It seems the strangeness with NVIDIA’s RTX 50 generational launch never ends as the latest RTX 5060 series arrives with an odd caveat. Earlier this week, the first of NVIDIA’s Blackwell-based RTX 5060 GPUs arrived as the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB. A seemingly competent card aimed at 1080p and some 1440p gaming debuted with an MSRP of $429. Unfortunately, it looks as if NVIDIA is not offering a Founders Edition for this GPU, something it had done with its previous Ampere-based RTX 4060 series.
Editor’s Note: Our RTX 5060 Ti launch samples (16GB flavor, of course) arrived yesterday after the embargo lifted. Brent has them strapped to the test bench and we’ll have our reviews posted as soon as they’re ready.
Lasted more than a blink of the eye?
A big surprise, at least to some, is that unlike it’s other fellow RTX 50 series brethren, the RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090, the RTX 5060 Ti managed to stay in stock online and at stores for more than a split second. In the UK it was reported that two models from the same manufacturer, at MSRP no less, stayed in stock for at least two hours. If anything, this is a huge shock given that most graphics cards end up at significantly higher prices than other markets. Meanwhile, it has since managed to sell out as expected. It remains unknown if the delayed inventory wipeout was due to an abundance of stock or perhaps potential purchasers weighing options of value and need.
Per PC Gamer:
“Yes, an MSRP-priced RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB is, in fact, in stock in the UK right now. In fact—hold up—two MSRP-priced RTX 5060 Tis are in stock: the Gainward GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Python III for £399.95 at Overclockers and the Palit GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Infinity 3, also for £399.95 at Overclockers.”
RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB review samples withheld?
The next oddity with this launch involves the 8 GB variant of the RTX 5060 Ti. It is already questionable as to the viability of 8 GB of VRAM regarding modern games, especially AAA titles. It’s not to say that there are still many out there that may not utilize more memory, but there are certainly many that can if the game has hi-res textures and other modern features. In an unusual move by NVIDIA deliberately did not sample the 8 GB variant to reviewers, but AIB partners also stated they could not offer any either due to not having them, or being told they were not allowed to.
Per HardwareUnboxed (via VideoCardz):
“Now, while the launch is claimed to be the same day for the two variants, Nvidia is only sampling the 16 GB card for reviews, so that is what will be covered on launch day. But it goes beyond that because we’ve been told that AIBs will not be supplying the 8 GB card for reviews and, in fact, cannot supply the 8 GB card for reviews. Despite Nvidia giving us permission to source 8 GB models for day one reviews, board partners told us they were unable to send us a graphics card in some cases because they weren’t ready, but in other cases because Nvidia had explicitly prevented them from doing so.”
Additionally, it was said that the 8 GB variant’s release has been pushed back around a week or so. Nothing has been officially revealed as to why, but this actually does somewhat align with previous alternate SKU releases for the x60 series. The only real difference is that these are usually staggered by months, sometimes years, so this is still a fairly quick turnaround. Now the MSRP for the 8 GB is $399, not the worst price given its other non-memory-related features, but there are already rumors of it performing significantly less than the 16 GB version. It will be interesting to see what AMD’s ultimate strategy for its upcoming Radeon RX 9060 XTX ends up being since that RDNA4 GPU is also said to launch in 8 GB and 16 GB variants. Meanwhile it was reported that well-known German retailer Minfactory did not sell a single unit of the 8 GB model.
Mindfactory sold ~105 units of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB at launch day (no sales of 8GB SKUs reported).
— 3DCenter.org (@3DCenter_org) April 17, 2025
Based on the point that MF is currently only making (less than) half of its previous graphics card sales after its recent troubles, this is a good result for the 5060Ti.
The end of NVIDIA 8 GB review samples altogether?
Now the last bit of strangeness involves the unreleased RTX 5060, but is said to arrive in May. This GPU is already announced to feature 8 GB of memory. It is the norm for the GPU at the bottom of the x60 product stack to have the least amount of memory and that pairing usually works well given the performance level of its GPU. These cards are primarily aimed at 1080p gaming and priced affordably at $299. Hardware Unboxed said that NVIDIA stated the restriction of 8 GB review samples was due to that PC Enthusiasts are not interested in reviews of mainstream GPUs. If true, NVIDIA’s claim can easily be considered outlandish given the long history of the x60 class being its most popular among gamers. It’s been theorized that the real reason behind NVIDIA’s withholding of review samples is to hide the 8 GB launch in order to avoid bad reviews while getting sales from uninformed customers.