Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Review ft. Gigabyte & Palit

1. Introduction2. Meet the Gigabyte RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Aorus Elite3. Meet the Palit RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Infinity 34. Testing Methodology5. Alan Wake II6. Black Myth: Wukong7. Cyberpunk 20778. Dragon Age: The Veilguard9. Final Fantasy XVI10. Ghost of Tsushima11. Horizon Forbidden West12. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II13. A Plague Tale: Requiem14. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart15. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 216. Starfield17. Performance Summary (12-Game Average)18. Cost Per Frame Analysis19. Ray Tracing: Alan Wake II20. Ray Tracing: Black Myth: Wukong21. Ray Tracing: Cyberpunk 207722. Ray Tracing: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle23. Ray Tracing: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart24. Ray Tracing: Returnal25. Ray Tracing: Shadow of the Tomb Raider26. Ray Tracing: Star Wars Outlaws27. Ray Tracing Performance Summary28. DLSS Testing29. AI & Productivity Benchmarks30. Clock Speed31. GPU Temperatures32. Acoustics33. Noise-Normalised Temperatures34. Power Draw: 1080p35. Power Draw: 1440p36. Power Draw: 2160p (4K)37. Performance per Watt: 1080p38. Performance per Watt: 1440p39. Performance per Watt: 2160p (4K)40. Total System Power Draw41. Closing Thoughts42. View All Pages

Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti is the latest Blackwell GPU to hit the market – and yes, there is still an 8GB model launching in 2025… This review is focused on the 16GB SKU though, hitting the market with a £399/$429 MSRP, a price reduction compared to its predecessor. With 4608 CUDA cores, a 128-bit memory interface, and new GDDR7 memory, the 5060 Ti 16GB targets the mainstream gamer, aiming to deliver strong 1080p and playable 1440p performance. Today we find out exactly what it is capable of.

With no Founders Edition for either RTX 5060 Ti model, Nvidia is relying on its partners for this launch. We were sent two cards, both of which are featured in today's review. The majority of my game testing was conducted using the Palit RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Infinity 3, an MSRP card that runs at reference clock speeds. I also have the Gigabyte Aorus Elite, a much more premium model, which we also tested today.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:49 Meet the 5060 Ti
01:43 Test setup
02:49 Alan Wake 2
03:16 Black Myth: Wukong
03:53 Cyberpunk 2077
04:23 Dragon Age: The Veilguard
04:44 Final Fantasy XVI
05:06 Ghost of Tsushima
05:33 Horizon Forbidden West
06:15 Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
06:37 Plague Tale: Requiem
06:55 Ratchet and Clank
07:15 Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
07:40 Starfield
08:00 Performance summary – 12 game average
09:00 Cost per frame analysis
10:11 Ray tracing benchmarks
12:46 DLSS 4, Multi Frame Gen testing
15:43 Meet the Palit Infinity 3
16:12 Gigabyte Aorus Elite
16:55 Clock speed
17:27 Thermals and acoustics
18:33 Power draw + efficiency
20:15 Closing thoughts

	RTX 5080	RTX 5070 Ti	RTX 5070	RTX 5060 Ti	RTX 4060 Ti
Process	TSMC N4	TSMC N4	TSMC N4	TSMC N4	TSMC N4
SMs	84	70	48	36	34
CUDA Cores	10752	8960	6144	4608	4352
Tensor Cores	336	280	192	144	136
RT Cores	84	70	48	36	34
Texture Units	336	280	192	144	136
ROPs	112	96	80	48	48
GPU Boost Clock	2617 MHz	2452 MHz	2512 MHz	2572 MHz	2535 MHz
Memory Data Rate	30 Gbps	28 Gbps	28 Gbps	28 Gbps	18 Gbps
L2 Cache	65536 KB	49152 KB	49152 KB	32768 KB	32768 KB
Total Video Memory	16GB GDDR7	16GB GDDR7	12GB GDDR7	8/16GB GDDR7	8/16GB GDDR6
Memory Interface	256-bit	256-bit	192-bit	128-bit	128-bit
Memory Bandwidth	960 GB/Sec	896 GB/Sec	672 GB/Sec	448 GB/Sec	288 GB/Sec
TGP	360W	300W	250W	180W	160W

First, a quick spec recap. RTX 5060 Ti marks the introduction of a new Blackwell die – GB206, and this is a full implementation. Comprised of three Graphics Processing Clusters (GPCs), each holds up to eight Texture Processing Clusters (TPCs), with a total of 18. Each TPC is home to two Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), giving us 36, and each SM still holds 128 CUDA Cores, meaning the RTX 5060 Ti has a total of 4608 shaders. We also find 36 RT cores, 144 Tensor cores, 144 Texture Units, and 48 ROPs.

This time around, however, there's no node-shrink, and GB206 remains fabricated on TSMC's N4 node, as per the RTX 40 series. As such, rated clock speed has not stepped forwards this generation, with the RTX 5060 Ti rated at 2572MHz, within 40MHz of the RTX 4060 Ti.

