NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB for local AI
The GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB holds 24 of the 39 open models here, and the GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB holds 11. The GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB costs $1,170 less, both priced as the card alone, without the PC around either. On Gemma 4 12B, the strongest model both hold, the GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB is about 2.3× faster: 88 tok/s against 38, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB pays for itself sooner, in 19 years against 26 years at 500k tokens a day, though that is each machine on its own strongest model rather than on the same one. Both are previous-generation parts, so every figure here is priced at what they launched at rather than at prices you can pay today.
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,499card only | $329card only |
| Memory | 24 GB | 12 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 23 GB | 11 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 936 GB/s | 360 GB/s |
| Power under load | 350 W | 170 W |
| Models that fit | 24 | 11 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B | Gemma 4 12B |
| Speed on that model | 38 tok/s estimatedQwen3.8 27B | 38 tok/s estimatedGemma 4 12B |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 19 years | Pays back in 26 years |
Run the numbers on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB · or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB
Side by side on Gemma 4 12B
The table above gives each machine the strongest model it can hold, and those are not the same model, so the two speeds in it are not a race. Gemma 4 12B is the strongest model both machines hold, so this is the pair running the same work.
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 88 tok/s estimated | 38 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back | Pays back in 115 years | Pays back in 26 years |
Run Gemma 4 12B on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB · or on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB
How much use it takes to pay back
Everything above is at 500k tokens a day. Pay-back moves with how much you actually run, so here are both machines on the same model, at the five levels of use the calculator names. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB pays back sooner at every level of use, so this is not a choice that turns on how hard you work it.
| A day's use | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 1,150 years | 257 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 288 years | 64 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 58 years | 13 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 14 years | 3.2 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 2.9 years | 7.7 months |
Run the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB at 20M tokens a day · or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB
What the extra memory buys
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB holds 13 models the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB cannot at 32k of context. The strongest of them are what the difference in memory actually buys.
| Model | Weights | Needs at 32k | On the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.8 27BSonnet-class | 16 GB | 19 GB | 38 tok/s estimated |
| Qwen3.6 27BHaiku-class | 17 GB | 19 GB | 37 tok/s estimated |
| Qwen3.6 35B-A3BHaiku-class | 22 GB | 23 GB | 141 tok/s estimated |
| Muse Glimmer 30BHaiku-class | 17 GB | 18 GB | 39 tok/s estimated |
| Gemma 4 26B-A4BHaiku-class | 17 GB | 18 GB | 104 tok/s estimated |
| GLM-4.7-FlashHaiku-class | 18 GB | 20 GB | 101 tok/s estimated |
7 more, on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB page.
The assumptions behind both columns
Both columns use the same usage: 500k tokens a day at 15:1 input to output, 32k of context, $0.17 per kWh, and today's API prices held flat. Speeds marked estimated are worked out from memory bandwidth rather than measured, and pay-back scales with them. Graphics cards are priced as the card alone, so add the PC around one before comparing it with a complete computer. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB runs · everything the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier