Question Upgrading from the GTX 1660 Super to Gigabyte RTX 3060

[Tommy Sawyer]

My current rig:
Intel Core i5: 10400F
Gpu: Nvidia GTX 1660 Super
RAM: 2x8gb
Mobo: Gigabyte's B460M DS3H
PSu: Corsair CX750M 80 PLUS Bronze

Changing GPU to GeForce RTX 3060 12GB (3 fan) GigaByte

I know that the RTX 3060 requires PCIe 4.0 and this Mobo supports PCIe 3.0 , will this be a problem with the new 3060?
Also, what about the power ... I believe the 3060 is two 8 pin, right? I think my current 1660 is one 8 pin.
I guess I need to check my PSU for the extra 8 pin,,,, and use that, also?

Do you see any issues with upgrading to the 3060 with my current setup?
thanks for any info, have a great day,

 

[boju]

Should be fine power wise. Check 3060 model you're going to buy to determine power connectors since this model for an example uses 1x 8pin

https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N3060GAMING-OC-12GD-rev-10/sp#sp

3060's performance won't suffer running pcie 3. Enjoy the performance boost.

 

[Third-Eye]

My current rig:
Intel Core i5: 10400F
Gpu: Nvidia GTX 1660 Super
RAM: 2x8gb
Mobo: Gigabyte's B460M DS3H
PSu: Corsair CX750M 80 PLUS Bronze

Changing GPU to GeForce RTX 3060 12GB (3 fan) GigaByte

I know that the RTX 3060 requires PCIe 4.0 and this Mobo supports PCIe 3.0 , will this be a problem with the new 3060?
Also, what about the power ... I believe the 3060 is two 8 pin, right? I think my current 1660 is one 8 pin.
I guess I need to check my PSU for the extra 8 pin,,,, and use that, also?

Do you see any issues with upgrading to the 3060 with my current setup?
thanks for any info, have a great day,

That is around a 25-30% upgrade depending on the game. Most people should probably be looking for a 50+% upgrade, and you can get a more powerful RX 6750 XT for about $50 more than a 3060. The 6750 XT also works fine with your power supply.

You can even get an RX 6800 non XT for $370-400 which is even more powerful than a $400 4060 TI.

 

[Tommy Sawyer]

Should be fine power wise. Check 3060 model you're going to buy to determine power connectors since this model for an example uses 1x 8pin

https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N3060GAMING-OC-12GD-rev-10/sp#sp

3060's performance won't suffer running pcie 3. Enjoy the performance boost.

I installed it and it is running great. It only had one 8 pin connection, so that was easy. thanks.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I installed it and it is running great.

Do you see a significant improvement compared to your previous card?

 

[Tommy Sawyer]

Yes, I would say about 30% improvement. like some games were about 60 something FPS, now are getting about 95 FPS for 1440p. I had to ask my son, because that's actually his gaming PC.

Do you see a significant improvement compared to your previous card?

 

[Avro Arrow]

I know that the RTX 3060 requires PCIe 4.0

No, it doesn't require PCIe4, it just supports up to PCIe4. You could use it with PCIe1x1 if you wanted to. Now, sure, it would just be reduced to being a 2D video adapter with that level of connectivity, but it could be done. Hell, my mom's HTPC uses an RX 6500 XT which is specced as PCIe4 x4. Meanwhile, her motherboard is an old 990FX motherboard that only supports PCIe2 x16 so she's only getting PCIe2 x4 bandwidth. It still works just fine (as an HTPC, not as a gaming machine) because PCI-Express is like USB in that it's 100% backwards-compatible. The connection will work, it will just be slower.

Motherboards still have four USB2 ports each because there are a lot of devices that cannot benefit from USB3 or faster ports. Devices like mice, keyboards, gamepads, webcams, USB speakers and external optical drives aren't fast enough to saturate USB2 bandwidth. Faster USB ports are generally reserved for faster external devices like high-res cameras, external HDDs and SSDs.

The RX 6600 only has PCIe4 x8 connectivity while the RTX 3060 has PCIe4 x16 connectivity. The RX 6600 has no discernible performance deficit in a PCIe3 slot despite having only half the bandwidth of the RTX 3060. The RTX 3060 is only 7% faster than the RX 6600 so I don't foresee any problems for you in this way.