The memory configuration is similar to its predecessor, too. We still find 8 or 16GB of memory operating over a relatively narrow 128-bit interface, the primary difference being the jump to 28Gbps GDDR7 modules, increasing memory bandwidth to 448 GB/s. L2 cache still comes in at 32MB.

Lastly, the RTX 5060 Ti features a 180W TGP. This is something we focus on closely in this review, using our enhanced GPU power testing methodology, so read on for our most detailed power and efficiency testing yet.

The Gigabyte RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Aorus Elite ships in a dark box with the Aorus logo dominating the front. On the back, Gigabyte highlights a few key features of the card and cooler.

Inside, we find an adhesive sticker, quick-start guide and warranty note.

As for the graphics card itself, the Aorus Elite is a fairly conventional-looking, slightly blocky card, utilising a black plastic shroud that sports some textured sections to add visual interest. We can also note the small reflective area just next to the I/O bracket, again just to keep things from looking overly plain.

It's rocking a triple-fan setup too, part of Gigabyte's Windforce cooling system, with each fan measuring 100mm. As we've come to expect, the central fan spins in reverse, relative to the outer two, which is designed to reduce turbulence.

In terms of its dimensions, it's only a dual-slot thickness, but at 329mm long and 128mm tall, it's still quite sizeable, so it may not be an ideal solution for your next ITX build – but I'd expect it to fit in most cases these days.

The front side is home to the GeForce RTX and Aorus logos, the latter of which acts as one of the card's RGB zones.

Gigabyte has fitted a full length metal backplate, using both grey and black sections, with another Aorus logo acting as an RGB zone. We can also note the ginormous flow-through area, allowing air to pass directly through the heatsink.

A dual-BIOS switch is also present, offering a choice of the Performance or Silent modes, with the latter having a more relaxed fan curve.

Above we can see the RGB lighting in action, controllable via Gigabyte's Control Center software.

Power is supplied by a single 8-pin connector – no 12VHPWR here. Display outputs consist of 3x DisplayPort 2.1 and 1x HDMI 2.1.

Palit's RTX 5060 Ti Infinity 3 ships in a dark box, with an image of the card taking up most of the front. Palit highlights a few key specs and features on the back of the card, as well as the fact that the Infinity 3 is a certified ‘SFF-Ready Enthusiast GeForce' card, something Nvidia introduced last year.

Inside, the only included accessory is this sheet of stickers.

Looking at the Infinity 3 itself, it's a fairly plain-looking card, with a matte black plastic shroud. There are some grooves cut into the plastic to prevent it from being entirely plain – it looks fine, but I don't think it's going to win any awards for its appearance.

Palit is still using a triple-fan cooling solution, though the fans are slightly smaller, measuring approximately 85mm across.

It's a much more compact card than the Aorus Elite, too. It's still only dual-slot thickness, but it measures 292mm long and 117mm tall, safely fitting within Nvidia's SFF-Ready parameters.

The front side of the card is home to the GeForce RTX and Infinity logos, both of which are printed in white. There's no RGB lighting anywhere on the card.

Palit has fitted a backplate, but it's only made out of plastic so doesn't feel especially premium – you can definitely tell this is a card built to hit the MSRP. It still has a number of cut-outs to aid airflow, however.

Power is supplied by a single 8-pin connector – no 12VHPWR here. Display outputs consist of 3x DisplayPort 2.1 and 1x HDMI 2.1.

Driver Notes

• All AMD GPUs were benchmarked with the 25.3.1 driver.
• All Intel GPUs were benchmarked with the 101.6651 driver.
• All Nvidia GPUs (except for RTX 5060 Ti) were benchmarked with the 572.70 driver.
• RTX 5060 Ti was benchmarked with the 575.94 driver supplied to press.

Results are only directly comparable where this exact configuration has been used.

Test System:

We test using a custom built system powered by MSI, based on AMD's Zen 5 platform. You can view the Powered by MSI store on AWD-IT's website HERE.

CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Motherboard	MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi
Memory	64GB (2x32GB) Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 6000MT/s CL30
Graphics Card	Varies
SSD	4TB Kingston NV3 Gen 4 PCIe NVMe
Chassis	MSI MPG Gungnir 300R Airflow
CPU Cooler	MSI MAG CoreLiquid i360
Power Supply	MSI MEG Ai650P
Operating System	Windows 11 23H2
Monitor	MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED
Resizable BAR	Enabled for all supported GPUs

Comparison Graphics Cards List

• ASRock RX 9070 XT Taichi 16GB
• Sapphire RX 9070 Pulse 16GB
• AMD RX 7900 XT 20GB
• Sapphire RX 7900 GRE Nitro+ 16GB
• AMD RX 7800 XT 16GB
• Sapphire RX 7700 XT Pulse 12GB
• Sapphire RX 7600 XT Pulse 16GB
• AMD RX 6700 XT 12GB
• Intel Arc A770 LE 16GB
• Intel Arc B580 LE 12GB
• MSI RTX 5070 Ti Ventus 3X 16GB
• Nvidia RTX 5070 FE 12GB
• MSI RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X 16GB
• Nvidia RTX 4070 Super FE 12GB
• Nvidia RTX 4070 FE 12GB
• MSI RTX 4060 Ti Gaming 16GB
• Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti FE 8GB
• MSI RTX 4060 Ventus 2X 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 3070 FE 8GB
• Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti FE 8GB
• Palit RTX 3060 StormX 12GB

All cards were tested at reference specifications. For factory overclocked cards, this means we manually ‘undo' the overclock via MSI Afterburner or AMD/Intel's built-in tuning tools. Or, for cards like the Sapphire RX 7900 GRE Nitro+, we enable the reference-clocked BIOS instead of the default OC BIOS.

