Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Review

What makes for a large graphics card? I’ve spent a batch of clip implicit the past fewer months reasoning astir that question, particularly successful the aftermath of Nvidia GPUs similar the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 which are bully cards connected their own, but don’t bash overmuch to warrant their beingness implicit what was already retired determination beyond the summation of multi-frame generation. The GeForce RTX 5060 Ti does subordinate the inclination a bit, featuring the largest generational betterment retired of the full Nvidia Blackwell lineup.

This makes the RTX 5060 Ti the easiest current-generation Nvidia paper to recommend, but that proposal comes with a immense asterisk. You see, determination are 2 versions of this graphics paper retired there, 1 with 8GB of VRAM and another, reviewed here, with 16GB. In a satellite wherever the Intel Arc B580 exists, it’s mind-boggling that Nvidia would motorboat an 8GB mentation of this paper that’s inactive much costly than Intel’s flagship. If you’re buying for a 1080p graphics card, delight don’t autumn into the trap of buying the 8GB version.

Specs and Features

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is built connected the aforesaid Blackwell graphics architecture arsenic the remainder of the RTX 5000 lineup, this clip with 4,608 CUDA cores crossed 36 Streaming Multiprocessors oregon SMs. That besides means this graphics paper has 152 Tensor Cores and 36 RT cores, which are utilized for DLSS and ray tracing, respectively. This configuration means its a bigger GPU than its predecessor, the RTX 4060 Ti, which had 4,352 CUDA cores crossed 34 SMs.

From there, the RTX 5060 Ti splinters into 2 antithetic versions of the card, an 8GB and a 16GB model, some connected a 128-bit bus. In fact, the existent GPU is identical betwixt the two, with the lone quality being the magnitude of VRAM available. For immoderate people, this quality volition beryllium negligible, but if you’re looking to play intensive AAA PC games similar Doom: The Dark Ages, 8GB could beryllium a immense limiting factor, adjacent astatine 1080p.

In a cleanable world, determination volition beryllium a $50 quality betwixt the 8GB and 16GB versions of the RTX 5060 Ti, with them launching astatine $379 and $429, respectively. However, close present adjacent 8GB versions of the paper are starting astir $400, with the 16GB paper sitting anyplace from $500-$550 connected Newegg. At that price, getting a graphics paper with 8GB of VRAM simply doesn’t marque sense, particularly successful a satellite wherever the Intel Arc B580 exists. Hopefully these higher prices normalize implicit the adjacent fewer months and years.

It doesn’t assistance that determination is nary Founders Edition for the RTX 5060 Ti to assistance anchor prices. Instead, Nvidia is lone selling the RTX 5060 Ti via 3rd enactment manufacturers, conscionable similar the RTX 5070 Ti backmost successful November. I was sent the PNY GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC for review, which is simply a bog-standard dual-fan paper with a humble 120MHz overclock. That’s little than a 5% boost to its timepiece speed, and shouldn’t marque a immense interaction connected show 1 mode oregon the other. It besides keeps the RTX 5060 Ti locked to the default 180W powerfulness budget, and it peaked astatine 181W successful my testing. What’s absorbing is that PNY doesn’t necessitate the arguable 12V(2x6) connector arsenic different Nvidia graphics cards. Instead, conscionable a azygous run-of-the-mill 8-pin PCIe powerfulness connector is capable to powerfulness this RTX 5060 Ti. Though, determination volition apt beryllium galore versions of this graphics paper that bash necessitate an adapter, but it should beryllium included successful the box.

DLSS 4

Just similar the remainder of the RTX 5000 lineup, the large selling constituent this clip astir is DLSS 4, and successful peculiar Multi-Frame Generation, oregon MFG. Just similar the Frame Generation tech that debuted with the RTX 4080 successful 2022, MFG uses AI to make caller frames betwixt sets of rendered frames. The large quality present is scale, with the RTX 5060 Ti capable to make up to 3 interpolated frames for each natively rendered frame, greatly improving framework complaint – though that comes with a catch.

Inserting interpolated frames into the show output people introduces a spot of latency, arsenic the GPU is holding the rendered framework portion it creates the AI frames. Luckily, Nvidia mitigates that done Reflex and the caller AI Management Processor oregon AMP. The second is simply a peculiar spot of silicon connected the GPU that takes implicit the work of framework pacing from your CPU. And due to the fact that it’s physically located connected the aforesaid spot as, well, the remainder of the GPU, it’s capable to bash this overmuch much efficiently, shaving disconnected immoderate of the added latency and making the extremity effect smoother.

Reflex, connected the different hand, has been astir for a while, and fundamentally zeroes retired the render queue, and forces the CPU to lone nonstop information to the GPU erstwhile it’s acceptable to render a caller frame, alternatively than stacking up a clump of enactment and past sitting idle.

Even with these 2 methods, latency does inactive summation erstwhile MFG is enabled, but it’s not noticeable, particularly if you’re already getting a decent framework complaint erstwhile you crook it on. That’s the trick: You shouldn’t look astatine immoderate framework procreation instrumentality arsenic a magic slug to amended your unspeakable framework rates, it’s conscionable a instrumentality to instrumentality an already bully framerate and crank retired other frames to saturate high-end gaming monitors.

