Thanks to the lower power consumption of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and the use of more compact printed circuit boards in the new GeForce RTX 50 series, Gigabyte offers cards with a unique design in the WindForce 2X and Eagle model lines. Their PCB extends only halfway along the PCIe slot. This allows the use of a compact dual-fan cooler with an unobstructed heatsink behind the rear fan, which delivers excellent cooling performance for its size.
Final thoughts
Nvidia’s suggested retail prices are 379 USD for the 8GB variant and 429 USD for the 16GB version. In Europe, prices start at around 413 EUR for the base model, with the 16GB version expected at around 467 EUR. While it’s still too early to say that most RTX 5060 Ti cards are widely available in stores, models ranging from budget to high-end are in stock in some regions, making selection possible. Prices for the cheapest models are already dipping below Nvidia’s suggested pricing.
The most affordable 16GB GeForce RTX 5060 Ti cards currently start at around 460 EUR. The entry-level Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Windforce 2X 16G can be found for approximately 469 EUR, while the better-equipped RTX 5060 Ti Eagle OC 16G featured in this review sells for about 530 EUR.
Whether the operational characteristics of this Eagle model are significantly better than the similarly designed RTX 5060 Ti Windforce 2X to justify spending the extra money is hard to say without direct comparison. If both cards have similar fan control setups, the cheaper model may not be much louder.
The premium for the Eagle variant will mostly appeal to those who prefer its design over the Windforce and want a similarly compact card. Otherwise, cards with larger triple-fan coolers could offer quieter cooling at a similar price – or, as with the previously reviewed RTX 5060 Ti from Gainward, comparable noise levels for a lower price.
I’m generally not a fan of graphics cards with dual BIOS. They involve more work during testing, and in most cases, a single BIOS—the quieter one—would suffice. But with the Eagle, I found myself really missing the silent mode switch. But with the Eagle, I really missed the option to switch to a quieter mode. With slightly higher temperatures (which the cooler could still handle comfortably), the fan speeds could have been lower, making the card noticeably quieter. That would have given us a compact and reasonably powerful gaming card with a quiet cooler, all for a modest premium.
Of course, you can manually adjust the fan curve yourself, but a switch is just more convenient – you don’t have to worry about configuring anything or making sure custom settings are loaded on startup. At the moment, Nvidia App only allows fixed fan speeds, and to set a custom curve based on temperature, you still need third-party tools. Gigabyte offers the Gigabyte Control Center for this purpose, but not everyone wants to install additional software that runs in the background just for this task.
Overall, I do like the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Eagle OC 16GB – especially its cooler design and engineering. The very short PCB enables efficient cooling in a compact form. Thanks to the unusually placed power connector, you don’t have to route the power cable through the middle of the case – it can stay neatly along the back wall. The only thing you need to be mindful of is securing the card in the PCIe slot. The shortened bracket doesn’t include the usual locking tab, so the card may not sit as firmly in place as with standard-length PCIe connector.
Among compact GPUs, this is one of the better options currently available. The only lingering question is how the similarly designed WindForce 2X model compares – and whether the extra cost for the Eagle is really justified.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
Pros and cons
+ 16 GB of memory
+ Compact dimensions with good operating characteristics
+ Factory overclocking
+ Cooler is quieter than basic models
+ Solid temperatures, with the option to manually lower fan speeds
+ Support for DLSS 4 and other proprietary Nvidia technologies
+ Significant performance increase in ray tracing compared to the previous generation
– Price/performance ratio is slightly worse than basic models
– Out-of-the-box fan profile could be quieter
– Coil whine is not completely inaudible
– The card runs on eight PCIe 5.0 lanes, and on older boards (especially PCIe 3.0), performance may drop in some scenarios
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards can be purchased in the Datacomp e-store.
