The RTX 5060 delivers just 18 per cent of the CUDA cores found in the RTX 5090, Nvidia’s  flagship. That’s far below the average 36 per cent core count traditionally expected from a 60-class GPU. On this metric alone, the RTX 5060 lands squarely in 50-class territory, more akin to the GTX 750 or 1050 than anything supposedly mid-tier.

Memory bandwidth is equally unimpressive. The RTX 5060 manages 448 GB/s, just 25 per cent of the RTX 5090’s 1,792 GB/s. Historically, 60-class GPUs have offered bandwidth closer to 40 per cent of the flagship. VRAM mirrors this trend: 8 GB on the 5060 versus 32 GB on the 5090. That 25 per cent figure is well below standard expectations and insufficient in 2025, especially compared to the 16 GB in the PlayStation 5.

Nvidia has repeated the same strategy used with the RTX 4060, offering reduced core count and memory but keeping the mid-range label and price. The RTX 5060’s $300 price tag reflects what used to buy a far more capable card. Adjusted for inflation, $180 used to deliver better value than today's 60-class GPU.

TechSpot notes that the RTX 5060 would have been appropriately specced and priced at $200. With 8 GB of VRAM and low-tier performance, it fits the profile of a 50-class GPU. If Nvidia had properly branded the 5080 as a 5070, the 5070 as a 5060, and this 5060 as a 5050, the generation would have made sense and likely satisfied expectations for performance and value.

Margins, not performance, now dictate Nvidia’s naming conventions. Silicon costs have risen, but die sizes haven’t shrunk to compensate. Instead of adjusting the product stack or pricing to match, Nvidia inflates margins by selling less for more. The explosion in demand for AI chips, which command higher profits, only intensifies this trend.

In 2025, the RTX 5060 delivers less performance and memory than what used to be expected from its tier, all while carrying a higher price tag. The GPU has been shrinkflated, rebranded and mispriced. As TechSpot said this is not a 60-class card at all. It’s an RTX 5050 dressed in RTX 5060 clothing.