NVIDIA RTX 4060 could finally be the affordable Lovelace GPU gamers crave

NVIDIA's RTX 4070 is rumored to be priced at $599 in the US, and part of the reasoning behind that lower-than-expected price tag pertains to the potential MSRPs of RTX 4060 models - which may also be pitched more affordably than we'd previously anticipated.

As you may have seen, YouTube leaker Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) has just published a new video exploring NVIDIA's apparent behind-the-scenes shenanigans with RTX 4070 pricing, and we cover that in full here.

In the clip, though, MLID brings up the issue of RTX 4060 pricing as it relates to the imminent RTX 4070 and the rest of the existing Lovelace range, drawing some interesting conclusions, all of which require a hefty dose of salt (throw in some pepper, too, we reckon).

The theory is that NVIDIA always intended to pitch the RTX 4070 a fair bit lower than some of the original rumors floated - like a $700 or even $750 price tag - but even MLID's source at Team Green was supposedly surprised that it ended up at $599. (If indeed it does, we might add, when the RTX 4070 launches later this month - we shall see soon enough).

The argument MLID makes is that this relatively low MSRP (at least compared to initial rumors) makes sense relative to the potential performance of entry-level RTX 4070 boards (with 8-pin power connectors), but also that NVIDIA dropped to that $599 level to accommodate future pricing with the RTX 4060.

MLID notes that the central issue here is NVIDIA's realization that there's a limit to what can be charged for a graphics card with 8GB of VRAM these days - the expected configuration for the RTX 4060. As you may be aware, 8GB is looking decidedly shakier as a suitable memory configuration for cutting-edge games, at least outside of 1080p resolution.

So, MLID reckons that NVIDIA has decided against trying to price the 4060 Ti at around the $500 mark, and that instead it's shooting for something like $350 for the RTX 4060 and $450 at the most for the RTX 4060 Ti.

And so the theory further runs that this is also about making the pricing of the Lovelace range work: If the RTX 4070 is going in at $599, then clearly the RTX 4060 needs to be a good bit lower than that (to fit the 4060 Ti in-between).

Cheapish Lovelace GPUs to soon be a reality?

All this makes some sense, and it's a tantalizing hint that NVIDIA might be thinking of pitching RTX 4060 models at price points that won't blow too big a hole in gamers' wallets. However, it is just that - a hint, so much chatter on the grapevine - for now.

First of all, we'll have to see if the rumored RTX 4070 price of $599 comes to fruition, and if so, then we can hope the rest of this theorizing turns out to be on, or at least near, the mark.

NVIDIA is supposedly readying the RTX 4060 Ti for May, so it might be just a month away. However, the launch timeframe of the RTX 4060 is something the GPU grapevine isn't sure of - but the 4060 Ti should come first. Indeed, the RTX 4050 may arrive before the vanilla 4060, with the former rumored to be on track for June.

At any rate, by the middle of the year, gamers should have plenty of fresh Lovelace options, and truly affordable ones with any luck - because if the RTX 4060 pricing indications are correct, the RTX 4050 will obviously be a good deal cheaper still (though it may only sport 6GB of video RAM).