Introduction
We’re a month removed from the launch of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4060 family which was spear-headed by the RTX 4060 Ti. At PHP27,530 PH MSRP ($399 US MSRP), the RTX 4060 Ti was criticized for its pricing with mixed discussions regarding performance and gen-over-gen gains being touted for its lukewarm reception. My own findings does show that the RTX 4060 Ti still had a massive improvement over its predecessor with its power efficiency. Today we get to see the smallest member of the family to date with the GeForce RTX 4060. At PHP20,630 ($299 MSRP), this is currently the most affordable GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card you can get right now. The price is for the MSRP models which we are now allowed to share reviews for.
In this review, we’ll be looking at the MSI RTX 4060 Ventus 2X OC: a dual-fan cooled card featuring a relatively small footprint with a fairly light cooler. We’ve actually already seen this card from MSI back at their booth at COMPUTEX 2023 so we know already what we’re going to get. What we don’t know is how NVIDIA is positioning the performance of the RTX 4060 given the learnings we have from its bigger brother.
With that being said, the RTX 4060 brings NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture to the masses with its lower price point, a fact not unknown to NVIDIA given the state of all their xx60 class cards being the most-used graphics cards on the planet according to Steam’s Hardware Survey which compiles system stats from all its users and contrary to objections about the validity of this survey, even Chinese PC cafes and South Korean PC bangs qualify in the stat and as of 2018, cafe terminals only count as 1 unit regardless if multiple users log their Steam account by it.
That being said, will the RTX 4060 be enough to spark the midrange trend once again for NVIDIA, especially with DLSS3 added into the mix? We’ll find out in this performance review of the NVIDIA RTX 4060 featuring the MSI RTX 4060 Ventus 2X OC.
Product Gallery
Power Draw, Clock Speed and Temperature
We start off by testing how high our GPU clocks go as well as how much power our card uses in gaming use. We use the built-in benchmark in Returnal in 4K benchmark as well as Kombustor (when needed) for this tests so that users will have an idea what kind of usage behavior they can see from these cards. Returnal’s benchmark is impressive and gives a good idea on how certain scenario types afffect performance.
Given that most cards will boost all the way to their highest potential, the numbers we see here should be a good indicator of what to expect from these cards in general. Results are captured via inline power metering instruments primarily Powenetics v2 by Cybenetics/Hardware Busters for accurate card-only data capture. Occassionally, we use PCAT v2 (or v1) for FrameView-related functionalities. Powenetics v2 is the modern iteration of our original Powenetics system licensed from Cybenetics Labs and allows more thorough read-outs for the entire system including the CPU power, GPU power (+PCIe slot) and the system power overall. This removes the guess work from taking power readings from differing GPU APIs and provides consistent readings regardless of vendors.
Temperature and Power Draw
Test Setup and Methodology
Processor: Intel Core i9-13900K
Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-6400 32GB
Storage: Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB SSD
PSU: FSP Hydro G Pro 1000W
Cooling: ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO Cooler
Monitor: ROG PG27UQ 4K 144hz HDR1000
VGA: Listed
For a full-hardware workout, visit https://benchmarks.ul.com for our system warm-up and stress test of choice.
For benchmarking methodology please see our game benchmark method guide.
Test results are gathered and produced on CapFrameX. This makes it easier for use to get both line graph comparison and raw averages without extra tools. Simply the easiest tool for benchmarking and its available for everyone to use, free of charge. Check it out at capframex.com.
Since this is a GPU review, we benchmarked the area of the games that put heavy load on the GPU.
All our test runs are repeatable, click the links below for area and details. Read our benchmarking methodology.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: FPS Benchmark Workshop Map
- DOTA2 –
The International Main Event – Day 6: T1 vs PSG.LGD Game 2 (48:00) – The 10-Man Buyback Fight Rainbow Six: Siege – Benchmark Mode- PUBG Battlegrounds – Custom Scene
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
- Valorant
Grand Theft Auto V – Palomino HighlandsShadow of the Tomb Raider – Kuwaq YaquDestiny 2 – The Tower- Forza Horizon 5
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Elden Ring – Custom scene, FPS cap removed, offline- Cyberpunk 2077 – Little China, noontime
- Marvel’s Spider-Man – Empire State area
- F1 2023 – Singapore Grand Prix, night time, rain
- Microsoft Flight Simulator – Landing mission, YSSY
- A Plague’s Tale Requiem – Opening scene
See our Youtube playlist for benchmark sequences.