Software and Games List

• Alan Wake II (DX12)
• Black Myth: Wukong (DX12)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12)
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DX12)
• Final Fantasy XVI (DX12)
• Ghost of Tsushima (DX12)
• Horizon Forbidden West (DX12)
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Vulkan)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (DX12)
• A Plague Tale: Requiem (DX12)
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (DX12)
• Returnal (DX12)
• Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (DX12)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DX12)
• Starfield (DX12)
• Star Wars Outlaws (DX12)

We run each benchmark/game three times, and present mean averages in our graphs. We use FrameView to measure average frame rates as well as 1% low values (99th percentile) across our three runs.

Alan Wake 2 is a 2023 survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. A sequel to Alan Wake, the story follows best-selling novelist Alan Wake, who has been trapped in an alternate dimension for 13 years, as he attempts to escape by writing a horror story involving an FBI special agent named Saga Anderson. The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 27 October 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Northlight. We test using the High preset, FSR set to native resolution, DX12 API.

Kicking off with Alan Wake 2, at 1080p the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB manages 61fps on average, making it 6% slower than the 7700 XT but 17% faster than the 4060 Ti 16GB it replaces.

At 1440p, its average of 43fps is still playable enough, while it's caught up to the 7700 XT and now comes in 20% ahead of the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Black Myth: Wukong is a 2024 action role-playing game developed and published by Game Science. The game is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West and follows an anthropomorphic monkey based on Sun Wukong from the novel. Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 20, 2024, with an Xbox Series X/S version to be released at a later date. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Unreal Engine 5. We test using the Cinematic preset, TSR set to 100% render scale, DX12 API.

Moving onto Black Myth: Wukong, it's a stronger showing from the 5060 Ti 16GB here, given its average of 45fps actually puts it ahead of the 7800 XT and a whisker behind the 7900 GRE.

1440p is not what I'd consider playable given the 1% lows drops below 30fps, and for reference the 5060 Ti 16GB is 24% slower than the RTX 5070 here. It does have a 28% lead over the 4060 Ti 16GB, one of the bigger improvements we'll see today, but you'd likely want to lower image quality or enable DLSS if playing at 1440p.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customisable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. Cyberpunk 2077 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One on 10 December 2020. (Wikipedia).

Engine: REDengine 4. We test using the Ultra preset, FSR disabled, DX12 API.

As for Cyberpunk, we're looking at just under 110fps on average, putting the 5060 Ti 16GB just 6% ahead of the RX 7700 XT, while it's 21% faster than its direct predecessor.

Up at 1440p, it extends its lead over the 4060 Ti 16GB to 34%, and we know from prior reviews that the REDengine seems to scale particularly well with the Blackwell architecture. Versus the 7700 XT though, it's just 4% faster.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a 2024 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth major game in the Dragon Age franchise, and the sequel to Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014). Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on October 31, 2024.

Engine: Frostbite. We test using the Ultra preset, ray tracing disabled, DLSS/FSR disabled, DX12 API.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a new one to our test suite and it does seem to favour Nvidia hardware, with the 5060 Ti 16GB matching the RX 7900 GRE, while it's 18% faster than the 4060 Ti 16GB.

At 1440p it still churns out 55fps on average, though here we're looking at a deficit of 28% compared to the RTX 5070.

Final Fantasy XVI is a 2023 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The sixteenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, it was released for the PlayStation 5 in June 2023, with a Windows version released in September 2024.

Engine: Square Enix in-house engine. We test using the Ultra preset, DLSS/FSR disabled, DX12 API.

As for Final Fantasy XVI, at 1080p we once again see performance that's essentially identical to the RX 7700 XT, while we're looking at a 12% uplift over the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Stepping up to 1440p does drop the 1% lows below 30fps as this is a very GPU heavy game, so you'd likely want to enable DLSS for smoother frame rates.

Ghost of Tsushima is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The player controls Jin Sakai, a samurai on a quest to protect Tsushima Island during the first Mongol invasion of Japan.Ghost of Tsushima was released for the PlayStation 4 in July 2020, and an expanded version for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, subtitled Director's Cut and featuring the Iki Island expansion, was released in August 2021. A Windows version of Director's Cut, developed by Nixxes Software, was released in May 2024. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Sucker Punch in-house engine. We test using the Very High preset, DX12 API.

Ghost of Tsushima is next and this is a game where Nvidia GPUs seem to underperform quite significantly – at 1080p, even the Arc B580 is faster than the 5060 Ti 16GB, while it's also 16% slower than the 7700 XT.

