Cost Per Frame
So how do things look with the all-important cost per frame, because while the performance wasn’t amazing, this could be the bold difference that puts the RTX 5050 in a completely different light, due to its $249 price tag.
It’s here where at MSRP, it actually doesn’t come out too bad comparatively speaking. The RTX 5050 comes in with a cost per frame of $1.96, which puts it 10 cents more expensive per frame than the RX 9060 XT, so all looks “okay”, but it’s very hard to ignore the 32% slower performance overall. It’s $100 more expensive granted, but also comes in with an extra level of longevity, due to the 16GB of VRAM, though if budget constraints were an important factor, the RTX 5060 comes in the best value at $1.81 per frame, but even then, I wouldn’t really recommend that, and instead would steer you towards the RX 9060 XT.
It’s a funny game of, spend $50 more, get a bit more, spend another $50 more and get a bit more again, and while the RX 9060 XT is more expensive, it’s hard to deny that 16GB is the new normal, especially if you’re wanting to play games like Indiana Jones and similar, where you either get issues before the game runs, or get lacklustre performance when actually in game.
In terms of real-world selling prices though, things look even worse for the RTX 5050. Not only is the 5060 still the better buy, the RX 9060 XT does fall behind, but we’re talking a single cent per frame, but for 60 FPS more on average. That’s a bit of a no-brainer considering what you get for the money, not just in terms of performance, but the whole package: double VRAM and all.
