NVIDIA brought back the RTX 3060 12GB in late June 2026. Not a refresh, not a rebrand — the same Samsung 8nm GA106 chip from 2021, manufactured again because the RTX 5050 got shelved due to GDDR7 supply issues.
It launched at $329, well above the ~$200 the pre-launch reporting expected, and it has not stayed there. Within two months the MSI Ventus model was listed at $479.99, up about 45%, while other models held near $329-339. The shortage that made NVIDIA restart this production line is the same one now pushing its price up.
For budget LLM users that changes the question entirely. It is no longer “wait or buy used” — it is whether a 12GB card from 2021 still makes sense at 2026 prices.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
12GB GDDR612GB GDDR6 runs every 7B model and squeezes 13B at lower quants. Check the listing price first — the relaunch started at $329 and some models have drifted past $450.
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon ships globally; Shopee SG covers Singapore & ASEAN.
Why NVIDIA is relaunching a 2021 GPU
The RTX 5050 was supposed to be NVIDIA’s $250 entry-level card for 2026. It got delayed indefinitely because GDDR7 memory is in short supply — the same shortage driving up prices on the RTX 5080 and 5090. NVIDIA’s solution: restart production of the RTX 3060 12GB using existing Samsung 8nm wafer supply that’s abundant and cheap.
This isn’t unprecedented. NVIDIA has relaunched older GPUs before when supply chain issues blocked newer products. The GTX 1050 Ti saw a similar revival during the 2020-2021 chip shortage.
The relaunched 3060 will be identical to the original — same chip, same 12GB GDDR6, same 192-bit bus. No hardware changes.
LLM performance of the RTX 3060 12GB
| Workload | Performance | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 7B Q4_K_M (Llama 3 8B, Mistral 7B) | ~25 tok/s | Fully usable for chat |
| 13B Q4_K_M (CodeLlama 13B) | ~15 tok/s | Usable but noticeably slow |
| 13B Q3_K_M | ~12 tok/s | Fits in 12GB, barely interactive |
| 34B Q4_K_M | Does not fit | Needs 20GB+ VRAM |
| 7B with 8K context | Works fine | 12GB handles extended context at 7B |
The 3060’s 12GB is its defining feature for LLM work. At this price point, every other current-gen GPU has less VRAM: the RTX 5060 has 12GB (but costs $300+), and the RTX 4060 has only 8GB. The 3060 matches them on the spec that matters most for local inference.
For a full breakdown of what 7B models can do on this hardware, see best GPU for 7B models.
VRAM capacity memory bandwidth Specs are manufacturer figures. Bar lengths are scaled independently per metric.
New or used, now that both exist?
The relaunch has shipped, so this is no longer a waiting question. Both cards are on the shelf and the performance is identical — same silicon, same 12GB, same bus. What differs is the price and the warranty.
Buy the relaunch card if you can find it near $329:
- You want a factory-new card with full warranty and retail returns
- You do not want to inspect a used card or take on mining-wear risk
- The premium over a used one is about $80 at that price, which is fair for a warranty
Buy used, at roughly $250, if:
- The new listings in front of you are above $400 — at that point the warranty is costing you $150 or more
- You are comfortable inspecting a card and buying from a reputable seller
Buy neither if the only listings you can find are near $480. At that price an RTX 4060 Ti 16GB costs about $425 and gives you 16GB, which moves you from “13B at a squeeze” to “13B comfortably”. Paying more for less VRAM is not a trade that makes sense for LLM work.
One thing worth noting: used 3060 prices did not fall after the relaunch, which is what normally happens when new stock arrives. The shortage lifted the entire 12GB segment together.
Check NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB on Amazon→Buy on Shopee SG→The 3060 vs 3090 question
Every budget LLM buyer eventually asks: should I stretch to a used RTX 3090 instead?
| Spec | RTX 3060 12GB | RTX 3090 (used) |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 12GB GDDR6 | 24GB GDDR6X |
| Price | ~$250 used / $329-480 new | ~$820 |
| 7B Q4 tok/s | ~25 | ~55 |
| 13B Q4 tok/s | ~15 | ~35 |
| Max model (Q4) | 13B (tight) | 34B (comfortable) |
| Power draw | 170W | 350W |
The 3090 runs about 2.5-3x the price of a 3060 but gives you 2x the VRAM and 2x+ the speed. More critically, it unlocks an entire tier of models (30B-34B) that the 3060 cannot run at all. If your budget can stretch to $820, the used RTX 3090 is objectively the better long-term investment.
But if your ceiling is around $250-330, the 3060 12GB is still the right card. Nothing cheaper gives you 12GB of VRAM.
Check NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 on Amazon→Buy on Shopee SG→What about the RTX 3060 for Ollama?
The 3060 12GB is one of the most popular cards in the Ollama community. It runs the default Llama 3 8B model out of the box with no configuration. Just install Ollama, pull a model, and start chatting at ~25 tok/s.
For details on compatibility and setup, see Can RTX 3060 Run Ollama?
Impact on the used GPU market
We expected the relaunch to push used 3060 prices down as sellers offloaded inventory ahead of new stock. That is not what happened. Used 3060s now average around $250, above where they sat before the relaunch, because the memory shortage lifted the whole 12GB segment at once — new supply arriving did not matter when the constraint was memory rather than demand.
It has not meaningfully affected used 3090 or 4090 prices. Those cards serve a different market segment (24GB VRAM for 34B+ models) that the 3060 does not compete with.
The bottom line: the RTX 3060 12GB is still the cheapest way into 12GB of VRAM, but it is no longer cheap, and the price you find decides the answer. Near $329 new or $250 used it remains the entry point for 7B models locally. Near $480 it is beaten by a 16GB card that costs less. NVIDIA relaunching a five-year-old GPU is itself a symptom of the 2026 GPU shortage, and that shortage is now setting this card’s price as much as its age is.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
12GB GDDR612GB GDDR6 from $329 new or about $250 used. Runs every 7B model, handles 13B at lower quants. Worth it at the low end of that range, not the high end.
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon ships globally; Shopee SG covers Singapore & ASEAN.
Frequently asked questions
When did the RTX 3060 relaunch, and what does it cost?
NVIDIA relaunched the RTX 3060 12GB in late June 2026 at $329, using the same Samsung 8nm GA106 chip as the original 2021 model. Prices have risen since: some models now sit near $480, while others hold around $329-339. Used cards average roughly $250.
Is the relaunched RTX 3060 different from the original?
No. It’s the same GPU — same GA106 chip, same 12GB GDDR6 memory, same 192-bit bus. NVIDIA is restarting production of the identical card.
Should I buy the relaunched RTX 3060 or a used one?
Both are available now, and the performance is identical. Near $329 the new card is worth the roughly $80 premium over a used one for the warranty. Above about $400, buy used instead at around $250 — or step up to a 16GB card, which costs less than a $480 3060 and gives you more VRAM.