(Credit: John Burek)
Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card and mobile GPU have landed online and on store shelves, promising budget-bound buyers frame rates in the 100s in the 100-plus games that support its DLSS 4 optimization techniques.
However, we haven’t had the chance to test an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 in either form factor due to a day-one performance driver update release.
With desktop RTX 5060 GPUs going for $299 (assuming MSRP holds) and gaming laptop models starting at $1,099, the new RTX 5060 is the most affordable way to test out Nvidia’s latest graphics technology. While I recommend you wait for our reviews of RTX 5060 products before buying one, if things go the same as other RTX 50-series releases this year, RTX 5060 desktop GPUs could easily run out of stock moments after launch, forcing you to either buy now or wait.
Detailing the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 for Desktops
I've noticed a few common themes with Nvidia’s RTX 50-series graphics cards, which I see again with the RTX 5060. In addition to running a new graphics architecture, RTX 50-series graphics cards ship with higher core counts than their predecessors in the RTX 40-series. This trend is also true for the RTX 5060, which contains 3,840 CUDA cores to the RTX 4060’s 3,072. This upgrade alone should help to give the RTX 5060 a leg up over the RTX 4060 in terms of performance.
(Credit: Nvidia)Nvidia also opted to equip the RTX 5060 with GDDR7 memory, which will also help boost performance in several areas. The RTX 5060 has a 128-bit memory interface, just like the older RTX 4060, and this has been shown to limit performance, particularly at beyond-HD resolutions. GDDR7 VRAM doesn’t fully resolve this issue. However, GDDR7 memory is faster and provides more bandwidth than GDDR6 memory, so it helps reduce the impact of the narrow 128-bit interface on gaming performance.
Nvidia's First Performance Claims Show Great Promise for Mainstream PC Gamers
As a member of the RTX 50 series, the RTX 5060 supports Nvidia’s newest gaming features, including DLSS 4, which uses multi-frame generation technology. This tool uses the GPU's Tensor co-processor cores to analyze frames rendered originally by the GPU's CUDA and shader cores and generate up to three new frames for each one, increasing frame rates. Nvidia shared some performance numbers for several games to show how the RTX 5060 will perform. However, all of these test results were using DLSS 4.
(Credit: Nvidia)With DLSS 4, the RTX 5060 can run all of the games Nvidia listed at more than 100 frames per second (fps), but using DLSS 4 introduces image quality issues and increased latency. You can use DLSS to get higher frame rates if you can’t otherwise play the game, but in general, so long as you are getting a reasonable frame rate without it, you would be better to leave it turned off. Of course, being a lower-midrange GPU, DLSS will surely help budget-bound gamers keep up with the latest games.
Nvidia used a similar testing methodology earlier when it announced the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 would be able to perform on a similar level to an RTX 4090. While that was buzzy, it also stretched the truth more than a bit as the RTX 4090 is far faster than the RTX 5070. You should interpret these test scores for the RTX 5060 with similar skepticism until we can test an RTX 5060 in PC Labs. (Our unit should arrive any day now.)
Some Brief Details on the RTX 5060 Laptop GPU
At launch, Nvidia said that every capable PC manufacturer will sell RTX 5060-equipped laptops. While we don’t have the full details of these systems yet, the RTX 5060 will appear in gaming laptops as thin as 14.9mm. The starting price of these gaming laptops is suggested to be at least $1,099.
(Credit: Nvidia)The mobile version of the RTX 5060 runs with a target graphics power (TGP) of between 45 watts (W) and 100W. The 45W models will likely also be labelled Max-Q or Blackwell Max-Q, as Nvidia has used Max-Q to signify GPUs running in a lower power mode for some time now.
Nvidia RTX Remix Returns to Make Portal RTX Even Better
Though not directly related to the RTX 5060, Nvidia also took advantage of its press preview to discuss its latest software achievements. In addition to more games supporting DLSS 4, Nvidia also discussed updates to its RTX Remix technology, which helps to improve the image quality of legacy PC games using advanced techniques.
(Credit: Nvidia)To demonstrate this, Nvidia has an update to the Portal RTX mod it released two years ago to improve the graphics of the original Portal game using its advanced image optimization techniques like DLSS and ray tracing. This latest Portal RTX update will now use DLSS 4 and Nvidia’s RTX Neural Radiance Cache technology to demonstrate what this technology can do for an older game.
The Takeaway: A Hot GPU Release Without Tested Reviews Creates a Catch-22 for Buyers
If you’re interested in buying an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card for your desktop PC or looking for a laptop equipped with this new GPU, you should start looking now. These products are available now, but they may be in short supply. Every desktop graphics card released this year has run out of stock for at least a brief period within moments of launch, and nothing suggests otherwise for the RTX 5060.
Though I would recommend waiting to check reviews first so you know better what you are buying, that may not be an option if you want an RTX 5060 sooner rather than later. Nvidia says that part of the delay in sampling the RTX 5060 is due to last-minute driver optimizations to ensure the RTX 5060 performs well on launch day. Drivers for the RTX 5060 should roll out on May 19, the graphics cards' release day, leaving no time for tested reviews before initial stock more than likely runs out. Sadly, if you don't want to wait for the next wave of stock in this economically unstable environment, you'll be buying blind.