Note: Some proprietary technologies of NVIDIA like PCSS, HBAO+, and HairWorks work on AMD GPU’s BUT to maintain uniformity amongst GPUs, these have been turned OFF.
You can click on any of the benchmark charts enlarge. You can also move forward and backwards to quickly navigate through our charts via gallery view. For this test, only the out-of-box normal mode will be tested.
Kindly let me know if you spot an errors in the charts. I do my best to keep them error free but while test results are reliable and accurate, bringing them over to Excel and relying on formulas to generate the reports sometimes can cause mix-ups.
Notes:
- All data are gathered from exactly the same system, with exactly the configuration we list here. No data is reused from another system or from any variations of. We gather data from only one system as indicated here.
- Graphics cards are allowed to heat up prior to benchmarking. Cooler graphics cards may boost higher than normal.
- Following up on the above, we try to enjoy the game and play a bit before proceeding to the actual benchmark scenario. This allows us to detect any other problems like stuttering, frame skipping, or any other problems.
- Games that receive graphical updates that affect performance e.g. (DOTA2 moving from DX9 to DX11) will be retested completely.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, popularly known as CSGO, competes for Steam’s most popular game. It has found a resurgence in its popularity and has recently peaked in 2020 in the number of players that play the game. Based on Valve’s Source Engine, the game received major asset overhauls during the years since its inception nearly 10 years ago. Still, it’s a light game and can be played on fairly lighter systems but the competitive scene for CSGO has seen average players demand high FPS from their systems thus gaining favorable standing with GPU vendors just from the demand for higher FPS alone. CSGO is a game that can easily go past 500FPS on enthusiast systems on maximum settings. We’re including CSGO as requested by our community.
API: DirectX9 (default)
Maximum In-Game Settings
Texture Streaming Disabled
Vsync OFF
DOTA 2
Note: JUNE 2020 – DOTA2 has recently implemented a transition from DirectX9 to DirectX11 and new install of the game will prompt users to switch from DX9 to DX11. With that said, we are testing DOTA2 in DX11 from now on.
In contention for the most popular game on Steam and the biggest competition in eSports: DOTA 2 is powered by the Source 2 engine. The game is fairly light on low to medium settings but maxed out, with heavy action on screen especially during clashes, can really stress most systems. This is a game where frame times matter as responsiveness is very important in high-stakes competition. We’re looking at consistently low frametimes in this game for the best experience
Our test uses actual game replay, using the segment from game 2 of PSG.LGD versus T1 during Day 6 of the Main Stage. The clash during the 48:00 where we see a drawn-out fight which sees both team expending all of their buybacks to secure this clash.
You can watch the replay of the actual game used in the benchmark in your Dota2 client. You can browse the TI10 replay files to see the actual match. You can download it for your own reference. (save it to your DOTA2 replays folder)
API: DirectX11 (default)
Best-Looking slider setting (Ultra)
FPS_MAX 0
Vsync OFF
PUBG Battlegrounds
Developed and published by PUBG Corporation, PlayerUknnown’s Battlegrounds now officially PUBG Battlegrounds, was an ARMA3 mod which has gained a massive global playerbase after being released as a stand-alone game. The game is now available for almost all platforms from PC to mobile but PC has been the definitive edition of the game. The game has evolved much since its release, receiving multiple polish to arrive at its current state.
API: DirectX 11
Settings: Ultra
Vsync: OFF
Valorant
Developed by League of Legends developer, Riot Games, Valorant is a first-person shooter featuring multiple heroes or agents which have unique skills to assist them within the games traditional team-based FPS combat. The game is gaining incredible success and has taken a large chunk of the now-incredibly massive CSGO playerbase as well, presenting a more refreshed take on classic TDM FPS but spices it up with skills, etc. Like CSGO and League, this game is light as a feather for the largest adoption possible. With 360hz monitors and input lag/system latency a major focus for these games, we’re now including it as reference for players.
API: DirectX 11
Max Detail settings
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) is the latest addition to the COD franchise and once again puts the main game back into the hands of Infinity Ward. With Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard both failing to continue the success of 2019’s COD Modern Warfare which has in-turn changed to Warzone, Activision is set on resetting the slate once again with COD Modern Warfare 2. Built alongside Warzone 2.0 on the IW 9.0 engine, CODMW2 ditches some partner technologies like ray tracing to keep it friendlier to all systems but still pushes more detailed models and environments for a modern look.
