Introduction

Today we bring you our take on the Zotac GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB Solo. In the absence of an NVIDIA reference design or Founders Edition card, we are treating this like our de facto reference design, given that it is priced at the NVIDIA MSRP, with its clock speeds matching the NVIDIA baseline config. NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 formally launched on May 19th, but by then we had left for Taipei for the 2025 Computex. We didn't even have press drivers in time so we couldn't test our samples before we left. The RTX 5060 launch was hence largely obscured by the annual mega-expo, and it's only after we returned that we could begin with the review. The GeForce RTX 5060 is designed to be the bestselling model from the RTX 50-series Blackwell generation, as all its predecessors have topped the mid-range segment. It is designed to offer maxed out gameplay at 1080p, including with ray tracing; with newer features such as DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation coming in handy to improve experiences.



The GeForce RTX 5060 launch follows that of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti from April, a card already from this segment, but with a degree of future-proofing, at least for its 16 GB model. In addition to that, there's a RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB model, which we found to be sufficient for 1080p, but lagging behind the 16 GB variant in certain ray traced or higher resolution use-cases. With the RTX 5060, NVIDIA is only launching an 8 GB variant, with a starting price of $300. The company probably doesn't want to cannibalize the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB that starts at $380.

The RTX 5060 is based on the same GB206 silicon as the RTX 5060 Ti series. While the RTX 5060 Ti maxes out the chip, enabling all 36 SMs, the RTX 5060 is cut down, and gets 30 out of the 36 SMs present, which works out to 3,840 CUDA cores, 120 Tensor cores, 30 RT cores, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The memory configuration is carried over from the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB—you get 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory across a 128-bit wide memory interface for 448 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU clock speeds are significantly lowered, with 2497 MHz boost compared to 2572 MHz on the RTX 5060 Ti, but with a significantly lowered total graphics power (TGP) of 145 W, compared to 180 W. This affects boost frequency residency.

At the heart of the GeForce RTX 5060 is NVIDIA's latest Blackwell graphics architecture. It introduces Neural Rendering, or the ability of the GPU to leverage AI models to create game assets in real time, combining them with the rest of the conventionally rendered game, much in the same way as it combines ray traced objects. NVIDIA even worked with Microsoft to lay the API-level groundwork for Neural Rendering with DirectX 12, so 3D applications can directly address the Tensor cores on the GPU. A new hardware scheduler called the AI Management Process (AMP) is needed to ensure the GPU is able to both accelerate AI models and render game graphics in tandem.

The new DLSS 4 feature should prove highly relevant for a graphics card in the price segment of the GeForce RTX 5060. It replaces the older convolutional neural networks (CNN) based AI models driving DLSS 3, with newer Transformer-based models, which are more accurate, and improve image quality for super resolution at every performance preset. Transformer-based models also accelerate Ray Reconstruction and Frame Generation. Speaking of which, NVIDIA introduced Multi Frame Generation with Blackwell, or the ability for the GPU to conjure up to three AI-generated frames following every conventionally rendered one, to effectively quadruple frame rates.

The Zotac GeForce RTX 5060 Solo comes with a simple heatsink and relies on a single 70 mm fan to keep cool. There is no idle fan-stop feature, the fan still runs with the GPU idling. The card has a length of just 16.5 cm, making it suitable for ITX and SFF builds. It draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, which is more than sufficient, given its 145 W TGP. Zotac designed the card to be sold at the NVIDIA MSRP of $300.