In Cyberpunk 2077, astatine 1080p connected the Ray Tracing Overdrive preset, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti gets 83 fps and 29ms of latency with DLSS acceptable to performance. Turn connected 2x Frame Generation, and the framework complaint jumps to 119 fps, with 36ms of latency. Then, with 4x MFG – truthful 3 AI frames for each “real” framework – the framerate jumps to 185 fps, with 42ms of latency. It’s a important summation to latency, but it’s inactive debased capable to not beryllium ace noticeable, acknowledgment to the precocious starting framework rate.

Likewise successful Star Wars Outlaws, the RTX 5060 Ti starts with 91 fps and 25ms of latency astatine 1080p, connected the Ultra Preset and DLSS acceptable to performance. With 2x framework generation, it jumps to 156 fps and 30ms of latency. Then, astatine 4x MFG, the numbers spell up to 251 fps with 34ms of latency. The higher your framework complaint is earlier framework procreation is enabled, the amended your acquisition is going to be.

Performance

At 1080p, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti has nary occupation handling astir games with each the shiny features turned on. Across the suite of games I trial GPUs with, I recovered that the RTX 5060 Ti was connected mean 23% faster than the RTX 4060 Ti, and 41% faster than the RTX 3060 Ti. That’s a acold outcry from the measly 11% betterment enjoyed by the RTX 5080 implicit the RTX 4080 Super.

I tested each graphics paper connected the astir caller nationalist driver, which means each Nvidia cards were tested connected Game Ready Driver 576.02, and AMD cards were tested connected AMD Adrenalin 25.3.2. All games were besides tested connected their astir caller nationalist versions, to marque definite everything was connected an adjacent playing field.

3DMark isn’t precisely reflective of real-world gaming performance, but it does springiness a bully thought of what imaginable show looks similar for the RTX 5060 Ti, particularly arsenic the operator matures. In Speed Way, the RTX 5060 Ti gets 4,209 points, compared to 3,276 from the 4060 Ti, making for a 28% improvement. Steel Nomad and Port Royal spot akin improvements, with a 25% and 28% pb respectively successful favour of the RTX 5060 Ti.

In Call of Duty Black Ops 6, the numbers don’t fare rather arsenic well. At 1080p with the Extreme preset and DLSS acceptable to Quality, the RTX 5060 Ti gets a comfy 123 fps. That’s conscionable a 6% pb implicit the RTX 4060 Ti, but it’s inactive 35% faster than the RTX 3060 Ti with the aforesaid settings.

Luckily, the 5060 Ti does overmuch amended successful Cyberpunk 2077, which is inactive 1 of the astir demanding PC games retired determination close now. At 1080p with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset and DLSS acceptable to Quality, the RTX 5060 Ti gets 90 fps, compared to 74 from the RTX 4060 Ti and 64 from the 3060 Ti. That’s a 21% and a 41% improvement, respectively.

I trial Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition without upscaling to get a representation of what earthy ray tracing show looks like. And the RTX 5060 Ti gets an mean of 66 fps astatine 1080p with the Extreme preset, compared to 58 fps from the 4060 Ti. That’s conscionable a 14% improvement, truthful not precisely the RTX 5060 Ti’s strongest showing.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is getting old, but it inactive gives a bully portrayal of Vulkan performance, particularly erstwhile everything is cranked up to max. But adjacent connected max settings astatine 1080p, the RTX 5060 Ti gets 101 fps, compared to 91 fps from the RTX 4060 Ti and 77 fps from the 3060 Ti. That’s an 11% and 31% lead, respectively.

Total War: Warhammer 3 doesn’t person immoderate benignant of ray tracing oregon upscaling technology, truthful it’s large for seeing however a graphics paper handles axenic rasterization, and the RTX 5060 Ti gets 137 fps, compared to 106 from the RTX 5060 Ti. That’s 1 of the champion results successful the 5060 Ti’s favor, and is highly promising for anyone who doesn’t truly attraction astir fancy ray tracing oregon upscaling effects successful their games.

Assassins Creed Shadows is the newest crippled successful the trial suite, and is highly demanding, particularly erstwhile each the ray tracing effects are enabled – truthful of people I enabled them. With everything enabled, the RTX 5060 Ti gets conscionable 45 fps astatine 1080p. That looks bad, right? Well, the RTX 4060 Ti really fares overmuch worse, getting conscionable 32 fps with the aforesaid settings. That makes for a immense 40% betterment successful a crippled that just came out.

In Black Myth: Wukong, ray tracing is benignant of ever enabled astatine immoderate level, but I trial the crippled connected the Cinematic preset, without enabling afloat ray tracing. This makes it 1 of the astir demanding games successful my suite, with the RTX 5060 Ti getting conscionable 59 fps astatine 1080p, falling conscionable abbreviated of the 60 fps golden standard. However, it does marque for a important uplift implicit the 4060 Ti’s 47 fps.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra