I was doing my regular daily keyword research, and I noticed many people are interested in how various GPUs perform at 1440p 144Hz. I mean, it is no wonder since these are extremely popular gaming settings today. Today, we will focus on the RTX 3060 and find out how it performs in these settings. Well, lucky for you, I’ve got the inside scoop.
As someone who really likes to look at and analyze data, I can say the following:
While RTX 3060 can easily run 1440p 144Hz, in most cases, buying the 144Hz monitor won’t pay off since this GPU doesn’t achieve 144 FPS at 1440p. However, if you play games producing around 144 FPS, go for a 144Hz monitor.
You might think this is all you need to know. While that might be the case if you simply want some general answer, it is certainly not if you have this GPU or you are playing to buy it. There are lots of factors to consider to make the right decision, so keep reading.
A few things to note before we begin
Just to clarify some things. When people ask if a particular GPU is good for 1440p 144Hz, they refer to its ability to run games smoothly at a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and a high refresh rate of 144Hz. This means that the GPU can render high-quality graphics and display them on a monitor at a rapid pace of 144 FPS.
According to most people, gaming at 1440p 144Hz is considered the sweet spot for high-end PC gaming, providing a great balance between resolution and performance. It offers better visual quality than 1080p while providing a smoother gaming experience than 4K.
Also note that to the greatest extent possible, monitor refresh rate does not influence how much FPS your GPU can run. The screen refresh rate, measured in hertz, is the number of times the monitor refreshes. For example, a 120hz refresh rate means that the display will refresh 120 times per second.
In contrast, FPS is the number of frames your GPU produces every second. Consider the following scenario: you have a seriously powerful GPU and an unattractive old display (60hz, for instance). Your GPU could produce infinite FPS, but your monitor cannot keep up.
All in all, a GPU that is good for 1440p 144Hz gaming needs to have a sufficient amount of VRAM, a high core clock speed, and excellent cooling to handle the demands of high-resolution gaming at high frame rates.
Does the RTX 3060 live up to those expectations?
Glad you asked.
Here are RTX 3060 specs:
| GPU Clock | Boost Clock | Memory Clock | VRAM |
| 1320 MHz | 1777-1897 MHz | 1875 MHz | 12 GB |
Now let’s see how it performs at 1440p.
RTX 3060 performance on 1440p 144Hz
To provide you with the actual tested data, we went to several popular sources.
Benchmark 1)
Average RTX 3060 FPS at 1440p (Highest settings)
| Game | Average FPS |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | 22 |
| Metro Exodus | 52 |
| Control | 53 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 56 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 57 |
| Need For Speed Heat | 67 |
| Shadow of The Tomb Raider | 76 |
| Hitman 3 | 76 |
As we can see, RTX 3060 did not even pass 80 FPS on 1440p, which makes buying a 144Hz monitor unnecessary in this case.
Benchmark 2)
PC Specs
CPU: Ryzen 9 3950X
GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3060 GAMING OC 12G
RAM: 32 GB
Average RTX 3060 FPS at 1440p (Highest settings)
| Game | Average FPS |
| Watch Dogs Legions | 46 |
| AC: Valhalla | 63 |
| Death Stranding | 97 |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | 32 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 83 |
| Rainbow Six Siege | 185 |
From this benchmark, we can take a similar conclusion from the previous one. We can see that Rainbow Six Siege would be the only game that would justify a 144Hz monitor.
Benchmark 3)
Here is an interesting benchmark when paired with i9 10900k.
Average EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 XC Gaming FPS at 1440p (Highest settings)
| Game | Average FPS |
| Elden Ring | 77 |
| Overwatch 2 | 132 |
| Forza Horizon 5 | 74 |
| Halo Infinite | 57 |
| Battlefield 2042 | 102 |
| AC: Valhalla | 62 |
| Valorant | 257 |
| COD: Black Ops Cold War | 103 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 62 |
| Apex Legends | 144 |
| Metro Exodus | 73 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 63 |
| CS: Global Offensive | 398 |
| LoL | 744 |
This benchmark showed us that there are some games worth having a 144Hz monitor for 3060 at 1440p.
Benchmark 4)
Average MSI GeForce RTX 3060 GAMING 12G FPS at 1440p (highest settings)
| Game | Average FPS |
| Elden Ring | 59 |
| Overwatch 2 | 112 |
| Forza Horizon 5 | 62 |
| Halo Infinite | 50 |
| Battlefield 2042 | 67 |
| AC: Valhalla | 52 |
| Valorant | 209 |
| COD: Black Ops Cold War | 80 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 56 |
| Apex Legends | 106 |
| Metro Exodus | 56 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 50 |
| CS: Global Offensive | 325 |
| LoL | 405 |
We can see that the MSI version of this GPU did worse than EVGA.
So, is it good for 1440p 144Hz?
While RTX 3060 can run 1440p 144Hz, this GPU is unlikely to achieve more than 144 FPS in most games at 1440p high settings. However, it can run +144 FPS in some games.
Ok, what is your conclusion?
RTX 3060 is good for 1440p 144Hz if you are playing games in which it can run around 144 FPS. However, this GPU simply does not nearly achieve that amount of FPS in most modern titles at 1440p high settings. This is why a 144Hz monitor would not be used to its full potential with RTX 3060.
Look, in reality, that really depends on the individual’s expectations for FPS and settings. Namely, this GPU can easily play most games at 1440p, but not at the highest settings and 144 FPS in more demanding games.
With that being said, if you’re more interested in playing lower-demand games, or if you’re the patient gamer who waits a few years to play high-demand AAA games, or if you’re comfortable with dealing with the concessions with your new GPU, the 3060 will do just fine.
However, if you expect the 3060 to perform well in demanding games at high settings and frame rates now and in the future, you will probably be disappointed. For a better 1440p 144Hz experience, I would definitely choose 3060 Ti.
For most people’s standards, this GPU will be enough for 1440p. Here is what an owner of this GPU says when playing Fortnite:
“My son has a 3060 and before the UE 5.1 engine change in Fortnite, he was hitting 165fps in 1440p with High/Medium settings. I’ve reduced him to 144hz now, with Nanite and other settings on Medium, and it still looks beautiful.”
Please also note that we have to be more specific to provide the best answer. Ask yourself the following questions:
What settings do you intend to play?
At medium settings, RTX 3060 is an excellent choice for 1440p 1440Hz. For high-ultra settings, not so much (at least for most graphically demanding games).
What actual 1440p resolution, 2560×1440 or 3440×1440?
The latter is more demanding, as seen in this video.
What games do you want to play?
RTX 3060 performs excellently in games like CS:GO and Valorant in these settings, however, in more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 5, not so much.
Some tips for achieving higher FPS at 1440p
After some research, I would like to provide you with a few tips for getting the most out of your RTX 3060 when playing 1440p games:
- Check that your graphics card’s drivers are up to date.
- If feasible, overclock it wisely.
- For most games, choose the “Ultra” or “High” settings to get the optimum performance.
- Utilize dual-channel memory with the same amount of RAM.
- If your display supports it, use G-Sync or FreeSync.
- Maintain your system by installing the most recent Windows updates and apps.
- Close any background processes or apps that are active while gaming.
- Make use of the most recent game patches and updates.
- Load game data onto an SSD.
Gaming temperature is also one of the crucial factors when considering the resolution. This is why we wrote the in-depth guide on the average RTX 3060 temperature.
What about 4K?
Since 4K resolution is getting increasingly popular, people also want to know how this GPU will perform at that resolution. Don’t worry, we wrote the extensive analysis Can RTX 3060 Run 4K? (Compiled Research). So, if you want to know more about it, make sure to check it out.