- A rumor popped up showing the RTX 5060 with a 16GB variant
- This turned out to be a fake, sadly
- Debunkers have doubled down on existing speculation: just the RTX 5060 Ti will offer 16GB and 8GB, with the RTX 5060 only having 8GB
Nvidia’s RTX 5060 GPU is not going to come in a variant that has 16GB of video RAM (sadly, but not surprisingly), or that’s the latest from the rumor mill, following a TikTok video that raised the hopes of some PC gamers.
That video clip featured what was claimed to be Zotac RTX 5060 (and 5060 Ti) boxes that both showed 16GB on them, suggesting that both of these RTX 5060 flavors will offer a choice of 16GB (as well as 8GB).
However, this was clearly faked, as both Chinese tech site Benchlife and leaker MEGAsizeGPU on X pointed out.
This is fake. There is no plan for 5060 16G, and the box is photoshopped from the last-gen Zotac box. You can see this from the DLSS3 mark and the cooler design. https://t.co/LQ2IhOm4K6February 8, 2025
In actual fact, these are boxes of last-gen RTX 4000 GPUs that have been altered, but with no care for detail, as the packaging still says ‘DLSS 3’ when Nvidia has moved on to DLSS 4 with its new Blackwell graphics cards. As MEGAsizeGPU further notes, the cooler design is the same as the last-gen products with these GPUs, too.
The current theory remains the same as before, that the RTX 5060 Ti will have a 16GB spin, plus an 8GB version, while the vanilla RTX 5060 will only run with 8GB.
Benchlife asserts that it has confirmed with sources at graphics card makers over in China that the RTX 5060 will indeed just have an 8GB version.
Analysis: A complex VRAM balancing act – with a distinct danger of going too lean
Of course, before we get carried away with the pouring-freezing-water-on-fake-video fervor here, we should remember that even the existing rumor – which has been in place for a while – of the RTX 5060 only having 8GB is just that: a rumor. This may not turn out to be the case, but for me, it’s certainly a believable enough move from Nvidia.
After all, it would mirror the video RAM configurations of the existing RTX 4060 models. On top of that, with the RTX 5070 having 12GB of VRAM, it makes sense to keep the RTX 5060 below that (if not the RTX 5060 Ti – but that happened with the 4060 Ti and 4070, too).
What’s also needed to be taken into account here is that the new GDDR7 video RAM on RTX 5060 models is a big upgrade in terms of memory speed, too. Plus Nvidia has its VRAM secret sauce (neural texture compression) to help lower capacity graphics cards with the Blackwell generation, although support for that is going to be limited, certainly in these initial stages of the lifespan of RTX 5000 GPUs.
All of which adds up to a distinct likelihood of Nvidia sticking with the RTX 4060 VRAM loadouts, as the rumors up until now have insisted – and we can certainly torpedo the fake RTX 5060 16GB speculation that popped up on TikTok.
Only having 8GB with the RTX 4060 was controversial enough, back at the launch of this GPU, so you can bet it will be even more so with the RTX 5060, if that’s how this plays out. There are definite, and, in my opinion, valid concerns that this isn’t enough raw capacity for anything above 1080p gaming, despite the tricks Nvidia has up its sleeve like neural texture compression.
Want some more positive fodder from the rumor mill about the RTX 5060? It appears that on the power connector front, we’re looking at a much easier upgrade with these graphics cards than we previously believed.
We should know the truth behind these GPUs soon enough, given that a March 2025 launch seems a strong possibility going by the weight of speculation now behind that date.
Via Tom’s Hardware
