I’d so desperately love to do a graphics card evaluation with out the fug of a much wider controversy (or cacked-up marketplace stipulations), however the RTX 50 collection hasn’t been in particular cooperative in that regard, so why will have to the RTX 5060 be any other? This time, the disappointment cloud comes wafting from Nvidia themselves, amid accusations of engineering dodgy RTX 5060 previews and making an attempt to industry get right of entry to for larger protection of its Multi Body Era (MFG) capacity.
Such scheming, if true and intentional, would recommend a outstanding loss of religion within the RTX 5060’s core, un-frame-genned efficiency. But now that I’ve spent some high quality time with the cardboard myself – unbiased of any tit-for-tat preview shenanigans, clearly – it in reality isn’t that dangerous, on natural {hardware} phrases. It’s no longer provided for cut-price 1440p however as an inexpensive 1080p pusher, it’s tremendous. Ok. Cheap. Infrequently some disaster that wishes a thunder-running PR offensive to hide up with MFG figures.
The drivers, even though? Now there’s a crisis. And no longer on account of the convention-breaking loss of early evaluation instrument for press hacks – I were given get right of entry to to the RTX 5060’s Sport Reader Driving force 576.52 replace on the similar time everybody else did, when each it and the GPU launched on Would possibly nineteenth. The true downside is that it’s the newest in a chain of GeForce motive force updates that experience invited all approach of unforced mistakes upon video games previous and new, together with a number of of my benchmarking regulars.
Some, like Horizon Forbidden West and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, started struggling sustained framerate drops that they’ve by no means exhibited sooner than. In the meantime, Metro Exodus would crash on startup, and F1 24 would carry out worse with Nvidia’s treasured DLSS body era than with out. Even supposing those aren’t the fault of the RTX 5060 {hardware}, those motive force issues are simply but extra dangerous vibes round a graphics card that are meant to be – just like the RTX 3060 and, after some time, the RTX 4060 sooner than it – a other folks’s champion.
That is, in any case, the extra inexpensive RTX 50 GPU of the bunch, and thus the least taxing access level (actually, when you’re over the pond in Price lists Land) into full-spectrum DLSS 4 make stronger. In reality the very style you spot right here, the well compact Zotac GeForce RTX 5060 Solo, is one in every of a number of which are in reality promoting at RRP/MSRP, or £270 / $299. That’s a snip, by way of 2025 requirements, particularly when maximum RTX 5060 Ti fashions have already won a couple of quid. If not anything else, then it’s no less than value having a look for some upsides.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 evaluation: 1440p benchmarks
Granted, 1440p possibly isn’t the most efficient position to begin the hunt. After quite a lot of restarts and reloads, I did sooner or later get some usable knowledge from the 576.52 drivers, and at local solution the RTX 5060 does make for visibly smoother framerates than the RTX 4060 in maximum video games – Metro Exodus and Overall Conflict: Warhammer III particularly. However then it most effective produced a unmarried additional body in Forbidden West, forcing it to drop at the back of the older and less expensive Intel Arc B580. That is an underdog GPU that the RTX 5060 may just additionally most effective hang to a attract each Cyberpunk 2077 and F1 24.
Issues for coming just about the Radeon RX 7700 XT, a possible challenger from the second-hand marketplace, but when I used to be speccing a 1440p rig on the cheap, I’d nonetheless save up for an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. Partially for the reason that VRAM distinction does change into obvious at this type of rez, in particular in Forbidden West, which had a undeniable jittery high quality that I don’t suppose is fully defined by way of the decrease body output by myself. Playable proof suggests 8GB is fine for many 1080p video games, in spite of contemporary grumbles from tech lovers, however an additional 8GB on best of that most probably will lend a hand deal with the rigours of Quad HD.
You’ll additionally want to make investments extra if you wish to partake in trail tracing. Even with High quality DLSS upscaling, neither of my trail traced take a look at video games may just succeed in 30fps at the RTX 5060, once more making a controversy for the RTX 5060 Ti. MFG may just get the numbers up, however most effective Cyberpunk 2077 at 2x felt remotely playable: at 4x, enter lag went off the charts, and Alan Wake II had a in a similar fashion sludgy feeling (in conjunction with noticeable blurring on digital camera actions).