API: DirectX 12
Render Resolution: 100%
Ultra Preset
Forza Horizon 5
Developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, Forza Horizon 5 is the latest installment in the Forza series, picking up straight after the British escapades of Horizon 4, Horizon 5 takes us now to Mexico for another open-world racing spectacle, that is Horizon. Built on proprietary ForzaTech engine, the game harnesses its power to provide an excellent experience on both PC and Xbox.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: High
Raytracing: Off
Vsync: Off
A Plague’s Tale: Requiem
API: DirectX 12
Detail Settings: Ultra Preset
Hogwarts Legacy
API: DirectX 12
Detail Settings: Ultra Preset
Note: Since this game doesn’t have an Exclusive Fullscreen mode, Render Resolution was used to change the resolution of the game
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red’s latest installment in the Witcher saga features one of the most graphically intense offering the company has to date. As Geralt of Rivia, slay monsters, beasts and men as you unravel the mysteries of your past. Vast worlds and lush sceneries make this game a visual feast and promises to make any system crawl at its highest settings. This game has found great resurgence in its playerbase thanks to the release of Netflix’ Witcher series. On December 2022, The Witcher 3 received a next-gen patch which bring ray tracing as well as many other changes to the game.
API: DirectX 12
Ultra Preset
Cyberpunk 2077
The most anticipated game of 2020 has just received its sort of “launch patch” this 2022 with version 1.5 changing many things in terms of performance as well as few things in the graphics department. Perhaps the most anticipated game of the last decade, Cyberpunk 2077’s launch has been a rollercoaster gamers on PC are largely in agreement that it was definitely worth the wait bar the bugs. Made by CD Projekt Red and based on the REDengine4, Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most modern games introducing full utilization of raytracing amongst others. We do not enable raytracing in this test segment, that will be for the latest section of this review..
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Ultra Preset
Raytracing Off
DLSS Off
Vsync: OFF
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
Sony’s streak of PlayStation exclusives going to PC continues with Spider-Man. Originally releleased for PS4 in 2019, the game sees a PS5 upgrade and 2022 PC remastered release. The PC version of Spider-Man features a ton of modern PC graphical enhancements including all modern upscaling techniques along with ray tracing. The game natively supports ultrawide monitor resolution and is actively updated with with technologies from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Very High Preset
F1 2023
F1 23 doesn’t vary much from its predecessor but updates the game to feature more robust control and racing experience thanks to all the learnings and adjustments we’ve had from the 2022 changes. On the PC, F1 2023 will also receive some new graphical updates but primarily uses the same presentation engine as the game before it.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Ultra Preset
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) is the much awaited release since Flight Simulator X from 2006. Harnessing the power of Microsoft Azure, Bing Maps and AI functionalities, Microsoft Flight Simulator brings the definition of realism to a new level with maps that are alive and real, rendered directly from their real-world counterpart and populated ingame with details. The game is constantly update to maintain real world relevance particularly for large events or other recent occurences.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Ultra Preset
Ray Tracing and DLSS Performance
In this page we see how our test cards perform when Ray Tracing is enabled in game. Games will have varying degrees of how they utilze raytracing. We enable everything to their highest setting although for Cyberpunk 2077, we did not go with Psycho setting and used Ultra. The numbers show the amount of reduction in FPS we with ray tracing enabled versus regular raster performance.
DLSS Performance Results
Average FPS and Relative Performance Summary
To give you a quick idea of how good the gaming performance of the system we’re testing, we’ve averaged the results for your reference presented in overll average.
Relative Performance
Conclusion
Thoughts on the RTX 4060
The RTX 4060 comprises of 3 members: the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB, the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB and the item we’re reviewing today: the RTX 4060. Built with NVIDIA’s AD107 silicon, it st cutdown of the Ada Lovelace GPU from NVIDIA. We’ve completely revised our test suite and samples to focus on this performance bar the RTX 3060 Ti. Still, from the GTX 1660 SUPER all the way to the RTX 4060, we should have a good picture of what we’re dealing with here with the RTX 4060.
