The first RTX 4060 gaming laptop prices are... actually kind of okay
Early examples of laptops powered by Nvidia's upcoming RTX 4060 mobile GPU are now surfacing on Newegg with prices kicking off at $1,100. For now, the laptops are only available to pre-order rather than being immediately available.
Likewise, we've yet to directly sample the new RTX 4060 mobile GPU. So, the jury remains out on exactly how it will compare with previous-gen laptop graphics from Nvidia.
That said, Nvidia has released fairly detailed specifications for the new chip. It'll run 3,072 CUDA cores at up to 2,370MHz alongside 8GB of GDDR6 memory over a 128-bit bus.
For comparison, the old RTX 3060 actually had more CUDA cores at 3,840 but a maximum boost clock of just 1,425MHz. In raw computational terms, that implies a roughly 35% uplift for the new mobile GPU.
But then CUDA cores are not entirely comparable across generations. What's more, the RTX 4060 will come with niceties such as DLSS 3 and Frame Generation, which will almost certainly not be retroactively released for the old RTX 3060. That could tip the balance quite a bit in favour of the newer GPU.
It's also worth noting that the RTX 4060 mobile may actually turn out to be more powerful than the desktop variant, if the latest rumours are to be believed.
For the record, among the RTX 4060 laptops listed for that $1,100 figure is the MSI GF63 Series. It's actually running a last-gen Intel Core i5 12500H CPU, plus 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The screen is a 15.6-inch 1080p 144Hz item with purported "IPS level" panel tech.
The other $1,100 option is the Gigabyte G5. It's also running last-gen CPU tech in the ever so slightly superior Intel Core i5 12500H CPU, plus a 512GB SSD. It also sports essentially the same 15.6-inch 1080p 144Hz screen tech. The catch with the Gigabyte option is that it comes with just 8GB of RAM. Yuck.
All of which means that you will be able to snag RTX 40-series technology in a laptop for vaguely sensible money soon. Just don't expect the new GPUs to blow the old RTX 30-series out of the water completely.
With the possible exception of DLSS 3 and its Frame Generation wizardry, all the indications are that the RTX 4060 will be more of an iterative upgrade rather than a performance revolution. So, $1,100 for an RTX 4060 laptop probably isn't a stellar deal, but it's a lot more reasonable than most things associated with next-gen graphics.
Indeed, as we noted the other day, RTX 40-series laptops in general seem to be shaping up to be relatively decent value next to their megabucks desktop counterparts, with RTX 4070 mobile laptops available for a little over $1,500, and RTX 4080 from $1,699. Well, despite the $4,000 pricing of the first flush of RTX 4090 gaming laptops we've tested anyway.