The same goes for 1440p – it's still very playable, hitting 52fps on average, but that puts it on par with the four year-old RX 6700 XT.

Horizon Forbidden West is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), the game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States, recovering from the aftermath of an extinction event caused by a rogue robot swarm. The game and the Burning Shores expansion were collected together, re-released as Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition for PlayStation 5 in October 2023, and ported to Windows by Nixxes Software in March 2024. A sequel is in development. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Decima. We test using the Very High preset, DX12 API.

Horizon Forbidden West is a game that uses more than 8GB VRAM even at 1080p, when using the Very High preset. Of course, that's no issue for the 5060 Ti 16GB, but even then, performance gains over the 4060 Ti 16GB are almost non-existent. I wonder if there's another limitation at play – perhaps memory bandwidth, or even PCIe lanes? It's hard to say, but just a 3% gain over its predecessor at 1080p is very disappointing.

At 1440p that does stretch to 7%, but even that is hardly cause for celebration. We can also see performance that's level with the 7700 XT.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a 2025 action role-playing game developed by Warhorse Studios and published by Deep Silver. The sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018), the game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 4 February 2025.

Engine: CryEngine. We test using the Ultra preset, DX12 API.

Moving onto another new game in our suite, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II shows much more of a generational improvement for the 5060 Ti 16GB, given it's 21% faster than the 4060 Ti 16GB at 1080p, averaging 89fps.

At 1440p, that lead stretches to 24%, while performance is only just behind the RX 7900 GRE.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019), and follows siblings Amicia and Hugo de Rune who must look for a cure to Hugo's blood disease in Southern France while fleeing from soldiers of the Inquisition and hordes of rats that are spreading the black plague. The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 18 October 2022. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Asobo Studio in-house engine. We test using the Ultra preset, DX12 API.

The 5060 Ti 16GB also does well in A Plague Tale: Requiem, hitting 79fps at 1080p, putting it right on par with the RX 7800 XT.

At 1440p, things are still very close overall up against the 7800 XT, while it comes in 26% slower than the RTX 5070.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a 2021 third-person shooter platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. It is the ninth main installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and a sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. Rift Apart was announced in June 2020 and was released on June 11, 2021. A Windows port by Nixxes Software was released on July 26, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Insomniac Games in-house engine. We test using the Very High preset, DX12 API.

Ratchet and Clank is another title where the 5060 Ti 16GB and 7800 XT go head to head, the average frame rates are very similar but AMD does have a slight advantage for the 1% lows at 1080p.

The same goes at 1440p, and here we can see a 12% uplift for the 5060 Ti 16GB over its direct predecessor.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game serves as the sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (2017) and is set in 9th century Iceland, drawing inspiration from Norse mythology and culture. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on 21 May 2024.

Engine: Unreal Engine 5. We test using the High preset, TSR set to 100% render scale, DX12 API.

Moving onto Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, at 1080p the 5060 Ti 16GB manages 58fps on average, putting it level with the 7700 XT, while it's 17% faster than the 4060 Ti 16GB.

1440p is a tough ask at these settings and without any upscaling, with the 5060 Ti 16GB managing 40fps, making it 22% slower than the 5070.

Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Announced in 2018, Starfield was delayed several times. The game was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on September 6, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Creation Engine 2. We test using the Ultra preset, with 100% resolution scale, dynamic resolution disabled, DX12 API.

Lastly, we come to Starfield, with the 5060 Ti 16GB sitting alongside the 7700 XT on 55fps average, making it 16% slower than the RX 7800 XT.

At 1440p it hits 45fps, and this time that makes it 15% faster than the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Here we present frame rate figures for each graphics card, averaged across all 12 games on test today. We've recently switched to using the geometric mean instead of the arithmetic mean for overall performance, given it provides a more accurate and balanced representation of GPU performance across a number of different games.

Over the twelve games tested, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB sits neatly between the RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT at 1080p, given it's 7% faster than the former but 8% slower than the latter. We're looking at a 15% uplift over the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, which isn't amazing but also isn't bad in the context of the 50 series. Gains over the RTX 3060 Ti however, average out at just 31% which doesn't sound like much progress given that GPU launched back in late 2020.

It's also a decent 1440p option, though it does fall away at this resolution in comparison to other GPUs, due to the relatively narrow 128-bit memory interface. Here it's just 5% faster than the 7700 XT and 10% slower than the 7800 XT, though it does now offer 19% better performance than its direct predecessor. Versus the 3060 Ti, we're looking at just a 33% gain.

Here we take a closer look at the uplift over the 4060 Ti 16GB. At 1080p, the 5060 Ti 16GB is anywhere from 3-27% faster, quite the spread!

The 5060 Ti 16GB does scale better at 1440p, given the range is now 7-34% over its predecessor.

The MSRPs

Using the average frame rate data presented earlier in the review, here we look at the cost per frame using the UK MSRP launch prices for each GPU. Please note this only compares rasterised performance and value.

