Why is NVIDIA re-releasing the RTX 2060, and why does it have more VRAM?

Why is NVIDIA re-releasing the RTX 2060?

Since this GPU is built on earlier generation hardware, there are more options for who can produce it! This is fantastic news, as we’ve been in a hardware slump for some time now. The RTX 2060 is still an incredibly capable card as well, and with its lower cost to make + higher availability, it should be a breath of relief for everyone. Even better is that this GPU is not attractive to crypto mining, so the cards that are available to the public shouldn’t face the obstacle of being eaten up by people trying to make a quick buck.

Why are they giving it more VRAM?

Due to the way the 2060 is built, it can either have 3, 6, or 12gb of VRAM. This upgrade doesn’t mean the card will be performing better than a card with less VRAM though. While VRAM does account for some of a GPUs performance, Memory Speed, Interface Width, and Bandwidth are all an important part of the rest of the equation. 

The new RTX 2070 still has 30%+ higher Memory Bandwidth, so in a head-to-head competition the 2070 will still be winning across the board. Not for nothing though — the RTX 2060 is still a heavyweight card when it comes to 1080p gaming.

Should you buy a PC with a new RTX 2060 12GB model?

YES! If the price is below $300-$350, this card will be a steal. That being said, if your budget has lots of room to spare there are plenty of other options…. They might not be available, but a gaming/streaming PC will be very happy running an RTX 2060. I know mine is!