GeForce RTX 3060 vs GT 520M

Place in the ranking	1156	81
Place by popularity	not in top-100	4
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.01	71.36
Power efficiency	4.29	18.10
Architecture	Fermi (2010−2014)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GF108	GA106
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	5 January 2011 (13 years ago)	12 January 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$59.99	$329

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3060 has 713500% better value for money than GT 520M.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	48	3584
Core clock speed	600 MHz	1320 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1777 MHz
Number of transistors	585 million	12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	12 Watt	170 Watt
Texture fill rate	4.800	199.0
Floating-point processing power	0.1152 TFLOPS	12.74 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	48
TMUs	8	112
Tensor Cores	no data	112
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	28

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	no data	242 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 12-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	DDR3	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	12 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	800 MHz	1875 MHz
Memory bandwidth	12.8 GB/s	360.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	Portable Device Dependent	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI	-	+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 API	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.7
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	3.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.3
CUDA	+	8.6

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GT 520M 0.74

RTX 3060 44.28
+5884%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GT 520M 285

RTX 3060 17085
+5895%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GT 520M 502

RTX 3060 28375
+5552%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GT 520M 2280

RTX 3060 79706
+3396%

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GT 520M 1333

RTX 3060 88251
+6520%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	8 −5525%	450−500 +5525%
Full HD	12 −933%	124 +933%
1200p	7 −5614%	400−450 +5614%
1440p	1−2 −8000%	81 +8000%
4K	0−1	52

Cost per frame, $

1080p	5.00	2.65
1440p	59.99	4.06
4K	no data	6.33

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

3−4

−2533%

79
+2533%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 −1760%	90−95 +1760%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −2867%	85−90 +2867%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −2500%	78 +2500%
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2 −10700%	100−110 +10700%
Hitman 3	5−6 −2300%	120 +2300%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−12 −1527%	170−180 +1527%
Red Dead Redemption 2	0−1	95−100
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 −2667%	160−170 +2667%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 −335%	130−140 +335%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 −1760%	90−95 +1760%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −2867%	85−90 +2867%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −2400%	75 +2400%
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2 −10700%	100−110 +10700%
Hitman 3	5−6 −2220%	116 +2220%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−12 −1527%	170−180 +1527%
Red Dead Redemption 2	0−1	95−100
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 −2900%	180 +2900%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 −810%	90−95 +810%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 −335%	130−140 +335%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 −1760%	90−95 +1760%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −2867%	85−90 +2867%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −2033%	64 +2033%
Hitman 3	5−6 −1920%	101 +1920%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−12 −1191%	142 +1191%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6−7 −2467%	154 +2467%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 −630%	73 +630%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 −90.3%	59 +90.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

0−1

95−100

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	0−1	85−90
Far Cry New Dawn	1−2 −6700%	65−70 +6700%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	0−1	45−50
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −3800%	39 +3800%
Far Cry 5	1−2 −5000%	50−55 +5000%
Hitman 3	6−7 −1033%	68 +1033%
Horizon Zero Dawn	3−4 −3433%	106 +3433%
Watch Dogs: Legion	2−3 −10150%	200−210 +10150%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

3−4

−2433%

75−80
+2433%

4K
High Preset

Far Cry New Dawn

0−1

35−40

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	1−2 −3000%	30−35 +3000%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	0−1	38

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

2−3

−1900%

40−45
+1900%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla	102 +0%	102 +0%
Battlefield 5	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	200−210 +0%	200−210 +0%
Metro Exodus	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla	85 +0%	85 +0%
Battlefield 5	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	200−210 +0%	200−210 +0%
Metro Exodus	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla	75 +0%	75 +0%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	200−210 +0%	200−210 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla	60 +0%	60 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	240−250 +0%	240−250 +0%
Metro Exodus	89 +0%	89 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	115 +0%	115 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Hitman 3	45 +0%	45 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	190−200 +0%	190−200 +0%
Metro Exodus	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	63 +0%	63 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	18 +0%	18 +0%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	67 +0%	67 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	27 +0%	27 +0%

This is how GT 520M and RTX 3060 compete in popular games:

RTX 3060 is 5525% faster in 900p
RTX 3060 is 933% faster in 1080p
RTX 3060 is 5614% faster in 1200p
RTX 3060 is 8000% faster in 1440p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Far Cry New Dawn, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the RTX 3060 is 10700% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RTX 3060 is ahead in 35 tests (54%)
there's a draw in 30 tests (46%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.74	44.28
Recency	5 January 2011	12 January 2021
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	12 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	12 Watt	170 Watt

GT 520M has 1316.7% lower power consumption.

RTX 3060, on the other hand, has a 5883.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, a 1100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 400% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3060 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 520M in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GT 520M is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3060 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.