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Things are rough gaming PC land thanks to RAMageddon, and while parts like graphics cards sitting at MSRP should be the norm, they are extremely few and far between. It's for that reason that, despite not being massively into Nvidia's 8GB 60-class cards, it feels like the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is worth a look while it's under $400.
The model in question is the MSI RTX 5060 Ti 8G Ventus, as it's currently down to $379.99 at Amazon. Keep in mind that custom card MSRPs are a bit bananas compared to Nvidia's recommended price, so the "90-day low" is based on the specific model's full $439.99 ticket. Still, I'm certainly not seeing any other cards like this for under $400, and even the non-Ti versions are only around $30 less.
Ideally, this is how much the GeForce RTX 5070 would cost, but the days of grabbing a proper mid-range GPU, especially by Nvidia, are long gone. As someone who took picking up a GTX 970 ten years ago for granted, that reality stings, but given the modern landscape, I do think the RTX 5060 Ti is a decent option for what could still be described as "reasonable PC upgrade money."
The version I've personally tested is by Palit, but the MSI version should provide similar benchmarks to what I experienced during my review. The TLDR is that it can masquerade as a 4K-capable card if you leverage AI upscaling tools like DLSS, and Frame Generation will boost fps to figures that look impressive. In reality, though, this GPU's comfort zone is 1440p, and when it comes to ray tracing, you might find that 1080p settings are more sensible.
Yes, that's all very lacklustre given the PS5 and Xbox Series X have normalized 4K this generation, and even the Switch 2 is using DLSS to make UHD happen in docked mode. Ultimately, your mileage will vary depending on whether you max out settings or tweak things to hit comparable frame rates, and since cards like the GeForce RTX 5080 are going to be out of reach for most players at over $1,000, there's no shame in dialling things back to achieve better results.
If you're gunning for an AMD build and need an extremely competent alternative, the GPU you're after is the RX 9060 XT. Like Nvidia's 60-class card, the Radeon equivalent can be hard to find for under $400, but there's thankfully an XFX Swift model at Amazon for $339.99.
Just like with the Radeon RX 9070, the RX 9060 XT follows the trend of providing better native performance than the RTX 5060 Ti, but lacks the same AI upscaling oomph. That's in part because AMD is only just considering bringing multi-frame generation to its GPUs, but for some players, not relying as much on what some call "fake frames" is a selling point.
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The decision between the two really comes down to features. If you would use DLSS 4.5 to boost frame rates without a second thought, the RTX 5060 Ti is a no-brainer. If you're of the belief that native rasterized performance should be the norm, go for the RX 9060 XT. The important thing is that both are around the price they should be, and while I'll always criticize GPU makers and vendors alike for not aiming for lower, I'm not turning my nose up at more affordable cards when they do pop up.
Building a new rig? Swing by the best CPU for gaming and the best RAM for core components. If you'd rather just go outside, check out the best gaming handhelds for a portable PC that will run your Steam backlog.
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