[Hardware] Repurposed NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M Graphics Card Tested, A Mobility GPU For Desktop PCs That Performs Better Than Desktop Variant

[ROVEN]

 

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060M Mobility GPU has been repurposed into a desktop-grade graphics card for the PC market. This is one of the many mobility Ampere GPUs that was designed for an entirely different market segment but due to GPU shortages earlier this year, it had been fused within a desktop graphics card and now we have the first tests.

Tested: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M Mobility GPU In A Desktop Graphics Card?

Readers may remember during the graphics card shortage when the situation with obtaining components to create graphics cards was difficult, and prices were insanely high due to not enough stock on the shelves. Some Chinese OEMs looked at utilizing laptop GPUs as a replacement for desktop graphics cards. When the GPU shortage hit the hardest, Chinese OEMs came up with the idea to sell laptop GPUs as desktop models. One such graphics card was recently reviewed by the YouTube channel BullsLab Jay, showing the performance of a variant NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M.

 

As stated above, this unique graphics card is a laptop-based GPU in a desktop graphics card. There is only 6 GB of GDDR6 memory available instead of the typical 12 GB we would see on the GeForce RTX 3060. Interestingly, the CUDA core count is upgraded from a desktop variant's core count of 3584 cores to 3840 CUDA cores. The TDP on the mobile-based desktop GPU is 115W, whereas the full desktop variant would demand 170W. During the review, the review sample used by BullLab Jay is locked at 80W. Surprisingly, the card performs like a desktop graphics card and is much better than the 105W laptop series.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M laptop graphics chip and the graphics card that uses a laptop GPU for the desktop card share the same name, the GN20-E3.

The hybrid desktop NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M graphics card was not built for gaming but crypto mining. The reason is the lack of an LHR limitation but still offering close to the exact memory specifications for Ethereum mining. But now that mining is pretty much useless on these cards, they are entering the used market segment.