The information embargo on Radeon RX 9060 XT test results has been lifted. Let’s take a look at how the new Radeon stacks up against the competing GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti. The 16GB variant is priced closer to Nvidia’s 8GB models and offers a better price-to-performance ratio than the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti. The more affordable Sapphire Pulse RX 9060 XT model adds great thermal and acoustic performance on top of that.
Final thoughts
How the RX 9060 XT compares to competing RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti cards depends largely on the game title and the settings used. Comparisons are complicated by varying memory capacities across models and differing demands across benchmarks.
Generally speaking, its performance falls somewhere between the RTX 5060 and the RTX 5060 Ti, and its pricing reflects that. The Radeon clearly beats the RTX 5060 in scenarios where 8 GB of VRAM isn’t sufficient. The RTX 5060 struggles significantly in games like Satisfactory at native 4K resolution or when combining 4K with DLSS and frame generation. However, in such scenarios, GPU performance itself usually isn’t enough for smooth gameplay anyway. In cases where GeForce cards struggle in 4K due to memory limits, the 16 GB RX 9060 XT has no issues. The GeForce RTX 5060 only outperforms the RX 9060 XT at lower resolutions with demanding ray tracing effects.
The 16GB GeForce RTX 5060 Ti only falls behind the Radeon in games without ray tracing or in scenarios where ray tracing is minimal or disabled. The more demanding the ray tracing implementation, the better the RTX 5060 Ti performs relative to the Radeon. However, the Radeon is significantly cheaper than the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti for 429 USD, making it generally better in terms of price/performance (unless you make use of Nvidia’s frame generation technologies). AMD has priced the higher-end 16GB RX 9060 XT just below the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti, so while it offers slightly lower performance than the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti, that’s offset by a considerably lower price tag.
Compared to the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti, the price gap is small. In most newer titles, the Radeon will likely be just a bit slower – unless the 8GB memory limit becomes a constraint for the GeForce. In terms of power consumption, the more efficient Radeon RX 9060 XT doesn’t differ drastically from the GeForce cards, so more than ever, your best-value choice will depend on what you play, at what settings, and whether your games will fit within the available VRAM.
It will also depend on how much you make use of extra technologies, which tend to be more widely supported in Nvidia’s ecosystem than with AMD’s alternatives.
Let’s get back to the card itself. Once again, Sapphire’s Radeon didn’t disappoint. Despite being a basic model, the manufacturer doesn’t cut corners on the design of its Pulse series the way some others do – or perhaps are forced to. While this isn’t a product for enthusiasts of premium-tier hardware, if you don’t care about RGB lighting, don’t need BIOS switches, and aren’t expecting a card so quiet you forget it has fans, I struggle to find a compelling reason to spend more on a pricier model.
The noise level of premium model coolers under load often drops to the point where the buzzing of the power delivery coils becomes more noticeable – and the same is true for Sapphire’s Pulse. While the fans aren’t silent, they’re quiet enough that the coil whine can be heard over them, at least in cases with significant ventilation.
Operating temperatures aren’t quite on par with premium models, but they’re still low enough to give the card sufficient headroom below thermal limits, keeping the cooling regulation from acting erratically. In most systems – unless you’re running a 360mm liquid cooler on the CPU – other case fans are likely to be the louder components. And if you’d prefer something better equipped, we’ll be taking a look at other cards soon. But keep in mind that those will cost extra – and when you factor in good thermal behavior and a better price/performance ratio, Sapphire’s Pulse will remain one of the most compelling RX 9060 XT options for most common scenarios.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
Pros and cons
+ 16 GB of memory
+ Excellent operating characteristics
+ Factory overclocking
+ Quiet (though not silent) cooling
+ Some headroom left for further noise reduction
+ Option to raise the power limit for overclocking
+ Price
– With more demanding ray tracing, the RTX 5060 Ti pulls ahead in performance
– The 8GB RX 9060 XT may offer a better price/performance ratio in most current games
– Three display outputs
AMD Radeon graphics cards are available in the Datacomp e-store.
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