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Nvidia launched the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and 8GB models in mid-April, and the GPU with the larger VRAM received relatively positive reviews. However, many say that the 8GB graphics card is struggling due to a lack of VRAM, even at lower resolutions. Aside from that, Computer Base [machine translated] also discovered another issue brought by the smaller memory: reduced performance in some titles when attached to a PCIe 4.0 slot.
The publication measured 27 titles at 1440p, with the 8GB card getting an average FPS of 59.4 with a PCIe 5.0 motherboard, and a slightly lower 55.82 FPS when hooked up via PCIe 4.0. The 1% lows recorded are at 47.21 FPS and 43.93 FPS, respectively. This might not seem bad initially, but a few select titles had it much worse than the average.
Out of all the tested games, eight titles suffered a 5 FPS or more decrease in both average FPS and 1% lows—an almost 9% or more decrease in performance.
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Assassin's Creed Shadows | 54.9 | 54.4 | 0.5 | 50.9 | 49.5 | 1.4 |
Black Myth: Wukong | 60.7 | 60.7 | 50.7 | 50.3 | 0.4 | |
COD: Black Ops 6 | 88.7 | 88.5 | 0.2 | 81.3 | 80.3 | 1 |
Dragon Age: The Veilguard | 34 | 4.8 | 29.2 | 24.6 | 3.3 | 21.3 |
Dragon's Dogma 2 | 63.3 | 63.2 | 0.1 | 56.5 | 55.8 | 0.7 |
Empire of the Ants | 75.7 | 75.7 | 64.8 | 64.7 | 0.1 | |
F1 24 | 82 | 75.1 | 6.9 | 51.9 | 42.2 | 9.7 |
Final Fantasy XVI | 55.4 | 44 | 11.4 | 41.8 | 32.6 | 9.2 |
Frostpunk 2 | 61.7 | 61.6 | 0.1 | 48.5 | 48.1 | 0.4 |
Ghost of Tsushima | 56.9 | 55.8 | 1.1 | 53.1 | 51.4 | 1.7 |
God of War: Ragnarök | 65.3 | 65.1 | 0.2 | 54.8 | 54.6 | 0.2 |
Horizon Forbidden West | 50.5 | 45.1 | 5.4 | 44.5 | 39.4 | 5.1 |
Indiana Jones and the Big Circle | 40.5 | 28.3 | 12.2 | 27.8 | 22.8 | 5 |
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 | 67.2 | 67.1 | 0.1 | 59.4 | 59.3 | 0.1 |
Lego: Horizon Adventures | 57.9 | 57.4 | 0.5 | 51.1 | 50.8 | 0.3 |
MechWarrior 5: Clans | 44.5 | 41.6 | 2.9 | 32.7 | 30.7 | 2 |
Monster Hunter Wilds | 54.4 | 46.5 | 7.9 | 37 | 26 | 11 |
Oblivion Remastered | 35.5 | 33.2 | 2.3 | 15.5 | 13 | 2.5 |
Outcast: A New Beginning | 69.7 | 69.4 | 0.3 | 51.6 | 51.3 | 0.3 |
Satisfactory | 57.8 | 57.7 | 0.1 | 46.7 | 46.5 | 0.2 |
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 | 58 | 57.8 | 0.2 | 42.2 | 41.9 | 0.3 |
Silent Hill 2 | 62.7 | 61.7 | 1 | 41.8 | 40.8 | 1 |
Spider-Man 2 | 26.9 | 18.8 | 8.1 | 16.3 | 10.1 | 6.2 |
Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl | 77.3 | 76.8 | 0.5 | 61.2 | 61 | 0.2 |
Star Wars Outlaws | 58.9 | 58.7 | 0.2 | 48.1 | 47 | 1.1 |
The Last of Us Part II | 58 | 53 | 5 | 42.8 | 35.8 | 7 |
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 | 85.4 | 85.1 | 0.3 | 77.2 | 76.8 | 0.4 |
Average | 59.40 | 55.82 | 3.58 | 47.21 | 43.93 | 3.29 |
This might not be an issue for enthusiasts with higher-end GPUs that cost more, as they most likely run the latest hardware or can afford to get them if needed. However, given that the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB is designed as a mainstream card, it will more likely be purchased by users running older motherboard models that might not have support for PCIe 5.0 yet. Of course, they’ll expect better performance when upgrading to this GPU, but if their favorite game happens to be one of the titles affected by this performance gap, they will be disappointed.
That’s why many reviewers no longer recommend graphics cards with 8GB of VRAM or less, especially if you’re a gamer. As PC game developers take advantage of more demanding hardware, players with GPUs with limited memory will tend to get left behind.
There might still be demand for a GPU at this price point, as Nvidia would likely not have made the 8GB variant if nobody would buy it. But if you want to make the most out of your money, you should stay away from brand-new graphics cards with less than 12GB of VRAM.
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