RTX 3060 vs RTX 4090 for Blender
Compare RTX 3060 and RTX 4090 for Blender rendering. See benchmark scores, VRAM, memory bandwidth, power draw, and estimated OptiX/CUDA render times side by side on Renderjuice. RTX 4090 leads the Blender benchmark score by 407.7%.
Fastest in Blender
RTX 4090 (11,687.5 score)
Most VRAM
RTX 4090 (24 GB)
Lowest power draw
RTX 3060 (170 W TDP)
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Performance | ||
| Blender benchmark scoreBlender benchmark scoreThis score is derived from Blender Open Data benchmark samples. It is useful for comparing GPUs against each other, but it is still a benchmark summary rather than a guarantee for every real project. | 2,302.01 -80% | 11,687.5 |
| CUDA coresCUDA coresMore CUDA cores generally means the GPU can process more rendering work in parallel. However, core count alone does not determine performance — architecture, clock speed, and memory bandwidth all play a role. | 3,584 -78% | 16,384 |
| Boost clockBoost clockBoost clock is one of the signals of peak GPU speed, but it does not define Blender performance on its own. Architecture and memory behavior matter too. | 1.78 GHz -29% | 2.52 GHz |
| RT coresRay tracingHardware ray tracing support can speed up tasks that rely on realistic light transport, reflections, shadows, and path tracing. | 28 RT Cores (2nd Gen) -78% | 128 RT Cores (3rd Gen) |
| Tensor coresTensor coresIn Blender, tensor cores primarily accelerate the OptiX AI denoiser, which can clean up noisy renders much faster than traditional denoising. They also help with AI-powered features like DLSS in the viewport. | 112 Tensor Cores (3rd Gen) -78% | 512 Tensor Cores (4th Gen) |
| Memory | ||
| VRAMVRAMIf a scene does not fit into VRAM, rendering can slow down sharply or fail depending on the renderer and setup. More VRAM gives you more room for large scenes and high-resolution assets. | 12 GB -50% | 24 GB |
| Memory bandwidthMemory bandwidthBandwidth is usually shown in GB/s. Higher bandwidth helps when the renderer needs to move lots of texture, geometry, or shading data quickly. | 360 GB/s -64% | 1,010 GB/s |
| Memory typeMemory typeYou will often see names like GDDR6 or GDDR6X. In practice, memory type matters less on its own than overall memory bandwidth and total VRAM. | GDDR6 | GDDR6X |
| Memory busMemory busA wider bus can move more data at once, but real performance also depends on memory speed and architecture. Bus width alone does not tell the full story. | 192-bit -50% | 384-bit |
| Memory speedMemory speedFaster memory speed contributes to higher memory bandwidth, which helps the GPU move scene data more quickly. It works together with the memory bus width to determine total bandwidth. | 15 Gbps -29% | 21 Gbps |
| Platform | ||
| ArchitectureArchitectureNames like Ampere or Ada Lovelace refer to different GPU designs. Newer architectures often bring better ray tracing, denoising, efficiency, and rendering throughput. | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |
| Render supportRender supportNVIDIA GPUs typically support CUDA (the general compute path) and OptiX (a ray-tracing-optimized path that is usually faster on RTX cards). Some older GPUs may only support one of these. The best backend depends on the GPU generation. | OptiX, CUDA | OptiX, CUDA |
| TDPTDPHigher TDP usually means the GPU can sustain more performance, but it also means more heat and stronger PSU and cooling requirements. | 170 W | 450 W +165% |
| Release year | 2021 | 2022 |
Benchmark comparison
Estimated seconds to render one frame of each standard Blender benchmark scene. Lower is faster.
These timings are derived from Blender Open Data benchmark medians and should be treated as comparative estimates, not guaranteed real-project render times.
Quick take on RTX 3060 vs RTX 4090
RTX 4090 leads the Blender benchmark score by 407.7%.
Fastest in Blender: RTX 4090 11,687.5 score.
Most VRAM: RTX 4090 24 GB.
Lowest power draw: RTX 3060 170 W TDP.
RTX 3060 has 12 GB of VRAM, while RTX 4090 has 24 GB, which matters when scenes, textures, or geometry get heavier.
If you are deciding between these cards for Blender, focus first on Blender benchmark score, VRAM capacity, memory bandwidth, and whether your scenes are likely to benefit more from raw speed or extra memory headroom. The comparison table above keeps those tradeoffs in one place.