 Ti is better.

Test Bench

Let’s first talk about how we compared these two cards. We used an Intel Core i7-1200K processor and tested games at 1080p resolution. In addition, we are using a Z690 motherboard and 32 GB DDR5 RAM 5200 MHz. We powered up the whole system with the MSI A1000G, which is an ATX 3 compatible power supply, meaning it also supports PCIe Gen 5 cable. It is a high-quality unit overall. However, to be honest, the RTX 4060 Ti or 4070 does not require this type of power supply since these new cards are quite power-efficient.

Benchmarks: RTX 4060 Ti vs RTX 3060 Ti

I have tested 7 games on RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 4060 Ti at 1080p resolution, and below, I have shown the percentage difference in all the graphs.

Now let’s talk about some numbers, and first, let’s discuss the game “Control.” This is a game that supports Ray tracing. It’s not very difficult to run without Ray tracing, but if you enable Ray tracing, it can become quite demanding. Here, I noticed a very interesting thing: If we run the game without Ray tracing, the RTX 4060 Ti is approximately 13% faster. However, as soon as we turn on Ray tracing, there is no difference at all, and the performance of both cards becomes almost half.

If we talk about another Ray tracing game, for example, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, which exclusively supports Ray tracing, you cannot play it without Ray tracing. In this game, we can see that the 4060 Ti is approximately 21% faster than the 3060 Ti. Will this difference matter to you in this type of game? I mean, would you immediately notice the difference between 100FPS and 120FPS? It depends on you and the nature of the slow-paced game.

But if we move from a slow-paced game to a slightly faster-paced game like Apex Legends, our RTX 4060 Ti is approximately 19% faster. However, it is already achieving frame rates above 180 FPS and 190 FPS. While we all know that having higher FPS can provide some benefits in games like reduced input lag and potentially increased response time, it ultimately depends on whether each frame is crucial to you or not.

In the next game, Horizon Zero Dawn, there is practically no difference, as you can see from the numbers. The FPS difference between the two cards is hardly 1-2%, and to be honest, it’s nearly impossible to distinguish any FPS variation within 5%. Yes, the performance of the RTX 4060 Ti is disappointing when it comes to Horizon Zero Dawn.

If we talk about a slightly older game like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, even here, there is only a marginal difference of around 10%. Overall, the performance of the RTX 4060 Ti is disappointing in this game as well.

The next game we tested is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and we specifically tested it in the campaign mode. Unfortunately, there is no significant improvement; it’s like less than a 10% performance gain for the RTX 4060 Ti.

Moving on to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the disappointing trend continues. Here as well, there is not much of a performance improvement. It’s only about a 3% overall average uplift in performance. There hasn’t been a significant increase in performance for the RTX 4060 Ti in this game.

 Power Efficiency

One notable improvement is in power consumption. As I mentioned earlier, you can pair the RTX 4060 Ti with smaller power supplies and save some money in your power budget. A standard 3060 Ti can consistently draw around 200-210 watts, depending on the variant. On the other hand, our overclocked RTX 4060 Ti consumes much less power. It usually stays within 150-160 watts.

Now, it’s not like it’s groundbreaking, but if you use both cards consistently for the whole year, using them for 8 hours every day, by the end of the year, you can save around $20 with the RTX 4060 Ti compared to the 3060 Ti.

Rendering Performance

Apart from gaming performance, the RTX 4060 Ti brings some other improvements, especially in rendering speeds. In applications like Blender, the RTX 4060 Ti performs faster.

Similarly, in V-Ray Benchmark, whether in RTX mode or normal mode, the RTX 4060 Ti is also faster. Although the difference may not be significant, it is noticeable, just like it was in gaming performance.

Temperatures & Noise

I have no complaints in this aspect. With such a large cooler on a relatively small GPU, it’s evident that you’ll get good performance. There are no issues with noise or fan speeds. The temperatures never went above 70 degrees Celsius, even with ambient temperatures ranging from 30 to 32 degrees Celsius. If you use air conditioning, you can expect temperatures to be even 5-6 degrees Celsius lower.

AMD Options

AMD also has some good products, and I’m talking about the RX 6700 XT or the RX 6650 XT, which could be comparable options. The ray tracing performance you get in RTX 4060 Ti is not worth in terms of pricing. Besides, ray tracing implementation in games is limited to specific cases, and it’s not always noticeable or significant in most scenarios.

On the other hand, Nvidia offers superior technologies like DLSS and other frame generation techniques, giving them an advantage in rendering performance. So, if you need those specific features, Nvidia remains the better choice, whether you go for the 3060 Ti or the RTX 4060 Ti.

Should You Buy RTX 4060 Ti ?

So, the question arises as to whom should consider the RTX 4060 Ti at the price range of around $450-$500. The answer is technically no one. Ideally, in a perfect world where everything is going well and people can make rational decisions, no one should buy the RTX 4060 Ti. It is overpriced for what it offers. It was launched at the wrong time, and its actual name should have been the 3050 Ti, with a price tag not exceeding $350.

However, the market doesn’t always work under ideal conditions, and people might not always make the most rational choices. Companies need to sell their products, and people need to spend their money. In that case, the RTX 4060 Ti might attract buyers who are not well-informed about its value or performance. Beginners, parents purchasing for their kids, or those who are not familiar with tech specs might still end up buying it.

In conclusion, from a purely technical perspective, it may not be a wise purchase, but in the real world, various factors influence buying decisions, and some people may still choose to buy the RTX 4060 Ti.

Jaskaran Singh

Jaskaran, a tech enthusiast from childhood, inspired by his father, began his tech journey by rooting Android phones. He now writes on various tech topics, aiming to simplify complex ideas for a broad audience. His writing is direct, concise, and flows effortlessly, making tech topics accessible and engaging.