NVIDIA released the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti in two configurations — 8GB and 16GB — but clearly should’ve added a warning label to the version with less VRAM. The 8 GB model is plainly not built for 2K or 4K gaming, and its limited video memory severely hinders performance.

What made the RTX 5060 lineup noteworthy was that it marked the introduction of NVIDIA’s RTX Blackwell GPUs into the mid-range market, with expectations that Team Green would step up to face off against its competitors. Since both models were launched simultaneously, the assumption was that there wouldn’t be much performance disparity between the two. However, most reviewers — including us — received the 16GB variant, leaving the 8GB version unexamined and in mystery. That changed when HardwareUnboxed got their hands on the 8GB model and ran comprehensive benchmarks that were nothing short of a disaster.

It’s a mistake to release a modern GPU with just 8GB of VRAM and expect it to compete, especially when the RTX Blackwell architecture has far more to offer. As we’ll see from the benchmark results below, the 8GB model is clearly bottlenecked. The situation is so dire that HardwareUnboxed labeled it an “obsolete” gaming GPU — a clear signal that no one should buy this card unless absolutely necessary. Let’s look at some of the mainstream titles HU tested to give you an idea of just how bad the 8GB variant fares in current AAA games.

Starting with The Last of Us Part II, the 16GB card delivered a 1% Low FPS rate that was 120% higher than its 8GB counterpart — around 70 FPS versus 35 FPS at 4K Very High settings. With different quality settings, that performance gap jumped as high as 320%, which is staggering. Other titles like Final Fantasy XIV and Hogwarts Legacy also showed a consistent 30%-40% advantage for the 16GB card, underscoring how limiting that smaller VRAM truly is.

HU’s full benchmark breakdown digs even deeper into the performance failings of the 8GB model — and it’s worth a look. There was hope that the 60-class GPUs would help NVIDIA catch up with AMD’s RX 9070 series, but that clearly didn’t happen. While the 8GB version isn’t technically “dead,” it’s not viable for today’s gamers. There’s no compelling reason to choose it over more capable alternatives.

Source: WCCFTECH