NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti vs AMD RX 7600 GPU showdown could happen at the end of May

The clash of the more affordable Lovelace and RDNA 3 GPUs - though we use the term 'affordable' with some caution - might just happen at the end of next month, if a fresh rumor is right.

This comes from Igor's Lab, with the first claim being that NVIDIA's RTX 4060 Ti is inbound for the end of May or the start of June, which is when the Computex show is happening (apply liberal seasoning as ever with this kind of pre-release speculation).

Igor theorizes that the RTX 4060 Ti might even be on shelves immediately after its reveal, although the quantity of graphics cards produced is likely to be fewer than the RTX 4070. The sources the leaker spoke to aren't sure on that last point, mind you, so be particularly skeptical there.

As for the incoming RDNA 3 offering, the rumor floated by Igor is that the Radeon RX 7600 will be shown off at Computex, thereby going head-to-head with NVIDIA's RTX 4060 Ti - but there's a weighty caveat here (even outside of this all being rumored).

Namely that we're told that only AMD-focused graphics card makers will show off their RX 7600 wares, meaning those who don't make NVIDIA cards (such as Sapphire). Apparently NVIDIA and AMD card manufacturers (the majority) are taking a wait-and-see approach to gauge whether pushing ahead with an RX 7600 launch is worth it at this point.

If true, the GPU arena is clearly becoming a much more cautious place, and indeed Igor more broadly speculates about the unpopularity of mid-range cards in general, and paying what's now $600 for a slice of the action (with the RTX 4070).

So, that's why it makes some sense that having watched flagging RTX 4070 sales since the launch of the GPU, NVIDIA may avoid cranking the production lines as much with the RTX 4060 Ti.

Will the price be right?

Then again, the speed at which the RTX 4060 Ti comes off the shelves will, of course, depend on its pricing. And if the recent rumor from elsewhere (MyDrivers) of a $399 price tag in the US comes to fruition - as opposed to some of the other whispers we've heard, like $450 - well, maybe this will be a Lovelace GPU that gets far more traction than the RTX 4070.

Indeed, we could also see a price reduction for the RTX 4070 from the $599 mark, something that has again been heard on the grapevine in recent times (with an up to $50 drop perhaps around the corner).

From the AMD perspective, it seems that the purported switch from the RX 7900 to the RX 7600 - high to low, or lower-mid - could be wrapped up in the bogged-down territory that the RTX 4070 seems to be mired in, with Team Red swerving a potential RX 7800 model just to avoid falling into that apparent trap.

Whatever the case, it's likely not just graphics card vendors who are adopting a wait-and-see approach, but consumers, too, as the rumor mill is very much suggesting GPUs will become decently more affordable in the near future. We can but hope.