Steam Hardware Survey shows why this 3-year-old GPU is still great value

❘ Published: 2024-03-05T11:59:05

Dexerto

This month’s Steam Hardware Survey yet again showed that the RTX 3060 is still the most popular GPU out there, and for good reason too, as we explain all.

The Steam Hardware Survey is an invaluable insight into understanding what PC gaming hardware is still kicking, and one GPU in particular, the RTX 3060, took the crown as the most popular dedicated graphics card last year, and its market share is only growing.

According to February’s Steam Hardware Survey, the RTX 3060 is only increasing in market share as it is aging. Despite being superseded by the RTX 4060, the humble 3060 is still hanging in there, and making its way into new gaming PCs. The humble GPU managed to attain 6.17% of the overall GPU market, which is several percentage points higher than any other GPU on the list. The next-most popular card, the GTX 1650, sits at 4.23%, by comparison.

Meanwhile, the RTX 4060 has captured around 1.99% of the market, and is less popular than the RTX 4070, which sits at 2.16%.

But, there are a wealth of reasons why gamers have stuck with the three-year-old GPU over newer options on the market.

The RTX 3060 still offers great value

Since the RTX 3060 has been on the market for a while, it’s already making its way into multitudes of gaming PCs. Since the GPU has officially been replaced by a newer model, Nvidia may be looking to clear out its existing stock of the GPU. That doesn’t just mean that it’s selling to DIY PC builders, but also gaming cafes. These are incredibly popular in Asia, and this uplift just might be from that.

But, if you also look at the new GPUs released, gamers could be choosing to purchase used cards, too. A look at eBay shows that an RTX 3060 can be picked up for around $250 or less. When compared to the RTX 4060’s MSRP of $299, it can become an attractive option, especially considering that Nvidia’s latest effort doesn’t move the needle much, when it comes to performance, unless you really, really like frame generation.