Interestingly, cost per frame scales very similarly to the RTX 5070, given the 5060 Ti 16GB is 26% slower but also 26% cheaper in terms of launch MSRP. You would hope that the cheaper model would be better value though, so I do wonder if Nvidia is trying to push consumers towards the more expensive xx70-class card. Both of AMD's RDNA 4 GPUs also offer superior value for rasterisation, again when looking at MSRP.

Current retail pricing

The situation is slightly different when looking at current street pricing, with a lot of previous gen cards no longer available, or at inflated prices due to lack of supply. The 5060 Ti 16GB is still towards the top of the chart, though top spot is taken by the B580 which can currently be found for just £250. Overall value is similar to the RX 7700 XT, which can be had for £380.

Alan Wake 2 is a 2023 survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. A sequel to Alan Wake, the story follows best-selling novelist Alan Wake, who has been trapped in an alternate dimension for 13 years, as he attempts to escape by writing a horror story involving an FBI special agent named Saga Anderson. The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 27 October 2023. (Wikipedia)

Engine: Northlight. We test using the High preset, High Ray Tracing preset, FSR set to Quality upscaling, DXR API.

Moving onto ray tracing performance, we're focusing on 1080p here, and even with Quality upscaling, the path traced lighting in Alan Wake 2 reduces frame rates to just 40fps for the 5060 Ti 16GB. It is still miles ahead of the competition though, about on par with the RX 9070, despite that GPU costing significantly more.

Black Myth: Wukong is a 2024 action role-playing game developed and published by Game Science. The game is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West and follows an anthropomorphic monkey based on Sun Wukong from the novel. Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 20, 2024, with an Xbox Series X/S version to be released at a later date. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Unreal Engine 5. We test using the Cinematic preset, Ray Tracing set to Very High, TSR set to 67% render scale, DXR API.

 

Black Myth: Wukong is similarly punishing as it also uses path tracing, this time the 5060 Ti 16GB is faster than even AMD's RX 9070 XT. It's also 22% ahead of the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customisable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. Cyberpunk 2077 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One on 10 December 2020. (Wikipedia).

Engine: REDengine 4. We test using the Ray Tracing: Ultra preset, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Cyberpunk is more manageable at 1080p, where we use the Ultra preset with no upscaling. This saw the 5060 Ti 16GB sit between the 7900 GRE and 7900 XT, averaging 52fps.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is based on the Indiana Jones franchise and features an original narrative that draws from the film series. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on December 9, 2024. A PlayStation 5 version is scheduled to release on April 17, 2025.

Engine: Motor (based on id Tech 7). We test using the Supreme preset, path tracing disabled, Vulkan API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Indiana Jones is the last of the new additions to our test suite, and two trends are noticeable. The first is that anything with just 8GB VRAM absolutely crumbles. And the second is that, despite having ray tracing as a foundational part of the game's engine, AMD still scales very well here, with the 5060 Ti 16GB coming in 5% behind the 7800 XT. Either way, 94fps is a great result.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a 2021 third-person shooter platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. It is the ninth main installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and a sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. Rift Apart was announced in June 2020 and was released on June 11, 2021. A Windows port by Nixxes Software was released on July 26, 2023. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Insomniac Games in-house engine. We test using the Very High preset, Very High ray tracing, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Ratchet and Clank does scale much better on Nvidia hardware with RT enabled – as evidence by the 5060 Ti 16GB coming within touching distance of the RX 9070, hitting 62fps on average.

Returnal is a 2021 roguelike video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 5 on April 30, 2021 and Windows on February 15, 2023. The game follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut who lands on the planet Atropos in search of the mysterious “White Shadow” signal and finds herself trapped in a time loop. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Unreal Engine 4. We test using the Epic preset, Epic ray traced shadows and reflections, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Returnal fares much better for AMD GPUs but it's still Nvidia with the upper hand, given the 5060 Ti 16GB is almost matching the 7900 GRE, while it's a 19% gain over the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a 2018 action-adventure video game developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. It continues the narrative from the 2015 game Rise of the Tomb Raider and is the twelfth mainline entry in the Tomb Raider series, as well as the third and final entry of the Survivor trilogy. The game was originally released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. (Wikipedia).

Engine: Foundation Engine. We test using the Highest preset, RT Ultra Shadows, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is next and in this oldie-but-a-goodie, the 5060 Ti 16GB makes light work of the ray traced shadows, hitting 116fps, putting it on par with the 7900 GRE.

Star Wars Outlaws is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. Set in the Star Wars universe between the events of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), the story follows Kay Vess, a young scoundrel who assembles a team for a massive heist in order to pay off a crime syndicate. Star Wars Outlaws was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on August 30, 2024.

Engine: Snowdrop. We test using the Ultra preset but with Nvidia RTXDI disabled, DXR API. DLSS/FSR are disabled.

Lastly we come to Star Wars Outlaws, where the 5060 Ti 16GB delivers 49fps, putting it on par with the RX 7800 XT and marking an 11% improvement over its predecessor.

Ray tracing 8-game average FPS

Here we present frame rate figures for each graphics card, averaged across all 8 ray traced games on test today. We've recently switched to using the geometric mean instead of the arithmetic mean for overall performance, given it provides a more accurate and balanced representation of GPU performance across different games.