DLSS 4 continues to be the most efficient general upscaler/body gen bundle within the biz, however as I appear to mention each time it comes up, it simply doesn’t paintings as a method of smoothening out low efficiency. It’s nice at taking quite-fast video games and making them glance even slicker, however that in reality wishes a basis of ordinarily rendered frames for DLSS to generate new ones from; with out that, it’s the gaming {hardware} identical of sitting in a rusty wheelbarrow with a Ferrari livery. You can pick out up some just right speeds at the proper hill, however would possibly not benefit from the sensation.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 evaluation: 1080p benchmarks
Lifestyles is far better at 1080p. The B580 nonetheless beats the RTX 5060 in Horizon, however most effective by way of a couple of frames, and it’s nearly on par with the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB in Metro and Cyberpunk. No longer a ways at the back of in Warhammer III or Murderer’s Creed Mirage, both.
Vitally, there’s additionally – extra incessantly than no longer – a tight growth at the RTX 4060, particularly in Metro and Cyberpunk. That is sustained with the applying of standard ray tracing, too. Including Extremely-quality RT results to Metro most effective introduced the RTX 5060 right down to 77fps, whilst the RTX 4060 controlled 62fps.
Will it constantly fill out a 165Hz track on max high quality? No, however then for not up to £300 it doesn’t want to. It’s tremendous. Ok. Cheap, I bear in mind any person announcing. VRAM-wise, you will have to most definitely take into consideration whether or not chances are you’ll love to improve to 1440p inside this card’s shelf lifestyles, however in the intervening time it does seem like you’ll be able to escape with 8GB at 1080p. I didn’t see a lot more of that jittering in Forbidden West, for something, and a side-jaunt into Doom: The Darkish Ages – with its always-on ray tracing and Extremely Nightmare settings – produced a easy, stutter-free 73fps, as soon as once more besting the RTX 4060 at 60fps.
Trail tracing stays a questionable endeavour, thoughts. Even if the RTX 5060 may just move slowly to an ostensibly playable 30fps-plus in each video games at this decrease rez, this wasn’t sufficient to keep away from an offputting deluge of enter lag as soon as MFG attempted to make up the variation. Alan Wake 2 wasn’t as blurry as at 1440p, however nonetheless, it felt sharper to simply have Extremely-quality ray tracing at 44fps as an alternative.
In equity, I did discover a use case for MFG in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. With Extremely settings, DLSS on High quality and all ray tracing results enabled, Nvidia’s tech became 53fps into 88fps on 2x and 150fps with a 4x override. Crucially, neither of the heightened effects got here with over the top latency, thank you in large part to the truth that the RTX 5060 used to be already operating the sport acceptably with out them.
It’s simply unlucky that to get those numbers, I needed to re-run the take a look at each time a type of newfound framerate collapses happened, on best of getting to restart the sport after each settings exchange as a result of differently they’d kill efficiency for no obvious explanation why. That’s no longer on account of a contemporary dangerous patch on Bioware’s section, and it’s under no circumstances an issue with how the RTX 5060 itself is engineered, with Zotac’s unmarried fan maintaining height GPU temps to a wise 68°c. Nope, this used to be the fault of my lifelong enemy for the previous two days: the ones 576.52 drivers.
A chance exists that they’ll be fastened, and may no longer even get replaced by way of one thing worse, however at this level, there were sufficient misguided Sport In a position drivers – whose faults are generally explicit to the RTX 50 collection – that it’s change into an issue for all the GPU circle of relatives. Unfortunately, that has to incorporate the RTX 5060. Via Nvidia’s personal hand, this places it within the unenviable place of being essentially the most robust and versatile 1080p graphics card in its fee vary but additionally person who makes the phrases “Sure, you will have to purchase this” disproportionately tough to mention out loud. Why would, or will have to, any person spend money on an element when its considered necessary drivers have this sort of prime probability of breaking their video games?
This evaluation is in line with a retail unit equipped by way of the producer.
