RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 5060
How this works
RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 5060: £372.50 vs £384.98 stock-checked UK prices (2026-11-02), £/GB of VRAM, which AI models each runs, and a verdict.
| RTX 3060 12GB | RTX 5060 | |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Brand | NVIDIA | NVIDIA |
| VRAM | 12 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR7 |
| Memory bus | 192-bit | 128-bit |
| Cheapest new UK price, stock checked | £372.50 at Box also AWD-IT £435.95, Scan £459.98, GamingKit £333.23 (stock not checked) | £384.98 at Scan also AWD-IT £424.95, Box £444.88, PcNova £336.73 (stock not checked) |
| Price history | Low £322.99▲ 8% above 30-day avg🔔 Alert me | Low £384.98 (now)at 30-day avg🔔 Alert me |
| £ per GB VRAM | £31.04 | £48.12 |
| Biggest model at Q4 (est.) | Phi-4 14B | Qwen3 8B |
| Biggest model at Q8 (est.) | Qwen3 8B | Qwen3 4B |
| Models that fit at Q4 | 10 of 21 | 6 of 21 |
| Software | CUDA (widest support in llama.cpp, Ollama, vLLM, PyTorch) | CUDA (widest support in llama.cpp, Ollama, vLLM, PyTorch) |
| Specs | TechPowerUp · our page | TechPowerUp · our page |
Verdict
- RTX 3060 12GB is cheaper per GB of VRAM (£31.04 vs £48.12), and cheaper outright by £12.48.
- RTX 3060 12GB has more VRAM (12 GB vs 8 GB), so it fits bigger models: up to Phi-4 14B at Q4 vs Qwen3 8B.
This is a value-for-memory verdict for local AI, not a gaming benchmark. We haven't measured tokens/sec.
FAQ
Is the RTX 3060 12GB or RTX 5060 better for local LLMs?
RTX 3060 12GB is cheaper per GB of VRAM (£31.04 vs £48.12), and cheaper outright by £12.48. RTX 3060 12GB has more VRAM (12 GB vs 8 GB), so it fits bigger models: up to Phi-4 14B at Q4 vs Qwen3 8B.
Which is cheaper in the UK, RTX 3060 12GB or RTX 5060?
On 2 November 2026, the cheapest stock-checked UK listings were the RTX 3060 12GB £372.50 at Box and the RTX 5060 £384.98 at Scan. The RTX 3060 12GB is £12.48 cheaper (3% less). Prices change often; check the shop before buying.
How much VRAM do the RTX 3060 12GB and RTX 5060 have?
RTX 3060 12GB: 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus; RTX 5060: 8 GB GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus. The RTX 3060 12GB has 4 GB more.
Can the RTX 3060 12GB and RTX 5060 run a 14B model?
RTX 3060 12GB: yes at Q4; RTX 5060: no, not fully in VRAM (our estimate, ~4k context).
How do you check these prices?
Lowest new price at the UK shops we track (AWD-IT, Box, GamingKit, Laptops Direct, PCHUB.UK, PcNova, Scan), re-checked through the day. Only stock-checked listings set the headline prices; listings a shop marks as pre-order or unavailable are skipped; prices we can't check are marked "stock not checked". This page compares price, VRAM and which AI models fit; we haven't measured gaming frame rates or tokens/sec.
More details
Prices: lowest listed new price at UK shops (AWD-IT, Box, GamingKit, Laptops Direct, PCHUB.UK, PcNova, Scan) (GPUs and laptops). GPU headline prices are stock-checked only; listings a shop marks as pre-order or unavailable are skipped; prices we can't check are marked "stock not checked". Model fit: GGUF size ×1.1 + 1 GB (estimate). Other comparisons: RX 9060 XT 16GB vs RTX 5060 Ti 16GB · RTX 3060 12GB vs RX 9060 XT 16GB · RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 · RX 9070 vs RX 9070 XT · RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 Ti · RTX 5060 Ti 16GB vs RTX 5070 · Radeon AI PRO R9700 vs RTX 5090 · RTX 5070 vs RTX 5070 Ti laptop · RTX 5060 vs RTX 5070 laptop · Arc B580 vs RTX 5050 · RTX 5050 vs Arc B570 · Arc B570 vs RTX 3060 12GB · RTX 5060 vs RX 7600 · RX 7600 vs RX 9060 XT 8GB · RX 9060 XT 8GB vs RTX 5060 Ti 8GB · RTX 5060 Ti 8GB vs RX 9060 XT 16GB