Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Launched Amid Controversy: Is the $299 Price Tag Worth It?
Nvidia has officially launched its GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card for both desktops and laptops, targeting the budget-conscious gamer. Priced at $299 for the desktop version, the RTX 5060 aims to deliver smooth 1080p gaming experiences, leveraging DLSS 4 to achieve over 100 FPS in AAA titles. However, the launch has been overshadowed by controversy, with limited review samples and a less-than-transparent approach to media coverage.
The RTX 5060 promises a noticeable upgrade over its predecessor, the RTX 4060. It features the GB206 chip with 3840 CUDA cores, a 25% increase compared to the RTX 4060's 3072 cores. While the memory capacity remains at 8GB, Nvidia has upgraded to GDDR7 memory, boosting bandwidth by up to 65%. This should translate to improved performance in demanding games and applications.
Nvidia claims the RTX 5060 excels at 1080p gaming, showcasing titles like Alan Wake II and Cyberpunk 2077 running at over 100 FPS with maxed-out settings when paired with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor. While raster performance is expected to be around 25% higher than the RTX 4060, much of the showcased performance relies on DLSS 4.
The laptop version of the RTX 5060 will also be available, featuring 3328 cores and the same memory specifications. Nvidia anticipates that laptops equipped with this GPU will start at $1099, a slight increase compared to the previous generation. It's still too soon to say if vendors will be able to meet this target pricing; we will see what gets announced at Computex.
Despite the performance improvements, the 8GB VRAM capacity remains a concern for some gamers, especially with modern games demanding more memory. The card features 19 TFLOPs of shader performance, 614 AI TOPS, and 58 TFLOPs of RT performance, along with support for PCIe Generation 5.0 and DisplayPort 2.1b.
Perhaps the biggest point of contention surrounding this launch is Nvidia's handling of review samples. The company seemingly limited access to preview coverage and testing, leaving many tech media outlets unable to provide comprehensive reviews on launch day. This raises questions about the card's true performance and value proposition given its price tag, especially from a consumer's perspective.
While Nvidia might be the first to announce new GPUs at Computex, it isn't the only option. Intel is expected to announce new graphics cards this week, with AMD already confirmed that they will be unveiling the Radeon RX 9060 XT.
The RTX 5060's launch highlights a few key questions. Will the upgraded GDDR7 memory and CUDA core count provide a tangible performance boost? Is 8GB of VRAM sufficient for modern gaming? And, perhaps most importantly, is the $299 price point justified, considering the limited independent reviews? We encourage readers to share their thoughts and expectations in the comments below. What are your thoughts on the Nvidia RTX 5060, and will you be upgrading?