All-in-all, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is a decent GPU for ray tracing – at least at 1080p, when using demanding settings. Its overall performance is similar to AMD's RX 7900 XT, a GPU that was selling for £700+ over its lifetime, while it's 15% ahead of the 4060 Ti 16GB. Gains over the 3060 Ti are even bigger than we saw for rasterisation, this time hitting 64% – and a lot of that is down to the memory capacity.

Cost per frame, launch MSRP data

Please note this only compares ray traced performance and value.

Ray tracing cost per frame again scales very similarly to the RTX 5070, with basically no difference in value.

Cost per frame, current pricing data

The same goes for data based on current pricing – the B580 is more competitive here, but the 5060 Ti 16GB and 5070 occupy the top two positions.

DLSS Multi Frame Generation

Next, we give a few examples of the sort of frame rates – and latency numbers – you can expect when using Multi Frame Generation (MFG) with the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB.

In regards to DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, I do want to point out what I believe to be some misleading marketing from Nvidia. The announcement presentation for the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB showed frame rates and latency for the GPU running Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p, DLSS Quality mode, but with path tracing enabled. Using MFG 4X, Nvidia claimed 108fps and 81ms latency, and my own numbers actually aren't too far off that.

However, the numbers taken in isolation really lack context, and I do not think playing path traced games at 1440p with MFG 4X is a good idea on this GPU. For one, latency is silly high given the starting base frame rate is so low – given we averaged 102fps using MFG 4X, simple maths tells us only 26 of those frames were traditionally rendered, so that is a very low frame rate to start from.

On top of that, the numbers alone only tell half the story, as MFG is very much a visual technology. With only 26 ‘real' frames for every three AI generated frames, visual errors like ghosting and image garbling become very obvious – just check out our video review to see some examples.

1080p is a much more realistic use case for MFG, as the base frame rate will be that much higher – here we topped out at 53ms of latency, with 42 ‘real' frames being rendered using MFG 4X, which is more playable.

The same goes in Alan Wake 2 – 1440p with path tracing is just too much for this calibre of GPU, even with DLSS Quality, so when you add MFG on top, the latency increases to over 120ms.

At 1080p, though, things are more manageable. The base frame rate is still fairly low at 40fps, so you may even want to consider DLSS Balanced or even Performance, but it's a better experience than 1440p.

Of course, some games are much easier to run, such as Hogwarts Legacy, where even with everything maxed out at 1440p, you'll get a good experience on the 5060 Ti 16GB. Here we have a starting frame rate of 102fps before enabling MFG, so latency never really becomes a problem. That's something to keep in mind with MFG – it is a technology I quite like and use often for my personal gaming sessions. But you have to be realistic with the starting frame rate, otherwise latency becomes a real issue, as does the visual quality.

Performance versus RTX 4060 Ti 16GB

We also re-tested the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB in these games, being an Ada GPU, it is limited to using ‘Frame Generation' instead of ‘Multi Frame Generation', i.e. the insertion of one AI-generated frame rather than up to three on the RTX 50 series. As such, that means you can get significantly higher frame rates with the 5060 Ti 16GB – roughly twice the frame rate. Obviously this is dependent on the game supporting Frame Gen, and these aren’t the raw performance increases we saw earlier in the review, but it’s worth pointing out if MFG is a feature you might value.

Here we present a range of AI and productivity benchmarks, designed to offer insight into the sort of workloads that might be undertaken by someone purchasing this calibre of GPU.

Starting with our Stable Diffusion XL FP16 image generation test, here the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB delivers a 16% gain over the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB. It's also worth pointing out that the RTX 5070 can't even run this test due to its lesser 12GB framebuffer, so it's an ironic victory for the smaller sibling.

Gains do vary when looking at text generation depending on the model used, but using Llama 3.1 results in an impressive 27% uplift over the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Nvidia GPUs are most impressive when looking at Geekbench's Half Precision metric, this time resulting in a 13% gain over the 4060 Ti 16GB.

It's a similar uplift when looking at Blender Benchmark, though the 5060 Ti 16GB is faster than even the 7900 XTX here.

Lastly, V-Ray's GPU benchmark shows another impressive gain for the 5060 Ti 16GB, putting it on par with the RTX 4070 and 35% ahead of its predecessor.

Here we present the average clock speed for each graphics card while running A Plague Tale: Requiem for 30 minutes. We use GPU-Z to record the GPU core frequency during gameplay. We calculate the average core frequency during the 30 minute run to present here.

When testing both AIB cards, we can clearly see a clock speed advantage for the Aorus Elite, given it ran at just under 2900MHz, whereas the Palit Infinity 3 couldn't even hit 2800MHz. Both GPU's frequency plots are almost completely flat, which usually indicates they are not power limited – perhaps voltage limited instead.

For confirmation, averaged over the thirty minute stress test, the Aorus Elite hit 2895MHz, compared to 2752MHz for the reference-clocked Infinity 3. It sounds a lot on paper, but that sort of difference usually only equates to a handful of fps in the real world!

For our temperature testing, we measure steady-state GPU temperatures under load. A reading under load comes from running A Plague Tale: Requiem for 30 minutes.