In 1080p testing, depending on your games, performance will sit very close to substantially improved versus the RTX 3060. On average though, this improve is around 10% with the more significant improvement coming from GTX 1660 SUPER. The GTX 1660 SUPER dropped as low as PHP12,000 here in PH before the 2020 mining boom and many lockdown builders have this card. And I’ll go back to this point a bit later on. Still on the RTX 4060, curiously enough the RTX 2060 SUPER gave it a good run for its money in our testing but the most dominant rival was the Radeon RX 5700 XT. This 4 year old is the reason we have the RTX 2060 SUPER and its clear both cards are still competitive to this day if you’re still at 1080p.
But take note that the AMD RX 5700 XT is a card that draws 260W+ in gaming while the RTX 2060 SUPER sips around 220W. The RTX 3060 managed to drop that to 170~ish and the GTX 1660 SUPER a close 120W~. The RTX 4060 averages around its TGP rating at 118W, peaking at 125W but we see gaming draws around 95W for games like DOTA 2 at 1080p. The rest of our games hovers at the TGP rating which is pretty the max even for our factory OC’d sample. This is good news especially for cafe owners or home gamers that want a bit more FPS on their aging system.
And on the topic of aging, that’s something a lot of the tech press are overlooking and treating GPUs like an iPhone market. Most PC gamers at this price range keep their card for a long time. I remember when I had a GTX 960, it took 3 years before I jumped to an RTX 2060 on my personal unit. At this price point, its really senseless to suggest that the performance improvement over a 3060 is minimal especially after the fact that there is a big portion of the market that is still reeling from buying an RTX 3060 at pandemic pricing.
While I do miss the days of the GTX 1060 jumping to GTX 980 performance, much like what we’re getting on CPUs, development has really been slowing down and the RTX 4060 perhaps is the biggest evidence that the PC gaming market should really focus more on the games it pumps out. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S are now competing head-to-head in pricing with an RTX 4060.
But going back to the RTX 4060 and somewhat related to modern consoles is current-gen graphics. While ray tracing is nice in some application, the RTX 4060’s target market would be somewhat least caring for this feature. Still, NVIDIA has been more dominant in this market with AMD still nowhere near as capable as NVIDIA’s hardware but regardless, the RTX 4060’s ray tracing performance is still more respectable than its counterparts. This is also made even better with NVIDIA’s DLSS technology, particularly DLSS3. In games where its supported, the very subtle blurring at 1080p is far greatly offset by the fact that we’re getting a more smoother image than what we normally get. It won’t magically let you play in 4K, hence why we’ve omitted the 4K charts totally. We had games like Witcher 3, play ok in 4K DLSS but enable DLSS3 suddenly makes the game rubber band around like crazy. But still, for 1080p and 1440p, its an acceptable tool especially when properly implemented and not used as a performance crutch by the game developers.
Focusing on value, at $299 other regions have fare better in the second-hand market but for Filipino readers who are seeing this and scoffing at the listed Php20,630 SRP knowing full well OC models will saturate the market and potentially sit at +Php25,000. That said, the RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti are still prevalent at a similar price point in the Asian market but if the price is more than the RTX 4060, I would really consider just going for the RTX 4060.
Again, there is also the matter of power efficiency and if you’re coming a GTX 1660, you’re getting a potential 30% uplift for just a bit less of power than your current card and be aware, that GTX 1660 is a fairly low-power card in terms of electricity use so that is a plus if you’re jumping to the RTX 4060. That plus the ray tracing potential along with DLSS should be a good enough stack to attract upgraders who may not be coming off an RTX 2060 or an RTX 3060 but rather a GTX 1660, a RX 580 or even at GTX 950.
Thoughts on the MSI RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X OC
As mentioned, we’re not going in blind with this card as I’ve already seen it COMPUTEX 2023 and its fairly small footprint was quite impressive then. Given its thinner aluminum heatisnk though, a single-fan model for ITX builds would be really nice to see but MSI has really done a good job keeping their Ventus line significantly built enough to not scream cheap or budget. Because right now, with the RTX 4060, keeping it going for a long-time to recoup its cost in power savings looks to be something NVIDIA is leveraging to market the RTX 4060. And while I agree with that, this will still be depending on how good their board partners have built their cards. The MSI RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X OC is well-built and the board quality is as expected from MSI. While I still wish for a thicker heatsink, the trade off is a flush 2-slot card which makes it quite compact. Factory OC’d yet still below 130W average draw and this card is certainly a mini-PC option worth checking out.
