Take a look at the Steam Hardware & Software Survey for January 2025, and you’ll find no less than three graphics cards from the now-venerable NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-Series lineup. We mean no offense to these battle-proven units, but we suspect that if your machine is still rocking one of these cards, you’re probably looking for an upgrade. While we won’t deter you from leapfrogging into next-gen territory with a GeForce RTX 50 Series card, we understand that not every gamer’s budget can cover one of these chart-topping models. So here’s a wallet-friendly alternative that’s still very relevant in 2025: the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3060.
Available for just about $300 (USD), equipped with 12GB of VRAM, compatible with the most popular GeForce RTX features, and ready for a wide range of builds with its low wattage requirements and compact design, this is the best budget graphics card we offer in 2025 for gamers who prefer NVIDIA GPUs.
A proven contender that still has legs
Let’s set some expectations here. GeForce RTX 3060 cards debuted as mainstream options back in 2021. If you have a 4K gaming monitor, or if you have a taste for the most realistic graphics options available at ultra-high framerates, you’ll be happier in the long run with something a bit more powerful. Consider the just-launched GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, or stay tuned as NVIDIA continues to add new members to its 50-Series family.
But if you game at a Full HD (1920×1080) resolution — or at 1440p with DLSS-powered upscaling — you’ll find that the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 can handle just about any title on the market. Browse the system requirements for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, for example, and you’ll find that the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 more than meets the recommended specs for hitting 60 FPS at Full HD with the medium graphics quality preset. Next-gen graphics showcase games like Alan Wake 2 will pose much more of a challenge, but the esports titles that all your friends are playing? The Dual GeForce RTX 3060 can handle those without breaking a sweat.
One big reason for this graphics card’s ongoing appeal lies in its very reasonable memory layout. It’s equipped with 12GB of GDDR6. Now that GDDR7 has entered the ring, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060’s memory performance won’t be taking home any gold medals. But it does triple — triple! — the VRAM capacity of the GeForce GTX 1650, ensuring that almost any game out there has enough VRAM available to run smoothly at Full HD.
The advantages of bumping up from GTX to RTX
Back when the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 first launched, one of its main draws was support for NVIDIA RTX features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS). This AI-powered technology boosts your FPS with little to no loss in visual quality, allowing mainstream cards to punch above their weight class in compatible games.
It’s gotten a little lost in all the recent hardware news, but you should know that NVIDIA just debuted a wide range of updates for DLSS — and you have access to many of them even with a 30-Series graphics card. For most gamers, the most important update is the introduction of a new transformer-based model for DLSS. We’ll let NVIDIA explain the details, but the short version is that the new model lets DLSS 4 boosts image quality while retaining a similar performance uplift.
All this means that the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 has aged like fine wine. With the latest drivers and NVIDIA RTX features, it’s arguably an even better graphics card than when it launched.
Reliable performance that’s compatible with a wide range of builds
If you’re one of the many gamers who’s more interested in upgrading their current PC than building a new one from scratch, you’ll appreciate the Dual GeForce RTX 3060’s low wattage requirements and compact design. Odds are, it’ll be a drop-in upgrade even for an older prebuilt PC.
Check the power supply in your machine to ensure compatibility. We recommend a 650W PSU for this graphics card — that’s not exactly a high bar. You’ll only need one 8-pin power connector to get this card up and running, too. Size-wise, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 offers a 2-slot design and is only 200mm long, so it’ll fit easily into a wide range of chassis options without blocking access to other expansion slots.
Inside its modest dimensions, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 is equipped to give you years of quality cooling performance. As its name suggests, it’s equipped with two Axial-tech fans. Their smaller fan hub facilitates longer blades, and a barrier ring helps increase downward air pressure to the heatsink. These fans will turn off completely when temperatures permit, ensuring silent operation under light workloads.
We go above and beyond to give you the confidence that your Dual graphics card will deliver the performance you need for years to come. This card is built with our Auto-Extreme Technology, which automates the manufacturing process so that all soldering can be completed in a single pass, reducing thermal strain and environmental impact for a product that will stand the test of time.
The Dual GeForce RTX 3060 offers incredible value in 2025
Right now, gamers have an astonishing range of options for their next graphics card. The latest high-end GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards from ROG Astral and TUF Gaming blur the boundaries between professional-grade hardware and the demands of hardcore gaming, giving enthusiasts access to all-new tiers of performance. New TUF Gaming and Prime GeForce RTX 5070 Ti cards bring the performance and features of the Blackwell architecture to a wider gaming audience.
But these chart-topping models are far from your only options in 2025. Even if you’re shopping on a tighter budget, you have graphics cards ready to modernize an aging gaming PC. For gamers looking to upgrade from their NVIDIA 10-Series graphics card, in particular, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 stands out as an affordable, feature-rich card that’s compatible with a wide range of builds. If your graphics card isn’t giving you the experience at Full HD that you’re looking for, grab a Dual GeForce RTX 3060 today.
| Model | US | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Dual GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC Edition | ASUS Amazon Best Buy Micro Center | ASUS Amazon |