As for temperatures, both cards did well here, though the Aorus Elite ran the coolest, hitting 54.6C and 58C on the GPU and VRAM, respectively, when using the Performance BIOS. The Palit is still very good though, this time with VRAM topping out at 70C, and the GPU staying below 65C at all times.

We take our noise measurements with the sound meter positioned 1 foot from the graphics card. I measured the noise floor to be 32 dBA, thus anything above this level can be attributed to the graphics cards. The power supply is passive for the entire power output range we tested all graphics cards in, while all CPU and system fans were disabled. A reading under load comes from running A Plague Tale: Requiem for 30 minutes.

For noise levels, we've compared the two 5060 Ti 16GB cards against other 50 series models we have tested, and they do well. The Aorus Elite was dead quiet, dropping fan speed to just 1000rpm in its Silent mode, and even the Performance mode hit just 1220rpm, making it effectively inaudible. The Infinity 3 was a bit louder at 36dBa, given the fans spun up to 1540rpm, but it's still easy on the ears and much quieter than a 5070 FE.

Following on from our stock thermal and acoustic testing, here we re-test the operating temperature of the GPU, but with noise levels normalised to 40dBa. This allows us to measure the efficiency of the overall cooling solution as varying noise levels as a result of more aggressive fan curves are no longer a factor.

As we'd expect, when noise-normalised the Aorus Elite delivers better results, bettering the Infinity 3 by 10-12C depending on the metric. We would expect this given it's the bigger and heavier card, and it's not like the Palit's results are bad!

Here we present power draw figures for the graphics card-only, on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1080p. This is measured using Nvidia's Power Capture Analysis Tool, also known as PCAT. You can read more about our updated power draw testing methodology HERE.

Per-Game Results at 1080p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1080p:

As for power draw, despite the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB having a rated TGP of 180W, in practice we saw power draw averaging just under 150W. The closest we came to the 180W figure was 174W in A Plague: Tale Requiem, but overall demands are very reasonable and easily dealt with by a single 8-pin connector.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all eight games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

The same goes for ray tracing – we averaged 153W, so just a 4W increase over our rasterisation figures.

Here we present power draw figures for the graphics card-only, on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1440p. This is measured using Nvidia's Power Capture Analysis Tool, also known as PCAT. You can read more about our updated power draw testing methodology HERE.

Per-Game Results at 1440p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1440p:

Up at 1440p, power does increase, now averaging 158W, and that's just a 5W increase over the 4060 Ti 16GB, indicating a clear efficiency gain.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all eight games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

Ray tracing power draw averaged 159W.

Here we present power draw figures for the graphics card-only, on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 2160p (4K). This is measured using Nvidia's Power Capture Analysis Tool, also known as PCAT. You can read more about our updated power draw testing methodology HERE.

Per-Game Results at 2160p (4K):

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 2160p (4K):

We do have 4K data too, though it's purely academic as this is not really a 4K GPU.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all eight games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

The same goes for the ray tracing data.

Using the graphics card-only power draw figures presented earlier in the review, here we present performance per Watt on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1080p.

Per-Game Results at 1080p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1080p:

The frugal power demands of the 5060 Ti 16GB coupled with its overall performance make it a very efficient GPU for 1080p gaming. Now I haven't included the RTX 5080 here as it's really a different class of card, but that GPU is still the most efficient 50 series part yet, but the 5060 Ti 16GB does well, tying the 5070 at the top.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all eight games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

For ray tracing, it's still right up there, just falling behind the 5070.

Using the graphics card-only power draw figures presented earlier in the review, here we present performance per Watt on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 1440p.

Per-Game Results at 1440p:

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 1440p:

At 1440p the RX 9070 comes on a bit stronger and claims the top spot, but the 5060 Ti 16GB is only just behind. It also delivers a 14% gain in performance per Watt over the 4060 Ti 16GB.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all eight games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

For ray tracing, it's still tied at the top of the chart.

Using the graphics card-only power draw figures presented earlier in the review, here we present performance per Watt on a per-game basis for all twelve games we tested at 2160p (4K).

Per-Game Results at 2160p (4K):

Click to enlarge.

12-Game Average at 2160p (4K):

Once again, 4K data isn't hugely relevant for this GPU, but it's here if you want it.

Ray tracing results

As a bonus, we now include the power figures for all eight games we test with ray tracing enabled.

8-Game ray tracing average:

The same goes for ray tracing.

We measure system-wide power draw from the wall while running A Plague Tale: Requiem for 30 minutes (4K resolution).

Lastly, total system power draw hit 301W when tested at 4K, a worst case scenario really, but it goes to show you won't need a 1kW PSU for this GPU!

Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti is the latest in a long line of Blackwell GPUs to hit the market, arriving in both 8GB and 16GB flavours. I was only sent 16GB models for this review and it didn't sound like 8GB variants would be particularly prevalent at retail upon launch – probably for the better considering a 8GB GPU launching at $379 sounds like madness to me.

