Nvidia RTX 5060 Launches May 19 — Budget Gaming Gets a Serious Upgrade

Gamers on a budget, your next upgrade just got official: Nvidia has announced the GeForce RTX 5060 will launch on May 19, with a starting price of $299 for desktop GPUs and $1,099 for gaming laptops. This marks the most affordable entry yet into the next-gen RTX Blackwell series—just in time to make waves before Computex 2025.

 Price & Availability

• RTX 5060 desktop GPU: $299 MSRP

• RTX 5060 laptops: From $1,099

• No Founders Edition: Only partner models available at launch

While the official MSRP looks promising, Nvidia won’t be releasing a Founders Edition to enforce pricing—which means partner models could fluctuate. Thankfully, current market dynamics (and pressure from existing RTX 5060 Ti models) may help keep pricing grounded.

 RTX 5060 Specs (Unofficial but Likely Accurate)

*Specs marked with an asterisk are not officially confirmed by Nvidia but widely reported.

With a 26% performance increase (theoretical) over the RTX 3060, and GDDR7 memory for improved efficiency, the RTX 5060 is positioned to be a powerful option for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

 Real-World Performance: What to Expect

According to Nvidia’s internal performance claims, using Multi-Frame Generation (MFG), the RTX 5060 can deliver:

• 4x–6x faster frame rates than the RTX 3060 in games like Alan Wake 2 and Black Myth: Wukong

• 20–25% boost in standard rasterized gaming performance

These numbers suggest the RTX 5060 could offer one of the best gen-on-gen performance jumps in the RTX 50-series lineup outside of the high-end RTX 5090.

Laptops with RTX 5060: Affordable & Capable

Nvidia also confirmed that RTX 5060 gaming laptops will launch the same day—starting at just $1,099. That’s lower than the launch price of RTX 4060 systems, making them a solid option for budget-conscious gamers looking for portable power.

If MFG performs as expected in real-world gaming, these laptops could easily top the charts as the best budget gaming laptops of 2025.

 The Budget GPU Market Is Heating Up

Nvidia's decision to launch right before Computex 2025 seems strategic, especially with AMD’s RX 9060 and possible Intel B770 announcements expected days later. The GPU wars are far from over, but Nvidia’s early move might give them a head start.

And while we’re still waiting for final performance benchmarks, the RTX 5060’s mix of GDDR7 memory, increased CUDA core count, and focus on value makes it one of the most exciting GPUs in its class.

 Should You Buy the RTX 5060?

If you're a PC gamer looking to upgrade from an older RTX 20- or 30-series card, or you’re building a new rig under $1,000, the RTX 5060 could be the sweet spot between price and performance.

Just keep an eye on actual retail pricing, especially with no Founders Edition enforcing MSRP.