Nvidia RTX 5060 Released: Should You Wait?

Nvidia announced the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti in April 2025, but it's the more budget-friendly RTX 5060 that's now hitting the market following a reveal at Computex.

Priced at a starting point of $299, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 packs 3,840 CUDA cores across 30 Streaming Multiprocessors, making it a compelling choice for 1080p gaming. Nvidia boldly claims that the RTX 5060 can deliver astonishing performance at this resolution. For example, they state that the card can achieve 223 fps in Doom: The Dark Ages at 1080p on max settings, though this is with the aid of 4x multi-frame generation.

The highlight of this new generation of graphics cards is the emphasis on Multi-Frame Generation technology. Even though the RTX 5060 is the entry-level model in this series, it fully supports Multi-Frame Generation and the entire DLSS 4 technology suite. However, with only 30 SMs, there's a ceiling to what DLSS can accomplish.

Remember, the $299 price is just the starting point. While some models will be available at this price, many RTX 5060 variants will cost more, often featuring desirable extras like factory-tuned overclocking and RGB lighting.

Reviews Are Coming... Later

Despite the RTX 5060 being reasonably priced at $299, it's wise to hold off on purchasing until performance reviews are available. Nvidia's impressive performance claims are based on using Multi-Frame Generation, and we won't have a clear picture of real-world performance until we can test it in the lab.

Unfortunately, there will be a delay in reviews. Unlike previous launches such as the RTX 5090, Nvidia isn't providing an early driver to the press, so expect to wait about a week before seeing in-depth reviews. The RTX 5060 is likely to be a solid 1080p graphics card, but the rest of the Blackwell lineup has shown challenges in generational performance gains.

It's possible the RTX 5060 might follow the same trend as the RTX 5070, with a modest performance increase over its predecessor in traditional gaming without frame generation. When queried about the performance uplift over the RTX 4060, Nvidia suggested a potential doubling of performance with frame generation enabled, but only about a 20% increase in games without ray tracing or frame generation – and that's under optimal conditions.

As with any significant tech investment, waiting for reviews before making a purchase is advisable to ensure you're getting the best value for your money. Those reviews are on their way, but patience will be key.