But back to the 5060 Ti 16GB, it's a curious GPU that epitomises the term ‘mixed-bag'. On the one hand, rasterisation performance is solid for 1080p and even 1440p gaming, though the latter resolution becomes more of a challenge if you stick to Ultra settings.

However, compared to the RTX 3060 Ti, we're only looking at a 31% uplift for 1080p rasterised gaming – and that's a GPU which launched at the end of 2020, almost five years ago! It's clearly underwhelming and exemplifies the struggle for meaningful performance increases that this market segment has been crying out for.

That said, in the context of today's market, I don't think the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is a bad product. After all, it's still delivering circa 15% gains over its predecessor, the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, which actually sounds decent compared to some other Blackwell GPUs like the RTX 5070, which is just 1-5% ahead of the RTX 4070 Super. As much as we may want larger generational gains, that's just not the reality for the 50 series given it remains on TSMC's 4N node, so I do think we need to be realistic with expectations.

It also helps that the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is launching at the lower price point of £399/$429. The 4060 Ti 16GB initially hit the market at £479, though it did later drop below £450, but even against that figure we're looking at an 11% price drop. There is of course a fair bit up in the air around PC hardware prices right now, but I do at least have some confidence that this price point will be achievable after seeing the RTX 5070 in stock at MSRP over the last couple of weeks. Heck, it's even been on sale for less than MSRP, so we'd hope for more of the same this time around.

Of course, the RTX 3060 Ti comparison gets much more favourable when looking at ray tracing performance, largely thanks to having double the VRAM. 8GB cards these days just cannot deliver certain experiences when ray tracing is enabled, resulting in the 5060 Ti 16GB being multiple times faster in titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Nvidia also points to its new DLSS 4 technology, and specifically Multi Frame Generation (MFG), as a key selling point for the RTX 50 series. It's certainly a good feature to have, but I don't buy the claims that it can elevate the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB to a path tracing-capable 1440p gaming GPU – the base frame rate is just far too low, resulting in increased latency and noticeable visual issues. Don't get me wrong, it can still offer a huge improvement to visual fluidity in other situations, but it just needs a decent base frame rate in order to deliver a good experience, and that's more likely to happen at 1080p, rather than 1440p, with this GPU.

Power efficiency is another strong point for the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. It sips power by modern standards, averaging under 150W in my testing, and the use of a single 8-pin connector is welcome for those building or upgrading in smaller or older systems. It's not a huge step forward in overall performance per Watt compared to the 40 series, but it's up there with the best for 1080p and 1440p gaming, so we can't complain.

What really strikes me about this GPU, though, is its lack of a real competitor. Cards like AMD's RDNA-3 based RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT are still very strong for traditional rendering, but they come with clear downsides: significantly worse ray tracing performance, no FSR 4 support, and now increasingly limited availability as stock diminishes. All of those factors are significant enough where I just wouldn't recommend one of those cards over the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. The rumoured RX 9060 XT is likely to go head-to-head with Nvidia in this market segment, but we've not heard anything official on that front yet.

You could make the case that the RTX 5070 is the biggest threat to the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB – it's readily in stock at MSRP, offers performance that's some 35-40% better depending on the game, and it's not too much more expensive, sitting at £529. That said, it's priced high enough to still be out of reach for many, in which case the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB becomes the obvious choice around the £400 mark – for now, at least.

So no, it hasn't blown me away, and you can easily argue that the product itself is fairly underwhelming. But in this market segment, Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is our new go-to recommendation – just don't get the 8GB model, please.

A final word on the two cards tested today. Palit's Infinity 3 is a capable model, it's clearly built to hit the MSRP and as such is fairly light on features, but it runs quiet and cool, so I can't really complain. Gigabyte's Aorus Elite is a much more premium offering, sporting RGB lighting, dual-BIOS and a metal backplate, while the cooler is more sophisticated, resulting in even lower thermals and noise levels than the Infinity 3. I don't have a confirmed price for it yet, but it's almost certainly going to come in well above MSRP, so as good as it is, be careful not to overpay as the 5070 could make more sense if the pricing creeps closer to £500.

Pros

• Capable GPU for 1080p and 1440p gaming.
• One of the better value 50 series GPUs, roughly on par with the RTX 5070 for cost per frame.
• Lower launch price than the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB.
• 15-20% gains over its predecessor are better than some other Blackwell GPUs.
• 16GB framebuffer ensures video memory won't be a limitation.
• Low power, both models tested use a single PCIe 8-pin connector.
• Palit Infinity 3 and Gigabyte Aorus Elite partner cards run cool and quiet.
• DLSS 4 has improved Ray Reconstruction and Super Resolution scaling.
• Multi Frame Generation enables higher frame rates than would otherwise be possible.

Cons

• Value isn't clearly better than the RX 5070.
• MFG isn't really suitable for 1440p path traced experiences (contrary to Nvidia's marketing).
• RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT are competitive for rasterisation (but fall off in basically every other area).
• Prospective buyers may want to wait and see what the 9060 XT can bring to the table.

KitGuru says: The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB isn’t going to blow anyone away, but if pricing and availability follow the RTX 5070’s lead, it shapes up to be a decent option in today’s market.

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