How Much Does it Cost?
So, a lot of data, and a lot to discuss. Now, I don’t normally backtrack on what I say because reviewing isn’t as easy as most people think. Especially when you factor in releasing a piece of content that is relevant at the time of launch because even just one day later, things can be made irrelevant and that’s the situation that I feel I’m in right now, because the 5060 Ti is actually….good. Well kind of. The problem that reviewers have, and even consumers too, is that pricing is still all over the place, and there’s no sign of that changing just yet which leaves me trying to sum this up in the most convoluted and cryptic way possible.
I could end this right here by saying one of the following. If you can get it for $429, it’s not a bad buy or, if you can get it for $429, but can get the RTX 5070 for $549, then don’t buy it and get the RTX 5070 instead, or just don’t buy anything and just wait. Each argument has pros and cons to it, and I like to think that it all comes down to timing.
Right now, pricing has moved a little and cards are available and in some countries, we’ve seen RTX 5070’s, 5070 Ti’s and even 5080’s in stock for MSRP or lower. We always put our pricing in USD because it’s the easier currency to understand around the world, but for context, I can get an RTX 5070 right now in the UK for £499.99, which puts it around £40 cheaper than MSRP, but that opens up even more questions. Are consumers sick to death of the market right now and just aren’t buying anything? Regardless, you’d like to think that the 5060 Ti is going to be the more plentiful option out of the stack, as it’s a volume product with a higher yield, and as is the case with all of these new launches, it’s all about supply and demand and if gamers aren’t buying and stock is building up, then prices will come down as retailers won’t want stock sitting around too long, because storage costs money.
On top of all of this, the US probably has the raw deal at the moment due to tariffs, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we see the UK and the rest of Europe seeing better offerings at better prices as AIBs circumnavigate stock to those regions to avoid the tariffs in the US. If I was an AIB, I’d rather sell in Europe and make a small profit than not sell at all in the US because the price is too high.
Overview
So, a bit of a tangent, but back on track. The 3060 Ti was a good card when it came out, but is definitely showing its age, and with the 5060 Ti sitting 29% ahead overall, there’s definitely a viable option to buy it, especially as 3060 Ti’s are still holding their price for some weird reason. The 4060 Ti however, sees the 5060 Ti around 19% faster and while, and I’m sure NVIDIA will be happy for me to say this, it has multi-frame generation upscaling which works some kind of voodoo magic, but people still aren’t sold on it, but the tide is turning somewhat.
Generation to Generation
If NVIDIA came in with a GPU that offered a 30% generation uplift or higher in rasterisation, and higher in raytracing gen on gen, plus MFG, then yes, I think it would be much better received, but that’s not the case, and instead, if you’re already on a 40 series card, I can’t say there’s an argument to upgrade to any 50 series, with maybe the exception being the RTX 5090, but that’s in a whole different league. Beyond that, people are looking for a reason to upgrade and I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a bit bored of saying things like “It’s good but…” or “You should buy it if you can get it for $X”. The argument is wearing a bit thin.
I will say that the 5060 Ti on paper, if you take pricing out of the equation, does come across as a good performer. It even sits ahead of the 3070 Ti, and that’s what we want to see. The other issue is AMD. At that price point, AMD are the better buy, but again, and I swear this will be the second to last time I say it, but AMD cards are inflated too, so I’ll leave you with one piece of advice, and it’s a big one.
Buy While the Price is Right For You
We have overall average charts, which show you how each card performs across all games that we tested. Simply look around, find a card, look at the price, and take that price and divide it by the overall average framerate. Then look at another card, and do the same, and build up a picture as to what is right for you at that EXACT time, but I’ll warn you, that if you take too long, you may miss out, because if the price is right, then someone will snap it up.
So while I’d like to give some general advice, not only on the 5060 Ti, but all 50 series cards, and even AMD cards, the market is so volatile that what I say today, could completely change, not only by tomorrow, but even at the time of publishing this content.
Should I Buy One?
Regardless, the 5060 Ti is good, but it feels like it’s much the same as we’ve seen with the rest of the stack. If the price is right, and you’re not already on a 40 series card, then there’s an argument, but if the price isn’t right and/or you’re already on a 40 series card, then maybe give this one a miss, unless MFG really tickles your fancy.
For now, that’s going to wrap up another 50 series GPU review. With a not-so-easy-to-understand conclusion, I’d like to think we’ve at least shown you the facts, and that you can make an educated decision as to what to do from there based on that all-important word. Price.
