Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti could repeat last generation’s mistakes

Nvidia’s list of the best graphics cards is about to expand with the arrival of the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB/8GB and the RTX 5060 non-Ti. We don’t know yet, but we know that they’re coming. But today’s leak shows us that gamers may have been right to worry about how much these GPUs will cost. It looks like Nvidia could walk down the same path it has paved with the RTX 40-series, and that’s not necessarily good news.

The information comes from Board Channels, which is a source with a good track record. Still, remember that we need to take everything with a pinch of salt until Nvidia itself confirms the specs and the pricing.

With that obligatory disclaimer out of the way, Nvidia is still rumored to be just over a week away from announcing the new GPUs. As previously reported, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, and the RTX 5060 are all said to be ready for an April 15 reveal, followed by an April 16 release date. The review embargo is said to be lifting on the same day as the GPUs go on sale.

The reason I mention the review embargo is that I actually would’ve liked for these GPUs to have a little breathing room before they go on sale. Giving potential buyers the time to read reviews before buying is especially important now that the GPU market is in a bad state. With graphics cards simply flying off the shelves, shoppers won’t have time to stop and think: “Is this card worth it?” — they’ll simply have to buy it or let it get sold out. Well, that’s been the case with the rest of the RTX 50-series launches, at least.

The RTX 5060 Ti might set you back a fair amount

The question of value is an important one, and this leak makes me worry about that part of it all. According to Board Channels, the RTX 5060 Ti (in both iterations) will share the same pricing as its predecessor. This means $400 for the 8GB version of the card and $500 for the 16GB model.

Considering that current GPU prices are through the roof, $400 and $500 might not seem so bad. But the previous generation had its own issues in the xx60 tier of graphics cards. Nvidia gave the RTX 4060 Ti more memory, but it kept the same narrow bus and stifled the bandwidth; as a result, the GPU failed to deliver a meaningful generational upgrade.

If the company does the same thing with the RTX 5060 Ti, and still keeps the prices at $400 and $500, that’ll be a bit of a disappointment. I can’t complain about more VRAM — we definitely need it, with many modern games putting 8GB GPUs through the wringer. Besides, the switch to GDDR7 will boost bandwidth regardless, so we can hope for a better gen-on-gen improvement than the one we’ve seen previously.

On the other hand, if this leak turns out to be true, at least Nvidia won’t be raising its prices like it did with the RTX 5090. Perhaps that’s one way to frame it … but I still would’ve liked to see the GPUs at a lower price point, especially the 16GB version. If the leaks are to be believed, we’ll have much more certainty soon enough.