16GB RTX 4060 Ti is worse than 8GB model in tests

After the silent launch of the 16 GB GeForce RTX 4060 Ti last Tuesday (18), the official MSI channel decided to test the card against the 8 GB variant in a livestream. The result was not surprising, as the GPU with more memory performed worse, as expected.

The tests were carried out on the MSI Insider Weekly program, which was available on YouTube until a few hours ago, but was private by the company. The reason is that NVIDIA must not have been happy with the results – or lack thereof.

The presenters tested popular titles at maximum quality, such as cyberpunk 2077, Rainbow Six: Siege It is F1 2023, and in all these games the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti did better than the 16GB. Already in fortnite It is Hogwarts Legacy performance was even. The only scenario where the card with the most VRAM won was in CS:GO.

RTX 4060 Ti 16GB Marginally Slower than 8GB Model: MSI Testing https://t.co/OZEcrF0Lax pic.twitter.com/mHvTBuzAan

— TechPowerUp (@TechPowerUp) July 19, 2023

TGP and bus could be to blame

The reason for this dismal performance is unclear. However, both versions of the card have the same technical specifications. Apart from the amount of VRAM, the TGP (Total Graphics Power) varies between 160W for the model with less memory and 165W for the other.

This could theoretically explain that the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB is “capped” by the lack of energy, and that amount of watts would not be enough to make the VRAM work properly.

Another plausible explanation would be regarding the memory interface. These models have only 128-bit, but NVIDIA itself has already released an RTX 3060 Ti in the past with a 256-bit bus, which supports 8 or 16 GB of VRAM. Thus, it is difficult to understand why the 16 GB model uses the same 128-bit.

The situation is more complicated for the company since no test unit has been sent to any type of media around the world. Specialized sites and channels had to buy their own versions to perform the benchmarks.

With an MSRP of $399 for the 8GB version, the 16GB RTX 4060 Ti costs $499 abroad. In Brazil, it is already possible to purchase the 8 GB model for R$ 2,999. Ultimately, users will end up buying a card that costs 25% more than its variant and is not able to deliver even 1% difference.