Competition could sting

According to Steam's hardware and software survey, the two most widely used graphics cards are the GTX 1650 and the GTX 1060, both from Nvidia. The RTX 4060 would be a vast improvement over both, but by failing to launch a graphics card that clearly rises over the competition, Nvidia risks those gamers jumping ship to AMD or even Intel.

On the AMD side, the company's latest RX 7600 loses to the RTX 4060 on performance but is also significantly less expensive at $269. A more potent competitor is AMD's last-gen RX 6700 XT, which Tom's Hardware found beats the RTX 4060 at 1440p resolutions with ray tracing disabled. The RX 6700 XT can be found for around $300 at retail.

Intel's Arc graphics cards are also viable alternatives for those on a tighter budget. The Arc A750 sells for around $239, and while it comes up short of the RTX 4060, the lower price tag makes it a compelling option. In its suite of 9 games at a 1440p resolution, Tom's Hardware found that the RTX 4060 delivered about 21% higher average frame rates than the A750, but at a 25% higher cost.

Nvidia's gaming business is under pressure, and the RTX 4060 isn't going to help much. Gaming revenue was down 38% year over year in Nvidia's latest quarter. The demand environment for PCs and gaming graphics cards may improve as the year goes on, but Nvidia's lackluster RTX 4060 combined with meaningful competition will act as headwinds as the company tries to stage a gaming comeback.