Nvidia’s RTX 50-series GPUs have been the talk of the tech world, but not for reasons that the company might have hoped for. Beyond early performance and driver issues, one problem continues to plague the launch: it’s almost impossible to buy these cards at their advertised base prices. After releasing their high-end and mid-range GPUs, Nvidia is promising that the $300 Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 will be different. But with the card hitting the market on May 19, consumers are left wondering if Nvidia’s “pinky promise” can actually deliver.
Nvidia’s Optimistic Launch: Will the RTX 5060 Be Any Easier to Find?
The RTX 5060 is Nvidia’s latest attempt to offer a more affordable, entry-level option based on the new Blackwell microarchitecture. The company has positioned the 5060 as the go-to GPU for 1080p gaming, but there’s a catch: despite the official launch today, the drivers for the card weren’t released until noon ET on launch day. Without access to the drivers, reviewers are left in the dark about the card’s true performance potential—leaving potential buyers with only Nvidia’s optimistic promises to go on.
Nvidia’s PR team has assured consumers that the card will retail at or near the advertised $300 price point. In fact, Ben Berraondo, Nvidia’s director of public relations, assured Gizmodo that MSRP models would be available from launch. But here’s the problem: Nvidia has said this before. In the case of the $450 RTX 5060 Ti released last month, finding the card at anything near the MSRP has been nearly impossible. As of now, the Gigabyte WindForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB version is priced at $480 on Nvidia’s website, with prices going as high as $150 above the base price at other online retailers.
This raises the question: will the RTX 5060 be any different? Early signs suggest it won’t. Despite Nvidia’s assurances, there’s no guarantee that the base model will be available at the expected price, leaving consumers facing a potential battle with scalpers just like they did with the RTX 5060 Ti.
A Strange Launch: No Pre-Release Drivers and No Reviews
For those hoping to get a head start on their purchase, Nvidia has kept things particularly opaque for the RTX 5060 launch. Unlike previous GPU launches, Nvidia didn’t provide pre-release access to drivers or review units ahead of the card’s official launch. This is the first release in the RTX 50-series that didn’t offer reviewers the chance to test the hardware before it hit the market. For buyers who are keen on ensuring their investment in a new GPU is worth it, this lack of transparency raises major concerns.
As it stands, Nvidia has claimed that the RTX 5060 will offer significant performance gains over its predecessor, the RTX 4060, especially when using Nvidia’s DLSS 4 upscaling technology. According to Nvidia, this new feature will insert AI-generated frames between rendered frames to boost the frame rate. However, the question remains: what does the non-enhanced performance look like? Nvidia estimates a 20% improvement in raw performance between generations, but with no independent tests available, it’s tough to take those numbers at face value.
The Waiting Game: How Long Will Stock Last?
While the promise of a $300 RTX 5060 sounds enticing, the reality is that many potential buyers will likely have to wait a while before they can actually get their hands on one. At the time of writing, major online retailers in the U.S. have yet to list the card for sale, with Best Buy offering only a handful of bare-bones RTX 5060 cards from Asus, alongside an overclocked PNY version. This means that if you’re hoping to secure a base model at the advertised price, you may be in for a bit of a hunt.
At launch, it’s expected that higher-end versions of the RTX 5060 will be released alongside the standard models. These overclocked versions will likely come with premium price tags, meaning that the quest for a budget-friendly card could become even more complicated.
AMD’s Potential Disruption: The Radeon RX 9060 XT
While Nvidia fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the RTX 5060, there’s another player in the game. Leaks suggest that AMD is preparing to unveil its Radeon RX 9060 XT cards, possibly as soon as this week. Two separate AICs have hinted at upcoming 8GB and 16GB VRAM models, which could offer stiff competition to Nvidia’s lower-tier offerings.
AMD has made a name for itself with affordable, high-performance GPUs that deliver impressive results at a fraction of the price of Nvidia’s higher-end cards. If AMD’s new Radeon RX 9060 XT cards live up to the hype, Nvidia may find itself fighting for market share at the entry level. Just like the RTX 5060 Ti, gamers will likely be eyeing the 16GB VRAM version of the RX 9060 XT for better gaming performance at higher resolutions. The price and release date of AMD’s new cards remain uncertain, but they could very well be the thorn in Nvidia’s side, especially if they can offer better performance for less money.
As it stands, the Nvidia RTX 5060’s release is a confusing mix of optimism and uncertainty. The promise of an affordable GPU for 1080p gaming at $300 is appealing, but the lack of pre-release reviews, the difficulty in securing cards at MSRP, and the potential competition from AMD make it hard to fully recommend buying this card right now.
If you’re considering purchasing an RTX 5060, it may be best to wait until the drivers and reviews are available and stock stabilizes. With rumors of AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT cards looming, it might also be worth holding out a bit longer to see how Nvidia’s latest GPU performs in comparison.
