Reddit user considers trading RTX 4060 laptop for used RTX 3080 Ti model: Cites performance and VRAM gains

In a Reddit post shared by user u/F1vr, the r/GamingLaptops community weighed in on a hardware swap dilemma: whether to exchange a current-gen Asus TUF A15 laptop featuring an RTX 4060 for a used XMG Neo 15 (M22) with an RTX 3080 Ti running at 175 W.

The TUF A15 was purchased in December 2024 and comes with a Ryzen 9 8845HS processor, RTX 4060 GPU, 32 GB DDR5 memory, a 1080p 144 Hz display, and 2 TB of SSD storage. The Neo 15 configuration in question includes a Ryzen 9 6900HX, RTX 3080 Ti (175 W), 64 GB DDR5 RAM, a 1440p 240 Hz panel, 1 TB SSD, and a bundled external water-cooling unit. The asking price is €1,100 (approximately USD 1,200), with the poster noting that the TUF could be sold for a higher amount.

Commenters focused heavily on performance and value. Several pointed to the RTX 3080 Ti’s 16 GB of VRAM, double that of the RTX 4060, and its ability to maintain stronger rasterization performance at 1440p. Others referenced the 175 W TGP of the 3080 Ti, noting its performance advantage in thermally unconstrained laptops.

Benchmark data supports these claims. According to internal results, the RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU achieves an average 3DMark Time Spy Graphics score of 11,802, with peaks reaching 13,808. In comparison, the RTX 4060 Laptop GPU averages 10,250, with a maximum of 11,738. This reflects a performance difference of roughly 15% in favor of the 3080 Ti in this synthetic rasterization workload.

Performance aside, condition was also a recurring concern. Some users cautioned about wear on older hardware and recommended a full thermal repaste and motherboard checkup before making the swap, especially for devices that may have operated at higher power for extended periods.

While those points focused on existing performance and device condition, the RTX 4060 adds newer architecture and DLSS 3 Frame Generation. But as the discussion shows, VRAM and power limits still dictate how mobile GPUs stack up across generations.