We're currently in the middle of a turn in a generation of PC gaming hardware. With new GPUs dropping like the Nvidia RTX 4090 Founders Edition, what we consider top-of-the-line hardware is currently in shift. Still, if you can't get your hands on a fancy new 40-series card, you're likely not alone. Between prices and availability, the dream of a brand new machine running the newest kit will likely remain just a dream for many of us.
Thankfully, rehashes of older cards are still pretty commonplace, and are a far more affordable option. Right now it looks like the RTX 3060 GPUs are set to receive the treatment, with two brands releasing 8GB variants of the 2021 card. These should make for a much cheaper upgrade for those in need.
According to VideoCardz, both Manli and Asus are releasing GPUs based on the same RTX 3060 8GB SKU. These appear basically identical to the brand's 12GB variants, but with only 8GB of memory. This is using a 128-bit memory bus as opposed to a 192-bit so you'll be getting less bandwidth, and lose the future proofing the 12GB offered. It's definitely going to be a cut-down card, but with a price tag to match.
The Manli cards take cues from the brand's RTX 3060 LHR model whereas Asus is adding its new 3060 8GB to its Dual series of GPUs. Aside from that, both should be fairly similar with 3584 Nvidia CUDA cores, and 240GB of memory bandwidth along with the typical 170 watt TDP we're used to with the RTX 3060s.
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Of course, whether or not this card is going to be worth a look all comes down to the price. If this budget-specced GPU comes with a cost to match, it could be a really nice little upgrade for those of us still rocking 10 series cards. The good old 1060 still holds the top spot on Steam's Hardware survey, with RTX 3060 not sitting that far behind as the 6th most popular card.
Given current RTX 3060 cards are sitting at around $400 USD, they're already a bit of a hard sell. The Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti is often going for around the same, is worth the upgrade if you can get your hands on one. The lesser 8GB RTX 3050s aren't often under the $300 mark, and that's where I'd like to see these 8GB 3060s if they're going to get a look-in at all. Hopefully we'll be pleasantly surprised, and these really will become the budget build option to get us through.
