If PC gaming was a home, the chairs, tables, and not less than one pouffe can be make out of Nvidia XX60 graphics playing cards. No different GPU lineage accounts for as many builds or taking part in hours, although the truth that we love them a lot does make it harm worse once they go astray. Because the 16GB model of the RTX 4060 Ti did, when it launched at a withering $499.
This time, the RTX 5060 Ti remains to be getting separate 8GB and 16GB flavours, however Nvidia have remembered that sure, that is nonetheless presupposed to be a mid-range card. Thus: value cuts, with the 8GB mannequin ranging from £349 / $379 and the 16GB from a sharply dropped £399 / $429. The gen-on-gen pace improve is merely reasonable, although between that price slicing, the choice of DLSS 4 and Multi Body Technology (MFG), and performance-per-watt that beats the already environment friendly 4060 Ti, it nonetheless makes for a fairly interesting new addition to the GeForce dynasty.
I’m reviewing the 16GB model right here, or to be extra precise, the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Twin Edge. Which, for the file, is a wonderful little bit of third-party card constructing, being virtually unnervingly quiet underneath load regardless of GPU temperatures solely peaking at 61°c. Its use of a very bog-standard 8-pin energy connector additionally hints on the RTX 5060 Ti’s frugal energy wants, with each 8GB and 16GB variations rated at 180W – simply sufficient to get by with out considered one of Nvidia’s tendrilly, multi-plugged adapters.
In actual fact, I barely even approached that most in all my hours of taking part in and benchmarking the RTX 5060 Ti. It as a substitute peaked at simply 155W throughout a spirited Cyberpunk 2077 session, which is definitely slightly below the height wattage of 157W I measured on my 8GB RTX 4060 Ti. If effectivity and cooling type the bottom of your hierarchy of GPU wants, it’ll be price ready till Might to see how the 145W-rated RTX 5060 fares as effectively, however good on the RTX 5060 Ti for outmanoeuvring its fast predecessor on what’s – or was – considered one of its largest strengths.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB assessment: 1440p benchmarks
The RTX 5060 Ti continues the grand outdated XX60 Ti custom of clean but comparatively budget-friendly 1440p efficiency. And, subsequent to the pricier RTX 5070, it makes extra of an effort push native-rez, pre-DLSS framerates ahead from the times of the 40 sequence.
Averaged throughout all seven video games, the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti works out about 19% quicker than the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti, a suitable (if not terribly dramatic) enchancment. That may even be an unfair comparability, had been it not for the truth that the 16GB RTX 4060 Ti is, by all accounts, barely any faster than the 8GB model. Therefore the aforementioned harm.
That does additionally elevate the query of whether or not the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti is the higher deal as effectively, and I want I had the time to get one in on these graphs. I do suspect, although, that now that the 16GB model imposes a lot much less of a monetary burden, the additional VRAM may very feasibly make it worthwhile. The final two years have seen higher-fidelity video games get ravenously hungry for reminiscence, and at 1440p particularly, having that greater buffer may assist greater than it did in 2023.
In any case, you’re additionally taking a look at a considerable efficiency uptick from the RTX 3060 Ti – excellent news if you happen to skipped the RTX 40 technology altogether – and once more, that improve to performance-per-watt isn’t nothing. As a sub-£500 possibility for quick 1440p, then, the RTX 5060 Ti delivers, usually while not having to resort to upscaling in any respect.
That mentioned, DLSS 4 stays the perfect of its variety. AMD’s FSR 4 makes encouraging enhancements, however to my eyes nonetheless doesn’t match DLSS sharpness. And, when it comes to straight numbers, the RTX 5060 Ti’s MFG assist lets it pull a lot additional away from the 4060 Ti when body technology is concerned.
I don’t truly endorse path tracing on the RTX 5060 Ti at this decision – it is going to deal with common ray tracing with only a sprint of DLSS upscaling, however no one can purchase a cutting-edge GPU simply to sit down across the 30fps mark. Nonetheless. This GPU does obtain normal playability the place the RTX 40 mid-rangers don’t, and with 4x MFG it’s able to greater than doubling their finest showings. That got here with heaps of added enter lag, thoughts, so if you happen to do fancy some body gen, I’d advocate lowering your high quality settings on the similar time. This may assist safe the provision of ‘actual’ frames, which in flip will assist restrict latency spikes.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB assessment: 1080p benchmarks
As you’d hope, the RTX 5060 Ti is comfortably geared up to deal with max-quality, native-rez video games at Full HD. Its common efficiency enhance over the RTX 4060 Ti contracts barely, to 18%, but it surely’s nonetheless a extra significant and constant improve than the RTX 5070 is over the RTX 4070 Tremendous.
That mentioned, the last-gen mannequin is hardly getting its ribs kicked in both, and since each GPUs usually hand around in the identical 80fps+ space, it’s generally tougher to identify the distinction than it’s at 1440p. That does change, nonetheless, while you begin slapping on the actually high-end visible choices.
By staying above 40fps in each these video games, the RTX 5060 Ti arguably turns into the primary XX60 card that may actually, actually address path tracing. With Alan Wake 2 specifically, there’s a noticeable distinction in smoothness between the 4060 Ti’s 36fps and the 43fps of the brand new mannequin, as these sorts of framerates are (not like the rasterised outcomes above) effectively beneath the purpose the place diminishing returns spoil the enjoyable. Regardless of an oddly restricted 4x MFG lead to the identical sport, that stronger framerate base additionally makes the 5060 Ti higher suited to border technology.
I’d nonetheless need to see how the Ti-less RTX 5060 performs at 1080p earlier than parting with any money – the 8GB VRAM restrict is beginning to look a tad old school, but it surely’s nonetheless superb for 1080p rigs that aren’t minded to modify to 1440p anytime quickly. And I’d nonetheless take the RTX 5060 Ti over its extra instantly obtainable rivals: moreover the RTX 4060 Ti lagging behind on each straight efficiency and performance-per-watt, the Intel Arc B580 is available in quite a bit cheaper however quite a bit slower as effectively. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT offers an encouraging first look – I solely have benchmark outcomes from the outdated RPS check rig, therefore why it’s not in these graphs, however at 1080p it did common 121fps in Cyberpunk 2077 and 107fps in Metro Exodus, so on a more moderen CPU it ought to run very barely quicker for about the identical money as this 16GB RTX 5060 Ti. Nonetheless, it lacks the FSR 4 assist that’s presently unique to the very newest RX 9000 GPUs, leaving it and not using a convincing comfort prize for concurrently forgoing DLSS 4.
We are able to due to this fact chalk the RTX 5060 Ti as one of many extra profitable RTX 50 graphics playing cards, and the present de facto alternative for – on the very least – 1440p on a finances. This particular Zotac mannequin additionally makes a convincing case for itself, impressing on thermals and calmness even whereas sticking to the 16GB GPU’s base value of £399.
Within the UK, anyway. The toupéed elephant within the room, in fact, is the looming affect of US tariffs on computing {hardware}. There’s no smartphone-style exemption for graphics playing cards, so it will be troubling but unsurprising if the RTX 5060 Ti immediately will get pricier within the States. That may, in fact, make it a tougher promote – although I suppose since all the opposite alternate options would endure the identical destiny, there can be a type of equality to the distress.
This assessment is predicated on a retail unit offered by the producer.
