We’ve spent the previous few months speaking exhaustively about new graphics playing cards, and sadly, numerous it has been detrimental. Nvidia’s RTX 50 sequence launch has been disastrous, with melting cables, black display driver crashes, lacking ROPs, and pricing and availability points that are simply ridiculous. The Trump tariffs are solely making issues worse, too.
However newer, extra inexpensive playing cards are coming! The RTX 5060 Ti launched lately and bought out nearly instantly like nearly each different card this yr. Even the 8GB model. And that provides me some concern, as a result of Nvidia goes to launch its even-more inexpensive RTX 5060 within the coming month and it’ll include simply 8GB of VRAM. We’d see a 16GB model in some unspecified time in the future, however 8GB is prone to be the primary model: and you actually, actually shouldn’t purchase it.
Why 8GB simply isn’t sufficient
For a lot of graphics card generations the sheer amount of video reminiscence in your graphics card didn’t make a big distinction. It was one of many elements that affected total efficiency, however there wasn’t a lot in the best way of a naked minimal you wanted until you have been going for high-end gaming with all of the visuals turned up.
However in 2025, there are very actual issues with not sufficient VRAM. And we’re not speaking about historic 2GB and even newer 4GB playing cards, both.
Nvidia lately launched the RTX 5060 Ti and it got here in each 16GB and 8GB variations, with no different actual variations between them in addition to the sheer amount of reminiscence. They each sport the identical Blackwell GPU with 4608 CUDA cores and a lift clock pace round 2.6 GHz.
However you already know what was an enormous distinction? The actual world efficiency. Not in each recreation, thoughts you. Some early critiques of the 8GB model confirmed it operating video games at very comparable frames per second to the 16GB model, prompting some to throw out the issues that the 8GB model would underperform. Such strikes have been untimely.
Within the weeks that adopted the 8GB model has proved to be a far worse performer, in some case solely spitting out frames per second that have been a fraction of what the 16GB model may handle. No surprise Nvidia didn’t wish to ship out evaluation samples of those playing cards.
The proof is within the (poor) efficiency
Overclocking.com examined a spread of video games and located the 8GB card to be critically unimpressive, and even incapable in some video games. In Spiderman 2 at 4K with top quality DLSS, the 8GB mannequin solely managed 13 FPS, whereas the 16GB model may hit 51 FPS on common. The body instances on the 8GB model have been horrible, too.
At 1080p, the 16GB model managed 84 FPS, whereas the 8GB model fell woefully behind at simply 59 FPS. Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle simply crashed and wouldn’t run on the 8GB model, and Warhammer 40,000: Area Marine 2 displayed horrible texture loading points.
Techspot’s evaluation of the 8GB card discovered related disparities between the 2 fashions, with some circumstances of the 16GB model performing just some % higher, however others over 80%.
Though the distinction was far much less pronounced at 1080p, the place you may argue the 5060 Ti 8GB is focused, upscaling and body era makes it doable to play video games at 1440p and even 4K with these playing cards. However not with out satisfactory VRAM.
They’re all too costly anyway
The RTX 50 sequence playing cards have been fairly overpriced at MSRP, however with their inflated prices since then and ongoing tariff turbulence driving up costs, new Nvidia graphics playing cards (and AMDs RX 9000, to a lesser extent), are bonkers and actually arduous to justify.
However that simply leaves avid gamers making an attempt to purchase no matter they’ll to get a brand new card. Which implies the 8GB 5060 Ti GPUs bought out quick, with avid gamers none the wiser about its underwhelming capabilities. That will probably be much more true with the RTX 5060 if it launches with only one reminiscence configuration. Players will probably be paying inflated costs for a card that doesn’t do what it could actually, as a result of it doesn’t have sufficient reminiscence. In some circumstances, it won’t be capable to play sure video games in any respect. Nvidia isn’t making that even remotely clear.
No graphics card priced over $300 ought to have lower than 12GB of VRAM in 2025. That goes for AMD too. If it drops an 8GB model of the 9060 XT, don’t purchase that both.
Nvidia and AMD have to see inventory of those playing cards sit on the cabinets to make some extent.
Unfold the phrase.
