NVIDIA RTX 5060 Series: Entry-Level Blackwell GPUs Coming Soon
Ready to upgrade that gaming rig without breaking the bank? Good news is finally on the way. March 2025 will be the exciting month for PC gamers. This is particularly true for those who have patiently waited for news about the newest, more budget-friendly offerings in NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series.
Entry-Level Blackwell is Coming Soon
Rumblings on the graphics card grapevine indicate that we may witness the launch of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 GPUs by NVIDIA as far back as this coming March. These rumors are sourced particularly from manufacturer ChainTech. NVIDIA recently released the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards. This would provide some decent pacing to the recent roadmap at NVIDIA.
Remember how we heard this was the launch schedule? It appears to be happening just that way. First the big guns, and now the cards that significantly more gamers will actually be able to get their hands on. This is good news to those of us who do not have unlimited budgets but still hanker for next-generation gaming.
Navigating Launch Challenges
It is not all smooth sailing, though. The launch of the initial RTX 5090 saw limited stock. The RTX 5080 faced some price turbulence. Part of this is likely due to the Chinese New Year shutdowns. These shutdowns will have impacted production lines. Will these issues spill over to the RTX 5070 and the 5060 series launches? We hope NVIDIA and its partners can iron out the wrinkles and ensure a smoother launch for these more mainstream cards.
"Let's hope the RTX 5070 and especially the RTX 5060 series launches go off without a glitch. We need these cards in ample supply and at palatable prices" - just another hopeful gamer
Under the Hood: What to Expect Spec-Wise
Memory and Bandwidth Boost
The same rumor states that the RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 are supposed to be utilizing the exact same "PG152" board powered by the GB206 GPU core. It retains a 128-bit memory bus, same as the existing RTX 4060 series. Do not let that number deceive you.
The big upgrade here is the shift towards GDDR7 memory. This shift to GDDR7 will bring a notable bandwidth boost, with up to 448 GB/s. That is quite a jump, more than 50% more bandwidth compared to the RTX 4060 series. Along with some nifty memory compression tricks, this should allow these cards to punch above their weight despite their 128-bit bus.
VRAM Configurations: 16GB for the Ti?
For memory capacity, rumors are that the RTX 5060 Ti will come in both 16GB and 8GB flavors. The 16GB RTX 4060 Ti was not exactly a performance game-changer. However, having that extra VRAM does make a difference in more demanding games, especially with 1440p with ray tracing and high-resolution textures cranked up.
The standard RTX 5060 is expected to stick with 8GB of VRAM. Although 8GB may be a bit tight these days, considering what the competition has to offer, NVIDIA seems confident in their approach. They are positioning the RTX 5060 as primarily a 1080p card, with upscaling tech to help it stretch to 1440p in some games. Time will tell if this VRAM configuration holds up in the long run, but the increased bandwidth should certainly help.
Final Thoughts: Bring It On, March
March is the month to watch. If the rumors hold true, the RTX 5060 Ti and the RTX 5060 are positioned to bring NVIDIA's Blackwell gaming architecture to the mainstream. We are still waiting on confirmation of a few of the finer details. However, GDDR7 memory and a potential VRAM bump on the Ti model have these cards sounding like some very exciting contenders to provide solid performance without breaking the bank. Let the countdown to March begin.
