NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB vs NVIDIA RTX 4070
Side-by-side local AI comparison — VRAM, memory bandwidth, model compatibility, and estimated tokens per second across 70 open-weight models.
Quick verdict
NVIDIA RTX 4070 wins for local AI inference. It has 40% more memory bandwidth, runs 32 models natively (vs 32), and exclusively fits 0 models the other cannot.
Specs comparison
| Spec | NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB | NVIDIA RTX 4070 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 12 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR6X |
| Bandwidth | 360 GB/s | 504 GB/s(+40%) |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |
| Backend | CUDA | CUDA |
| Tier | Consumer | Consumer |
| Released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Models (native) | 32 | 32 |
Estimated tokens per second
Computed from memory bandwidth and model active-parameter weight. Assumes model fits natively in VRAM.
| Model | NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB | NVIDIA RTX 4070 | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct(70B) | — | — | — |
| Qwen 3.6 27B(27B) | 44.4 t/s(Q2_K) | 62.2 t/s(Q2_K) | -29% |
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct(8B) | 45 t/s(Q8) | 63 t/s(Q8) | -29% |
| Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct(7.6B) | 47.4 t/s(Q8) | 66.3 t/s(Q8) | -29% |
Delta is NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB relative to NVIDIA RTX 4070.
Only NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB can run(0)
No exclusive models — NVIDIA RTX 4070 can run everything NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB can.
Only NVIDIA RTX 4070 can run(0)
No exclusive models — NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB can run everything NVIDIA RTX 4070 can.
Both run natively(32)
These models fit in VRAM on both GPUs. Bandwidth determines which runs them faster.
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B440 t/svs616 t/s
- Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE)440 t/svs616 t/s
- Gemma 3 27B Instruct44.4 t/svs62.2 t/s
- Qwen 3.6 27B44.4 t/svs62.2 t/s
- Gemma 4 26B (MoE)347.4 t/svs486.3 t/s
- Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct50 t/svs70 t/s
- Mistral Small 22B54.1 t/svs75.7 t/s
- GPT-OSS 20B247.5 t/svs346.5 t/s
- Qwen3 14B48.6 t/svs68.1 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 14B Instruct49 t/svs68.6 t/s
- Phi-4 14B Instruct41.1 t/svs57.6 t/s
- Mistral Nemo 12B Instruct47.2 t/svs66.1 t/s
- Gemma 3 12B Instruct47.2 t/svs66.1 t/s
- Gemma 2 9B Instruct52.2 t/svs73 t/s
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct45 t/svs63 t/s
- DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B45 t/svs63 t/s
- +16 more on both
Which should you choose?
Choose NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB if:
Choose NVIDIA RTX 4070 if:
- • Faster token generation is the priority
- • You want the newer architecture and longer driver support lifecycle
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better for local AI, the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB or NVIDIA RTX 4070?
- For local AI inference, the NVIDIA RTX 4070 has the edge. It offers 12 GB VRAM (vs 12 GB) and 504 GB/s bandwidth (vs 360 GB/s), letting it run 32 models natively in VRAM vs 32 for its rival.
- How much VRAM does the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB have vs the NVIDIA RTX 4070?
- The NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB has 12 GB of GDDR6 at 360 GB/s. The NVIDIA RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X at 504 GB/s. Both GPUs have the same VRAM amount; bandwidth determines which generates tokens faster.
- Can the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q3_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- Can the NVIDIA RTX 4070 run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4070 can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q3_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- What is the difference between the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB and NVIDIA RTX 4070 for AI?
- The key difference for AI inference is VRAM and memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB has 12 GB VRAM at 360 GB/s (CUDA backend). The NVIDIA RTX 4070 has 12 GB VRAM at 504 GB/s (CUDA backend). VRAM determines which models fit; bandwidth determines tokens per second. The NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB runs 32 models natively vs 32 for the NVIDIA RTX 4070.